Daniel Forbes, director of the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College is the juror this year. He has designed, installed and curated over 200 exhibitions for commercial and academic galleries in Washington and Oregon. His studio practice explores the complicated territories of gender, identity, psychology, ritual, fetishism and the extraordinary body. His work has appeared in numerous solo and group shows throughout the Northwest and U.S.

Learn more about Forbes’ work during a public presentation at 6 p.m. May 28 in Zabel Hall, Room 101.

Forbes will choose several student pieces to be recognized with cash awards. EOU’s art faculty will also make selections for the third annual Kathelene Galloway Memorial Scholarship and the fourth annual Joseph Dickerson Memorial Award.

The Kathelene Galloway Memorial Scholarship is a $500 award presented to a sophomore or junior level art major exhibiting exemplary technical and conceptual skill. Galloway was a professor of printmaking and drawing at EOU for over a decade before she died in 2009.

“Kathelene was a highly dedicated and much loved artist, teacher and colleague, and was a passionate advocate for her students, art, artists and EOU,” said Cory Peeke, director of Nightingale Gallery and associate professor of art. “She lived to share knowledge and the wonder that comes with discovery, exemplifying the excellence to which we encourage our students to endeavor.”

The Joseph Dickerson Memorial Award honors an EOU freshman killed in an automobile accident in 2009. Joe’s parents Doug and Kyla Dickerson made a gift to the EOU art program following their tremendous loss.

“Joe was a model student whose creative energy and enthusiasm for learning was infectious,” Peeke said. “In light of this, the art program chose to use the funds so generously given by the Dickersons to endow an award in their son’s name to be presented annually to a student who the faculty feels best exemplifies Joe’s dedication, curiosity and creative spirit. “

The exhibition will be on display through June 14. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information visit www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery or “Like” the gallery on Facebook.

Jennifer Brotherton, “Untitled,” charcoal and watercolor, 61’’ x 47’’ (2013.)

LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) - Eastern Oregon University presents “Exposed,” the third and final senior capstone exhibition of the year, on display in Nightingale Gallery May 17-24.

A reception for artists Jennifer Brotherton, Trevor Durr and Asa Miller is from 6-8 p.m. on the opening day of the exhibition. The students will be showing a variety of ceramic sculpture, drawing, installation, painting and pottery.

“This diverse group of art and artworks coalesce into an exhibit which provides intimate insight into the artists and their work,” said Cory Peeke, gallery director and associate professor of art.

Brotherton is from Union and has focused in the medium of clay throughout her three years at EOU. Her current work consists of large-scale ceramic sculpture and charcoal drawings exploring the psychological and physical challenges faced by today’s youth.

Brotherton’s inspiration originates from societal standards, home life and innocence of young people. She is interested in the intimate moments in which these challenges exist, still-framing the honest emotions and raw reactions of children during confrontations such as conformity, obesity or identity conflict.

Trevor Durr, “Insecurity Cameras,” ceramic, 8.5” x 3.5” x 3.5” (2013).

Durr is from Halfway and began studying art at EOU in the fall of 2009. The graffiti movement has been one of the principal dynamic forces behind his work as both a street and studio artist. His interest in street art, ceramics and combining the two, inspired what is now his current body of work.

Using a witty street art twist and graffiti aesthetics, Durr brings attention to cultural, political and social issues that are often overlooked by many, ranging from social media conflicts to more serious and worldwide issues like the actuality of freedom.

Asa Miller, “Untitled,” ceramic, 5’’ x 20’’ (2013).

Miller is from Spray and began working with ceramics at EOU in 2008. His creations are unlike a painting, photograph or other varieties of fine art. They are meant to be more approachable and develop a deeper relationship with the viewer.

Utilizing the wood fire kiln at EOU, Miller has been creating objects that fulfill a certain purpose, such as a vessel meant for pressurized containment. By constructing pieces that can trick the eye, his recent work also establishes a tone of curiosity and inquiry with the viewer.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the EOU campus.  Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information visit www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery or “Like” the gallery on Facebook.

Matt Orthmann, Jake Wilcox and Amanda Yates all create work based in nature and concerned with the misdirection of the audience, thus the title of their exhibit: “The Nature of Deception.”

