March / April 2009

 
DIVA offers five galleries of engaging new works March 6th - April 25th
 

MAIN GALLERY: Portland Chapter, Colored Pencil Society of America, 18th Annual Colored Pencil Show

 

The Portland Chapter (DC201) of the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) exhibits colored pencil artwork in a variety of styles and subjects by over 25 Oregon and Southwest Washington artists.

The chapter will present demonstrations and host a "try me" table (dates TBA). An awards ceremony will be held to present awards for the show's winning entries.

The juror for the show is Edith Harrison a retired art teacher and currently teaching at Linn Benton Community College.

 

Founded in 1990, the Colored Pencil Society of America represents artists from across the United States and internationally from 16 countries.

Dedicated to artists working with colored pencil, CPSA is committed to raising awareness of colored pencil as a fine arts medium. The national organization hosts annual juried exhibitions of its international constituents' work. The next CPSA exhibition will be held in Duluth, Georgia, at the Jacqueline C. Hudgens Center for the Arts, from July 9 through August 29.

The Oregon chapter was also formed in 1990 as the first district chapter formed under CPSA, and is one of 24 chapters across the United States. DC201 has held shows in Oregon annually since 1991.

 

GALLERY 1: James O’Keefe "JOBS"

 

The thought provoking large-scale multi-media "business" sculptures of James O'Keefe offer insights into the path of consumerism and the survival of the artistic spirit in these times of economic uncertainty.

 

O'Keefe notes, "One experience we all share is the work we do to support ourselves so that we may be free to do what we really want to do. I realized I might look at "the Job" or "Work", as an art form and since that realization, have been building little portable "businesses sculptures," some of which are included in this show.  My vision in these pieces has been to give expression to the emotions we carry around about our jobs. Their almost Third World appearance and implied poverty makes a statement on the economic disenfranchisement that is taking place in America."

 

With a degree in Fine Art from Otis Institute in Los Angeles, James O’Keefe lives on the Oregon coast and supports his family as a nurse.

GALLERY 2: Brian Knowles  "pinkontinuum"

 

Brian Knowles’ installation pinkontinuum includes a motion animation element and explores a pink, paranoid world.

 

Knowles says of his work, "I make art at an intersection of animation, printmaking, drawing, and installation. I recycle and reuse my installations, informing new work with elements from past ones. The pink foam-board structure on which my prints are pinned can conform to the architecture of a site or take on its own sculptural forms. When a space is covered in pink foam, it exists for me in a state of pure potential, and makes the place habitable for my work, giving it a substrate on which to survive and cling. Animation developed in my practice as a way to reveal the evolution of recombination and mutation in my process. I associate animation with the child-like and naïve. I try to use this innocence as a foil against more cynical content. I’m experimenting with using bright, iconic, graphic imagery to obscure gloomier, more paranoid content."

 

Although born in Orange, California, Brian was raised in Oklahoma.  He has degrees in painting and biochemistry from Rice University. He has lived in Oregon for 8 years and received his MFA in printmaking from the University of Oregon in 2008. In addition to his art practice, Brian enjoys DJ-ing, bird watching, and petting cats.
GALLERY 3: University of Oregon Video Art 2009 "Hand Painted Films"
 
 This is a representation of hand painted films made from found footage, clear, black and/or white leader 16mm film by University of Oregon students enrolled in the upper division Video Art class. Transferred to video, the films are shown as a continuous projection.

 

This is the second exhibition at the DIVA of hand painted films produced by students in Kartz Ucci’s upper division Video Art class.

GALLERY 5: Ankush Vimawala "Journeys – Illustrations of; within and without"

 

Ankush Vimawala takes us through a journey, witnessing his travels through the world of form as well the formless. This exhibit includes photographic images from places such as Thailand, India, France, Turkey, Malaysia and the USA.

           

Ankush Vimawala began to take a serious interest in photography when he bought himself a Nikon DSLR camera. He then took a nature photography class at LCC under instructor David Stone. Since then he has continued learning through the internet, books, peer-critiques etc. He maintains an online photoblog (ankush.vimawala.com) and his work was recently showcased at the Eugene Mayor's Art Show at the Jacobs Gallery. Software engineer by day, he also also holds a degree in the indian classical drumming, and appears with various bands in and around Eugene.

 

Vimawala notes about his work, "There was a calling in photography for me, I felt it, I pursued it - without knowing what was in store. Combined with my interest in travel, love of nature, architecture, diverse cultures, and spirituality a collection of images with an underlying theme began to emerge."

MEMBERS' GALLERY (March) Karen Sosa "Nautre"

 

Painter Karen Sosa brings a vibrant exploration of nature through paint to the Members’ Gallery at DIVA.

 

Sosa says of her work, "My art has always been significantly influenced by nature. I grew up on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off of Cape Cod on the Massachusetts coast.  At a young age I developed a great appreciation for our natural world and particularly a love of the ocean.  My art is inspired by organic forms, nature and people.  I aim to make my art concise, but with depth of form, color, and subject matter.  In my current work, I try to use color in combination with strong forms and structure to create powerful images. I hope that my art will communicate with and be absorbed by the viewer.

MEMBERS' GALLERY (April) Michael Wherley, photographer, "Reflections"

 

Michael Wherley’s series of digital color photographs study the Reflection as a natural abstraction of form. Wherley’s keen eye investigates palettes of color, shape, and movement on various reflective surfaces such as water and glass.

 

About her work, Wherely writes, "During recent travels in England, Italy and Eastern Europe, I became fascinated by the play of shape and color and movement in reflections in the semi-tranquil waters of some of the rivers, canals and dock areas that we encountered. Abstracting the reflections from their context allowed me to appreciate them as a source of beauty in their own right. My intention as an artist is to offer new ways of seeing the beauty of the world we all live in. I believe that beauty plays an important role in sustaining and enhancing our energy and well-being."

 

Wherely studied photography informally at Stanford under Leo Holub. His expertise in digital photography has been reinforced by his extensive travels through Asia Minor, Europe and South America. He has shown his photographs of his travels to Southeast Asia at the Peacehealth Health Information Library, while Skipping Stones magazine will feature his photos documenting the different modes of transportation around the world in their March/April ’09 issue.