(Above: Detail from Margaret Prentice’s oil-on-canvas painting, Smith Rock, Oregon)
By Randi Bjornstad
The name of the new show at the White Lotus Gallery in downtown Eugene — She Flies With Her Own Wings — is appropriate in several ways.
First, it’s an exhibit of artwork by 10 artists, all women. In addition, it opened just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8, and the month of March is Women’s History Month. On top of all that, Oregon’s 160th anniversary of statehood, just happened on Feb. 14, and the state’s motto happens to be “She Flies With Her Own Wings.”
What better time to feature Oregon women artists?
This show has a where-shall-I-look-first feeling, partly because of the sheer number of artists but also because of the wide variation in the mediums, styles, and colors in the works.
In designing the show, “We started first with women artists that the gallery already represents,” White Lotus staff member Jennifer Huang said. “Then we reached out to others who were known to friends and clients of the gallery, and the result is a wide-ranging exhibit.”
A prime example is the work of Lillian Pitt, whom Huang describes as “the female equivalent of Rick Bartow,” a widely acclaimed Native American artist who lived on the Oregon coast until his death three years ago and whose work has been widely shown throughout the United States.
Pitt also is Native American, with roots in the Wasco, Yakama, and Warm Springs tribal cultures. Her art in this show includes drypoint prints, lead crystal sculpture, and silver jewelry. She also creates bronze and clay sculpture and masks, tapestry, and mixed-media pieces.
The exhibit also features artwork by Analee Fuentes, Lynda Lanker, Helen Liu, Satoko Motouji, Connie Mueller, Judy Ann Ness, Barbara Setsu Pickett, Nancy Pobanz, and Margaret Prentice, ranging from paintings to prints to textile art.
She Flies With Her Own Wings
When: Through April 13
Where: White Lotus Gallery, 767 Willamette St., Eugene
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Information: 541-345-3276, lin@wlotus.com or online at wlotus.com