“This exhibit will showcase their investigation of these ideas and they invite the community to participate in that exploration,” said Cory Peeke, associate professor of art and gallery director at EOU.

Orthmann is a blacksmith, and using his skills at the forge, he explores bringing elements of nature to life in the medium of steel. His functional sculptures question the relationship of the artist and craftsman. His pieces examine how the aggressive creative process of working with fire and twisted metal in the forge can create beauty, delicacy and functionality.

Wilcox is a sculptor who grew up learning how to be prepared for any situation. As a boy scout, he learned the importance of survival and uses this as a reoccurring theme in his art. Exhibited as installations, his handcrafted functional furniture pieces each contain surprising secret compartments. These hidden elements question ideas of paranoia and protection, while recurrently expressing his need to be prepared.

Yates is a painter from Lakeview. She grew up seeing death and decomposition in the natural world and uses these themes as inspiration for her work. Her large paintings question our perception of violence in nature and in the media. Influenced by the news, television, Internet and videogames, her works depict vicious scenes of animal cruelty and war, and examine the fundamental reasons for such conflicts, as well as the horrific beauty of the violence itself.

“The Nature of Deception” will run through May 10 in Nightingale Gallery located in Loso Hall on the EOU campus. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information visit \ www.facebook.com/NightingaleGallery.

The show will open with a reception for the artists at 6 p.m. April 5 and continue through April 19. Works in mixed media, prints and drawings will be on display.

“The Other Man” by James Long, graphite on paper, 13” x 13” (2013).

James Long is a non-traditional student who began his academic career at Boise State University in 1995. Though he also enjoys painting and digital media, his true passion is drawing with graphite on paper. Many of his conceptual influences involve familial heritage, cultural identity and societal institutions.
The body of work Long will be showing began as collages of 19th and 20th century photographs. Through a process of positioning selected elements of two or more photos, such as a daredevil perched at the top of an urban high rise and a sober-faced immigrant, Long is able to craft new situations which explore facets of human nature including hope, disappointment, jealousy and tenacity. Through the black and white of graphite and paper, he presents contrasting subject matter both literally and figuratively.

Untitled by Christina Roe, print, 22.5” x 30” (2013).

Christina Roe is originally from Kodiak, Alaska, and she draws much of her inspiration from the natural landscape. Though well-trained in representational art, her new body of work focuses mainly on formal concepts of line quality, space and texture.

Roe’s work explores intangible ideas of time and thought through non-traditional drawing. Instead of providing a visual representation of these concepts, her drawings seek to capture their reflections in a physical, tangible way. Through materials such as thread and string, chosen specifically for the line quality they possess, she is able to draw images onto a grounded surface, which evolve into their own environments and ask viewers to question reality and perception.

“Dust Collector” by Henrik Soerensen, 78” x 32” x 26”, granite, wood, wool blanket, scythe handle, bronze, vacuum, paint and rag (2012).

Henrik Soerensen grew up in Denmark and is currently making work that is inspired by and questions our culturally-formed patterns. Soerensen concentrates on sculpture and his work satisfies, as well as questions, his fascination with the crafted object. He is especially interested in how a particular color or found object can present a narrative possibility or an altered perception of everyday life.

His fascination with the process of making, along with a background as a professional chef, fosters his interest in the universal function of objects across cultures. His sculptural installations include the use of found objects combined with painstakingly crafted elements of various materials composed in ambiguous compositions.

“Despite the wide range of media used by Long, Roe and Soerensen, there is a certain chaos that all three artists rely upon in their respective processes,” said Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery director. “As a cohesive whole, ‘Transposition’ illustrates through both 2D and 3D space how the positioning of disparate elements, shapes, or concepts impacts the relevance of an idea.”

Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.  For more information visit www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery or follow the gallery on Facebook.

