(Above: Photograph of a Cooper’s Hawk in Eugene, by Greg Giesy)

By Randi Bjornstad

The July exhibits at the Emerald Art Center in downtown Eugene offer a wide variety of subject matter and mediums, from the abstract representations of hand-painted silk wall hangings to the ultra-realistic, in-your-face stare of a Cooper’s Hawk contemplating what appears to be a just-grabbed meal.

The Cooper’s Hawk photo is the work of PhotoZone member Greg Giesy. The PhotoZone Gallery membership includes a wide range of photographers who focus on presenting their fine-art photography in area gallery locations, most recently at the new location of the New Zone Gallery in downtown Eugene.

Freedom Dance is an archival jet print by Photozone Gallery member David Simone, who has photographed life in Cuba

PhotoZone has been around since 1988, and its members create photographic art that ranges from the 19th-century process called gum bichromate to 20th-century silver prints to 21st-century digital production.

The group’s featured artist for July is David Simone, who presents a collection of prints titled A Glimpse of Cuban Life.

From the Emerald Art Center side of the artistic offerings, the featured member artists for July are Ellen Gabehart and Merideth Farrell in a duo-show called Music and the Dance of Life. Gabehart’s inclusions feature watercolors of live musicians. Ferrell’s part is her abstracted reaction to the past year-and-more of the coronavirus pandemic, expressed on silk.

There’s also the monthly show of new work by art center members. One of them, Stephany Harrison, is the featured new member, whose work traces her evolution from the precision of black-and-white graphite drawings to a newfound freedom of colorful acrylics.

Emerald Art Center Exhibits, July 2021

When: Through July 30

Where: 500 Main St., Springfield

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday plus 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for downtown Springfield’s Second Friday Art Walk on July 9

Information: 541-726-8595 or emeraldartcenter.org; photozonegallery.com

 

Tropical Fusion, an acrylic painting by new Emerald Art Center member Stephany Harrison