(Above: A painting by Carol Petty, whose work on display at The New Zone Gallery seeks to increase awareness about the global effects of climate change.)

Edited by Randi Bjornstad

The ArtWalk guide for self-guided tours of downtown Eugene’s First Friday Artwalk will be available on June 2 at the still-new Farmers Market Pavilion at 85 E. 8th Ave. While there, take in new dance and musical compositions as part of an ArtsAlive Portraits presentation, as well as checking out the offerings at the Artist Marketplace.

The First Friday ArtWalk runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (unless noted below in the alphabetical list of participating arts venues and other businesses), and there is no admission fee.

Stops on the June 2 Downtown Eugene First Friday ArtWalk

Allies LLC (131 E. 11th Ave.) — Array of artworks by Allies neurodiverse community in a variety of mediums, featuring a silent auction of clay, cement, and epoxy 3D wall art by Gina, with all proceeds going to the Allies Art Fund, as well as paintings by featured artist Paul McGuire.

Art with Alejandro (5th Street Public Market, 246 E. 5th Ave., Second floor, Suite #224) — Diverse works by owner Alejandro Sarmiento in varied subjects and styles; watch the artist at work. Public and private classes available.

Detail from Terry Holloway and the Fuzzy Beuys Electric Jelly at ArtCity Studios on Broadway

ArtCity Studios on Broadway (160 E. Broadway, basement level) — Terry Holloway and the Fuzzy Beuys  showcase Electric Jelly, a surreal and immersive experience featuring video projection, sound, UV lights, reflective streamers, fluorescent rocks, and neon jellyfish, plus The Soul Success Medals for Humanity art experience by Arianne (Air) Taylor and the open studios of Marina Hajek, Sandra Honda, and WheelHaus Arts, which represents students in grades K-12. From 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., members of Eugene Printmakers will print a word of your choice or creation.

Beaudet Gallery at 5th St. Makers Row (590 Pearl St., Suite 106) — June celebrates the Oregon Coast and pearls, the birthstone for the month, and one of the most complicated findings in the jewelry world with intricacies that make them complex to design and execute.

Books with Pictures Eugene (99 W. Broadway, Suite C —  Small Abstractions, a series of small monoprint assemblages by Debra Jacques, exploringthe intersection of love and joy by way of organic shapes in multimedia Technicolor.

Broadway Commerce Center (44 W. Broadway) — Third Space is the first collaboration between husband and wife Erin & Elizabeth Even, featuring paintings, watercolors, collage, textile art, AI, weaving, and papercraft.

The Center for Art Research (510 Oak St.) — Dreaming Like a Beehive, an exhibition by Portland-based artist Kate Wagle examines visual practices from both art and science, including her botanical photographs of an iconic 1903 park in Portland, Oregon, examining the carefully curated collection and relating it to historical botanical illustrations from collections in England, France, and the USA. Her work includes layers of pigment printed images from multiple sources that parallel the historical research. Open until 7 p.m., with an artist talk at 6 p.m.

Epic Seconds (30 E. 11th Ave.) — The One Wall Gallery presents Parallel Lands, work by John Richardson and Benjamin Terrell. Although using different mediums — one pencil and the other oil paint and stain — both examine the relationships between space and shape. This exhibit runs through July 31, with a companion show at the University of Connecticut’s Visual Art Installation Space, where Richardson teaches.

Eugene Public Library (100 W. 10th Ave., Second floor Newspapers and Magazines Room) — Quilts and carved gourds by Gwen Heineman, as well as photos from the hiking trails of Mt. Pisgah by Don Myers. Music from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. by the Platypus Clarinet Quartet.

Flux Crystals (280 W. Broadway) — Heather Sterling-Minder’s art depicts the figure in imagined, ethereal, and dreamlike spaces, using allegory and symbolism to capture human spirit. Artist remarks at 7 p.m.

FUSE Jewelry Collective (112 E. 13th Ave.) — A “newish”place for jewelry lovers to learn, shop, create, and connect. The showroom displays collections by local jewelry designers plus small-batch gift items, and the June ArtWalk features live music by cellist Ben Hamilton, jewelry-making demonstrations by FUSE co-founder Una Barrett, and studio tours of the FUSE Classroom, plus a raffle drawing for a free metal-smithing class.

J. Scott Cellars on 5th Tasting Room (207 E. 5th Ave., Suite 105) — Works by impressionist landscape artist Jenifer Billman/Mann showcasing the beauty of the West using the impasto technique with palette knives. Also on display, Carolyn Quinn’s series, The Practice of Discovery, abstract paintings influenced by intuition, dreams, and channeling.

Jazzy Ladies (560 Oak St., Suite 130) — Water, Sky and Earth, watercolor paintings by Mara Thygeson highlighting the beauty and harmony of nature and often created outdoors in Bolinas, Calif.

Karin Clarke at the Gordon (590 Pearl St., Suite 105) — Constellations, a new spotlight show of work by contemporary artist Zoë Cohen, who grew up surrounded by mid-century modern art and design, which had a profound impact, along with abstract expressionism and contemporary art, on her painting style. Meet the artist from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St.) — JAAN, large scale photographs and Arterioles, new smaller mixed-media works by Naeemeh Naeemaei. Born in Iran, Naeemeh is an internationally recognized artist who spent several years in Eugene, where she exhibited at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in 2019. Naeemaei has actively contributed to Iran’s environmental movement and has received many accolades, such as the Wildlife Artist of the Year in 2016.

Midtown Gallery at the Midtown Arts Center (174 E. 16th Ave.) — Katsuyuki Shibata showcases hand-picked photographs from 2005-2022 in his new exhibit, Understated Beauty of the Pacific Northwest & Beyond, telling stories through a combination of hidden gem landscapes, nature, and wildlife encounters.