University Scholar Awards in Art/ Best of Show 12^th Grade (a 3-way tie between):

(each will receive a $1,500 Renewable Scholarship to Study Art at EOU)

Andrew Camarena (Ontario High) for his mixed media sculpture Head

Eli Kerns (Baker High) for his mixed media and clay sculpture Willow Creek

Molly Witten (La Grande High) for her oil on canvas painting Sarah’s Solo

Best of Show 11^th Grade a tie between:   

Travis Gregory (Union High) for his acrylic painting Tree with Leaves

  And

Micayla Prummer (Union High) for her mixed media puppet The Big Bad Wolf

Best of Show 10^th Grade:   

Hannah Pereira (Grant Union High) for her graphite drawing Self Portrait

Best of Show 9th Grade,:

Saskia Lay (Cove High) for her mixed media drawing Dedicated to Jade Connall

Honorable Mentions:

Baker City

Jordan Warren for the pen and ink drawing Bifocals

Cove

Lacey Bard for her photograph Resistance

Hannah Brazil for her ink and collage work Neck-less Positioning

Joseph

Lindsay Kemp for her watercolor painting Rainy City

Mia Whittle for her mixed media work Spring

La Grande

Alora Brown for the oil painting Welcome to My World

Taite Haynes for the acrylic painting Batman

Ally Tsaitos for the acrylic painting Colorful Elephant

Ontario

Alina Schueler for her drawing Tiger Year

Ashton Stark for the drawing Reflection

Ashley K. Suyematsu for her drawing Snack Time

Weston McEwen

Angelica Mirnov for her acrylic painting of a peacock

Jaime Gustavson, Art instructor at Union High, presented a $100 Union High School Bobcat Foundation Scholarship Award to Tanner Tracy-Mugrage.

The La Grande Arts Commission also presented a special award to Alora Brown an 11^th grader from La Grande High exhibiting her painting Welcome to My World. The La Grande Arts Commission’s “Promising Young Artist Award” comes with a certificate and check for $50.

“The Nightingale Gallery and EOU congratulates the winners and all the outstanding participants,” said Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery Director  “and we would also like to express our appreciation to the region’s art teachers who went out of their way to make sure their students’ work was included in the exhibit and who do an outstanding job with extremely limited resources.” The following is a list of those area teachers.

Baker City High School-Kristen Bell

Cove High School-Eric Gustavson

Crane Union High School-Connie Robbins

Grant Union High School-J.J. Collier

Joseph High School-Olivia Hinojos

La Grande High School-Mike Schireman

Ontario High School-Pam Helfrich

Union High School-Jaime Gustavson

Weston McEwen High School-Julie Pridgen

The 2013 Eastern Oregon Regional High School Exhibition runs March 8^th through March 20^th. For further information about the exhibition go to http://www.eou.edu/art. You can also check out  the winning artists’ works on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NightingaleGallery

“Tree with Leaves” by Travis Gregory of Union High School, Winner of the 11th Grade Best in Show award.

The annual “Eastern Oregon Regional High School Art Exhibition” opens with an awards presentation and reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 8 in the gallery in Loso Hall at EOU.

Students in grades nine through 12 were invited to submit up to two works each.  High schools with artists scheduled to exhibit are La Grande, Baker, Crane, Cove, Grant Union, Joseph, Ontario and Union.

“We are excited to be able to present the work of such a large selection of student artists,” said Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery director. “It is our hope to promote the next generation of area artists, as well to encourage others to support the vital role the visual arts in play in education.”

EOU art faculty jury the exhibition and will award a number of honors, including several for gifted area high school seniors. Each of these awards is accompanied by an EOU art program scholarship.  Award certificates will be presented in Best of Show for grades nine, 10 and 11. Honorable mentions will also be made, and the La Grande Arts Commission will sponsor a cash award for an outstanding work by a La Grande High School student.

Works will be on display through March 20. Nightingale Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.  For more information visit www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery/ or follow the gallery on Facebook.

Emily Bradley, Best of show 9th Grade, 2012

Peeke’s collages go on display at the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College, Feb. 22-Apr. 12. He’ll also give an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. Mar. 29 in Olin Hall, Room 130 at Whitman.

This upcoming show follows Peeke’s recent guest appearance at the Saranac Art Projects‘ exhibition in Spokane and the debut of the winter issue of Gambling the Aisle, featuring his artwork on the cover and an in-depth interview on page 16.

