Gallery exhibition, artist presentations on tap in February

Gallery exhibition, artist presentations on tap in February

Contact: Cory Peeke | Nightingale Gallery Director, EOU
541-962-3584 | cpeeke@eou.edu

January 29, 2013

Arun Sharma’s “(de) composition,” still image from video (2009).

LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – An exploration of the visual expression of silence arrives in EOU’s Nightingale Gallery with the exhibition “Quietude” opening Friday, Feb. 8 with a reception from 6-8 p.m. in Loso Hall.

Curated by Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery director and EOU professor of art, the show includes a video, painting, drawing and mixed media, and the work of all six participating artists communicates a decidedly quiet attitude.

“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,” Peeke said. “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.” 

Denver 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 his lonely landscapes encourages viewers to reflect on their impact on and place in the natural world. 

Armin Mühsam’s “Standardized Nocturnal,” acrylic on canvas (2012).

Twelve of Mühsam’s paintings are also on permanent display in Inlow Hall, acquired as part of Oregon’s Percent for Art program. Mühsam will give a presentation on these works at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 in the first-floor corridor of Inlow. A second presentation will be a slide lecture about his larger body of work and studio practice. The lecture begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 in Zabel Hall, Room 101. Both presentations are free and open to the public.

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, 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 and floating tendrils of clay fog create a spiritual, calm and highly engrossing image.

View “Quietude” through Friday, March 1. 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.