One Vision Nutrition (946 Willamette St.) — Abstract artwork by James Otter.

Healing through mosaic art is a theme at the Oregon Social Learning Program, this detail by instructor Stephanie Jackson.

Oregon Art Supply (1020 Pearl St.) — Bird by Bird, abstract acrylic mixed-media paintings by Rebecca Mannheimer, showing how each piece influences the next, using the natural world as a reference point. Artist talk at 6:30 p.m. Open until 7:30 p.m.

OSLP Arts & Culture Center (110 E .11th Ave., Suite C) — Every Piece Matters features mosaic art instructor Stephanie Jackson, as well as OSLP artists and community members. It emphasizes the healing work achieved through mosaic arts, a process of creating beauty by utilizing differing shapes and seemingly broken pieces to create an intriguing whole. Tiles will contribute to a community mural in Oakridge.

Starlight Lounge (830 Olive St.) — Bri Clement and Savannah Bryan of Morphed Creations and The Bone Menagerie proudly make ethically sourced oddities and artwork using bones, insects, crystals, dried florals, and fungi, with each having their own twist on the craft.

The New Zone Gallery (110 E. 11th Ave.) — In addition to the eclectic mix of art created by the New Zone members, there are three special shows during the month of June:

  • Saving Our Lands & Seas, paintings by Carol Petty, through which she seeks to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on Mother Earth.
  • Artifacts from the Pandemic, a series of work by David Diethelm that offers overt references to politics and the pandemic.
  • Finding Light, paintings by Alysia Crawford that explore how light guides us and is a primal partner in our humanity.

Windowfront Exhibitions – Empty storefronts become galleries:

  • 824 Charnelton St. — Vexing me!, a multi-medium installation by Zoë Gamell Brown welcoming visitors to a Guyanese American meal. Her creative practice speaks to multiplicity within Guyanese identity and extensions of the Caribbean to the Gulf Coast. Themes in Zoë’s work revolve around culinary catharsis, collective and self-care to move beyond monolithic definitions of artistic expression and ecological knowledge.
  • 833 Willamette St. — What I Bring to the Table by Stephanie Jackson is the result of a partnership between the Creative Connections Program and Hosea Youth Services to offer therapeutic art opportunities to unhoused youth. These youths were invited to reflect on personal strengths and create stained-glass mosaic art pieces as well as a collaborative stained-glass mosaic tabletop to show how they have the ability to enhance and positively affect lives around them.
  • 99 W. 10th Ave., south windows — Diversity Project, a photography installation created by Kenji Shimizu, encourages and celebrates diversity from an immigrant’s point of view. From Japan, Shimizu uses his passion for taking portraits that resemble Renaissance paintings to highlight the richness of diversity in our community and celebrate how diversity is already helping us. He hopes to inspire the community to see the values our differences can bring to make us stronger, wiser, more empathetic, kinder, and closer together.

Special events and exhibits

ArtsAlive: Portraits (Farmers Market Pavilion, 85 E. 8th Ave.) — ArtsAlive is a platform for new compositions and choreography to be celebrated by the community, from amateurs to professionals, children to seniors. ArtsAlive is supported by funding and collaboration with Lane Arts Council, City of Eugene Cultural Services, Farmers Market Pavilion, and Play Music Lessons. Performances by:

  • Paul Safar — Eugene premiere of Homage to bell hooks with Krump dancer Big Snubb, violinist Anthony Dyer, baritone Adrian Rosales, and pianist Rebecca Stager
  • Fermata Ballet Collective
  • Paul Safar/Ben Farrell — four hand piano, Debussy with dancers Sara Stockwell, Sterling Manka, Catherine Bonomini, Susanna Meyer, Roxy Plummer
  • Contact Improv Demo
  • flex Studios with Ty Conner and Mimi
  • Oregon Children’s Choir
  • DanceAbility International
  • Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble with Sophia MacMillan
  • Dancers Marc and Pamela Seigel
  • The Whiteaker Hot Club

Chelsea Beaudrie Pop-Up (Gordon Hotel lobby, 555 Oak St.) — Large and vibrant, textural abstract paintings for the ArtWalk, plus a sneak peek of her 12”x12” series before the official release in July.

Grassroots to the Blues (5th Street Public Market, 296 E. 5th Ave., 2nd floor) — Soul and blues music by Bill Rhoades and Party Kings, with proceeds supporting Healthy Moves, which brings movement, fitness, and fun to elementary students through in-school programs in the Eugene-Springfield area. 6 p.m. t0 8 p.m.

#instaballet (Capitello Wines, 540 Charnelton St.) — Audience assistance helps #instaballet make a new dance in real-time by suggesting new moves for the dancers to perform. This event features local dancers from the Eugene Ballet. No dance  experience necessary, all ages welcome. Watch anytime between 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., when the final community-created piece will be presented.

Resonance Building (840 Lawrence St.)  — Open House at the Resonance Building, a space dedicated to community, creativity, and integrative practice in a range of healing arts. See the gardens and treatment spaces, meet the practitioners, and see artworks by mixed-media artist Melanie Hamilton, plus a vocal concert at 8 p.m. by Emma Abrams and Tori Yoder of Portal.

June 2023 ArtWalk Sponsor

KCL Engineering is a MEPT (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing & Technology) design consulting firm that is fearless about pursuing new and interesting building projects. Their focus on empowerment, flexibility, and opportunity has created a culture of happy engineers who strive to delight clients with practical, inspired innovation.

About Lane Arts Council

Lane Arts Council is a nonprofit organization that works to cultivate strong and creative arts communities throughout Lane County, providing high-quality arts experiences, engaging people of all ages in arts education, and encouraging artistic endeavors.

Katsuyuki Shibata’s art is on display at the Midtown Art Center