Peeke often creates his collages utilizing discarded black and white images as a focal point.

“The largely ignored and seemingly inconsequential bits of ephemera that once had a purpose, still have a presence, but now idle in disuse. I combine, layer, juxtapose, glue, tape and re-contextualize these bits and pieces of detritus in order to reincarnate and recharge them,” the artist says.

“Through the process of collage, these snippets of the past combine to become at once something fresh and familiar. They both exemplify and explore the duality that is the transient, disposable nature of our culture, as well as the necessity to create tradition and solidify a cultural continuity.”

In addition to his studio practice and duties as gallery director, Peeke teaches art and art history at EOU and is a contributing writer for Kolaj Magazine. He is represented by Gallery IMA in Seattle.

Peeke received his bachelor of fine arts from Kendall College of Art and Design and a master of fine arts from the University of Idaho. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibits throughout the U.S. and abroad, and his collages have appeared in multiple publications. His works are included in the permanent collections of EOU, Lockhaven University, the Solara-Simpson Housing Group and the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction.

The Nightingale Gallery of Eastern Oregon University is pleased to present the exhibition Quietude. Curated by Cory Peeke the Nightingale Gallery’s director, the exhibit presents the work of six artists whose works communicate a decidedly quiet attitude.

The exhibition opens Friday, February 8 with a reception from 6-8pm in the gallery located in Loso Hall.  The show will run through Friday, March 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 11am to 4pm.

Quietude exhibits a selection of works by Nathan Abels, Amelia Hankin, Armin Mühsam, Nate Orton, Rachel Richford and Arun Sharma. The artists, who work in a variety of media including video, painting, drawing and mixed media, each produce works that explore how silence expresses itself visually.

Denver, Colorado artist Nathan Abels will present a selection of his ephemeral images. Abels’ paintings express what the artist calls a “paused narrative” and elegantly capture fleeting moments such as the play of light through a veiled window.

Amelia Hankin’s drawings begin as observations of microscopic imagery and evolve into meditations on the power and meaning of the natural world.  The Virginia artist’s works encourage viewers to disconnect from the virtual world and reconnect with the natural.

Armin Mühsam, a German native who resides in Missouri presents a selection of his paintings that depict mankind’s assertion of control over the land. The solitude in Mühsam’s lonely landscapes encourages viewers to reflect on their impact on and place in the natural world.

Oregon artist Nate Orton presents a selection of his drawings and mixed media works on wood. Orton’s enigmatic images explore the harmonious relationship between the experienced and the observed.

Rachel Ritchford of Brooklyn, New York is represented by several of her idiosyncratic landscapes. The paintings connect the disparate motifs of abstraction and representation and as Ritchford says, “become meditative environments.”

American artist Arun Sharma who currently resides in Australia presents his compelling video (de) composition. The film depicts a clay bust, a self portrait of the artist, slowly disintegrating in a pool of water. The slow-falling flakes of clay and the floating tendrils of clay fog create a spiritual, calm and highly engrossing image.

“Some works are meditative, some explore the possibilities of isolation and yet others give viewers an overwhelming sense of calm, but all of the works on exhibit are pervaded by a quiet stillness,” said Cory Peeke, the exhibit’s curator. “Both formally beautiful and conceptually engaging each artist’s work will provide viewers with a respite in which to reflect away from the auditory and visual noise of our everyday world.”

Prior to the exhibition opening, Armin Mühsam will visit campus and do two presentations about his work. The first will be a short talk about twelve of his paintings that were recently purchased through the state’s Percent for Art program and are on permanent display in Inlow Hall. Mühsam will present his talk about these specific works at 1pm on Wednesday, February 6 in the first floor corridor of Inlow Hall. Mühsam’s second presentation will be a slide lecture about his larger body of work and studio practice. The slide talk will take place Thursday, February 7 at 6pm in room 101 of Zabel Hall. Both presentations are free and open to the public.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, OR.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 11AM-4PM.  For more information please visit our website: http://www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery/ or follow us on Facebook.

The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, January 11 from 6-8pm in the gallery located in Loso Hall.  The show will run through Friday, February 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 11am to 4pm.

