(Above: Benjamin Butler’s pen drawing, Camping in the Park, 2019, is on display in the 2022 Eugene Biennial at the Karin Clarke Gallery.)

By Randi Bjornstad

By now, it’s probably time to call it a tradition: The fourth Eugene biennial (every other year) mid-summer art exhibit  — the 2022 Eugene Biennial — opens at the Karin Clarke Gallery on Aug. 3, 2022, and runs through Sept. 10.

Michael Whitenack’s whimsical creation, Steelhead Taxi, is wood, metal, and glass with metal fabrication by artist Jud Turner.

Gallerist Clarke came up with the idea in 2016 when the longtime, annual (Eugene) Mayor’s Art Show folded after the city closed the nonprofit Jacobs Gallery that had been housed in the Hult Center for the Performing Arts for 18 years. Reasons included inadequate funding as well as the fact that gallery volunteers had spent all their energy on the project and felt they no longer could continue.

That’s when Clarke came up with her own idea to fill the gap, at least in part, by offering an every-other-year show of work by regional artists. She made it a juried show, inviting other arts aficionados — artists, collectors, curators, teachers — to join her in making the selections.

“I didn’t want to commit to doing something every year, because that is a huge job for one person to pull off,” Clarke said back then. “But I thought I could handle doing it every other year and still give a good opportunity for artists to submit their work for a show.”

Then she came up with another idea: On alternating years, she would invite the award-winners from the previous year’s Biennial to show what they had been up to in the intervening 12 months.

The idea caught on at once. This year, 200 artists Lane, Linn, Lincoln, Benton, Douglas, and Coos counties submitted entries, and 33 were chosen to exhibit their work.

Dark Cloud is the title of Suma Elan’s oil-on-board entry in this year’s biennial show.

The panel of judges included Clarke, printmaker Tallmadge Doyle, and art collector David Hilton.

The artists whose work is in the show are Stephanie Ames, Mark Anderson, Benjamin Butler, Kathleen Caprario, Frederique Chateau, Sarah Ciampa, Bets Cole, Ron Conrad, Doug Davidovich, Suma Elan, Janine Etherington, Kris Hurwit, Vicki Idema, Heather Jacks, Barbara Jansen, Sandy Brown Jensen, Mary Frisbee Johnson, Kitty Kingston, Jan Lintz, Paula Litchfield, Niraja Lorenz, Tom Miller, Danuta Muszynska, Chris Pontrelli, Karen Russo, Josh Sands, Marjorie Taylor, Pamela Thompson, Jud Turner, Libby Wadsworth, Nancy Watterson Scharf, Michael Whitenack, and Betsy Wolfston.

The work they have produced varies widely, from painting and printmaking to photography, mixed-media, fiber art, and sculpture.

Then there are the prizes, in the form of eight awards. First prize is $500, given by city of Eugene’s department of Cultural Services. The three jurors each select a $250 Juror’s Choice Award winner, sponsored by Oregon Art Supply, Whiteaker Printmakers, and the UO Duck Store. The $300 People’s Choice Award is sponsored by the family of the late art collector Eleanor Freeman and is chosen by votes from members of the public who view the show. Three honorable mention awards also will be given.

All winners will receive memberships to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, and they will be invited to show their work in the summer of 2023 at the Karin Clarke Gallery, in a show titled Eugene Biennial Award Winners: One Year Later.

Karin Clarke Gallery presents the 2022 Eugene Biennial

When: Aug. 3 to Sept. 10, 2022

Where: 760 Willamette St., Eugene

Opening reception: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p..m. on Friday, Aug. 5 at the gallery; awards will be announced at 5:30 p.m. during the city of Eugene’s Visual Arts Week kick-off at the new Farmers’ Market Pavilion on West Eighth Avenue between Oak and West Park streets.

Gallery hours: Noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Information: 541-684-7963 or karinclarkegallery.com

Balance, an oil-and-cold-wax painting by Eugene artist Jan Lintz, is one of the pieces of art chosen for display in the 2022 Eugene Biennial show at the Karin Clarke Gallery in downtown Eugene.