The biennial Faculty Exhibition features work from the six nationally and internationally recognized artists who make up EOU’s art department and offers a collective view of their recent creative endeavors. The integration of the each artist’s body of work into the communal space of the Nightingale Gallery allows viewers to explore visual relationships amongst the artists as well as consider the newest trends in the work of some of this area’s most dynamic and respected artists.

The six artists with works on exhibit are Professor of sculpture, Doug Kaigler; Associate Professor and Director of the Nightingale Gallery, Cory Peeke; Associate Professor of painting, Jessica Plattner; Assistant Professor of printmaking, Susan Murrell; Assistant Professor of photography, Michael Sell and Visiting Assistant Professor of ceramics Jess Riva Cooper.

Doug Kaigler will present some of his most recent sculptural works which both feature and explore the elemental materials of wood, stone and water. Cory Peeke and Jessica Plattner will each present some of their most recent collage works. Peeke’s works feature found vintage photography which through the process of collage combines with other elements to become something both fresh and familiar. Plattner’s collages depict her infant daughter in a variety of surreal settings and act as a meditation on the magical possibilities of childhood. Susan Murrell will exhibit a selection of prints made during her summer residency at the Crow Shadow Institute. The photographic portraits that Mike Sell has on view are part of his larger investigation into fictional and real selves and how the Internet enables users to fictionalize themselves in a public manner. And visiting artist Jess Riva Cooper, who is filling in for Peter Johnson while he is on sabbatical, will present a selection of her newest ceramic sculpture inspired by the literature of Yiddish folklore, science fiction, and magical realism.

“Just as we six artists have come together to create a vibrant Art program at Eastern Oregon University we have worked together to create a dynamic exhibition which explores the individual talents of each as well as the collaborative nature inherent in our close knit program,” said Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery Director.

For more on each individual artist and their work please visit the EOU Art program faculty webpage: http://www.eou.edu/art/faculty/.

In conjunction with the exhibit the artists will present a gallery talk about their work on Thursday, January 24 from 5-7 p.m. in Nightingale Gallery. The talk is free and open to the public.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, OR.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 11AM-4PM.  For more information please visit our website: http://www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery/ or follow us on Facebook.

This year’s Featured Artist is Linda Peterson. Peterson grew up in Burns and has drawn and painted from a very young age. She attended Eastern Oregon University where she majored in Education with Art as a secondary degree and taught for many years before becoming an Artist-in-Education.

Peterson along with Jan Clark, Sue Orlaske and Denise Elizabeth Stone form the Batik Convergence group. The group is dedicated to exploring batik watercolor which is a method of painting with watercolors on handmade papers using beeswax to create a resist for the paint. Peterson, both individually and as a member of the group, has exhibited widely and won numerous awards for her painting including Best of Show at the 3rd annual Union County Arts and Culture Center exhibit.  Peterson has generously donated one of her signature batik watercolors to be this year’s main raffle piece.

“Linda is an extremely productive and generous artist who has participated in Season’s Faire since its inception,” said Cory Peeke, Vice Chair of the Arts Commission and Director of the Nightingale Gallery. Linda’s playful work “Curtain Time” is sure to be a hit with the auction attendees.

The other participating artists have each donated a piece of their work, which will be auctioned to the public, beginning at 7:30 pm.  The auction pieces may be previewed from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Loso Hall lobby outside the Nightingale Gallery.

Hors d’oeuvres and exquisite desserts created by local culinary experts will be served throughout the evening.  There will be a no-host wine bar as well as coffee and punch available.

Funds raised from this event benefit the annual Arts for All festival, a children’s day of hands-on art experiences offered at no cost.  Children can experiment with painting, printmaking, pottery, music, weaving, theater and many other types of art.  Held the third weekend in April, Friday is reserved for children with special needs while Saturday is open to everyone.  It is estimated that as many as 500 children participate each year.

Tickets are $15 if purchased in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at Sunflower Books, Mitre’s Touch Art Gallery and the EOU Bookstore or by calling Minnie Tucker at 962-1352, Ext. 201.

Questions may be addressed to Minnie Tucker, 962-1352, Ext. 201, e-mail mtucker@cityoflagrande.org.