(Above: Painted Hills, digital photography by Renee Sorseth, on display at Full Circle Fitness)

Posted by Anne-Allegra Bennett

This month’s official guided tour is hosted by Kate Ali, the city of Eugene’s public art manager and also an artist, designer, and co-founder of Gray Space. The guided tour begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. and features talks by artists at each 30-minute stop.

However, those who want to do the First Friday ArtWalk at their own pace and their choice of stops are welcome to do so.

Official guided tour

The first stop on the official guided tour will be at 5:30 p.m. at FOOD for Lane County’s Dining Room (270 W. 8th Ave) and features Kari Johnson’s new mural that is part of the 20x21EUG Mural Project. There’s also a mural on the north wall at 755 Charnelton St. by Nepalese artist Kiran Maharjan, titled H11235, and the parking garage at Seventh and Willamette streets has a mural by Japanese-American artist Aiko.

The 20x21EUG Mural Project aims to complete 20 or more world-class outdoor murals by the time the 2021 IAAF World Championships convene in Eugene, suffusing the city’s urban landscape with colorful art that benefits the community and its identity.

Several other murals that aren’t part of the tour are also nearby:

  • Artist Fintan Magee (Australia) on the south wall of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce at 1401 Willamette St.
  • Sidney Waerts (TheNetherlands) on the west wall at Well Balanced at 1274 W. Seventh Ave.
  • Two murals by Martha Cooper (USA) and Adele Renault (Belgium) at the Coffee Plant Roaster at 2836 W. 11th Ave. (reception 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 2

The guided tour stops at The New Zone Gallery (22 W. 7th Ave) at 6:00 p.m., where the Salon des Refusés — artwork not accepted into the Mayor’s Art Show —  is on show, along with a second exhibit, by JoEllen Gregori-Waldvogel of acrylic paintings of international cultures called Through The Years….People from Many Places. The New Zone Gallery also has the Temple of Zone, a structure inside the gallery space that offers artistic “shelter” for the ideas and creations of individual artists, free from criticism. There will be live American Roots music by Al Rivers on acoustic guitar.

Sarah Ciampa’s Recycling, part of the Mayor’s Art Show at the Maurie Jacobs Community Room in the Hult Center

Then comes a stop at the official Mayor’s Art Show at 6:30 p.m. at the Maurie Jacobs Community Room in the Hult Center for the Performing Arts at Seventh and Willamette streets, a juried show of contemporary visual art.

The City of Eugene’s BRIDGE Exhibitions at 7:00 p.m. is the last stop on the tour and involves art at several locations, including:

  • Artist Josh Sands’ Breathe, Step, Arrive, a series of imagined “transit maps” along walkways from the Smith Family Bookstore at Fifth and Willamette streets along Fifth to Pearl Street.
    Location: The series begins at Smith Family Bookstore on Willamette St and extends to the 5th & Pearl area. The maps show each location in its relation to physical and psychological characteristics.
  • Artist Darryl Evans’ Free Your Soles on the north side at Fifth and Oak streets features more than 1,000 shoes “freed” by the community and hanging from a tree like fruit. The installation includes information about the origins and fate of the shoes, which will be donated, recycled, or reused as art after the end of the exhibit.
  • Artist Tracy Sydor’s Miss Maple at The Velvet Edge Boutique at the Fifth Street Public Market, 205 E. Sixth Ave., grew out of Sydor’s childhood experience of a first-grade teacher to stepped forward as a protector and the personal mythology that resulted.

More arts and culture

As usual, many other galleries, shops, and eateries also will remain open in the downtown Eugene area from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the ArtWalk:

• Broadway Commerce Center (44 W. Broadway) — Artwork by Julia Ceo Nemeth.
• ECO Sleep Solutions and Gallery (25 East 8th Ave.) — Felted wool home décor and apparel by Tylar Merrill; clay tile collages by Annie Heron; hand-painted wood pieces and hand-painted silk apparel and other items by Lybi Thomas; wood and stone carvings and wood sculptures by Cedar Caredio; and Luminessence light sculptures by Stephen White.
• Epic Seconds (30 E. 11th Ave.) — The Animals Think We Make the Strangest Sounds, new work by Benjamin Terrell; on display through August.
• Eugene Public Library (100 W. 10th Ave.) — Large, bright colorful watercolors of everyday objects and events by Tim Goss. Theater by the Fools Haven acting company, Shakespeare’s Tales Within Tales, starts at 6:00 p.m.
• Fenario Gallery (273 W. 8th Ave.) — A retrospective of the private collection of art director Brent Ross, including work by visionary artists Robert Venosa, Mark Henson, and Jerome Garcia.
• Full Circle Fitness (1711 Willamette St., #302) — Acrylic paintings by Jennifer Greenwell and digital photography by Renee Sorseth.
• Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St.) — Eugene Biennial Award Winners: One Year Later, a group show featuring sculpture, paintings, ceramics and mixed-media by Kathleen Caprario, Suma Elan, Rebecca Mannheimer, Sarah Peterman, Beverly Soasey (1950-2018), Michael Whitenack, and Betsy Wolfston.
• InEugene Real Estate (100 E. Broadway) — Following Frida, bold color portraits by Shade McVay in acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media.
• The Lincoln Gallery (309 W. 4th Ave.) — FREEDOM, a community exhibition of visual, written, and/or spoken art. Work by Tracy Sydor in the Beverly Soasey Community Gallery. Music by Argentinian-Singer Songwriter Cecilia Zabal from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in conjunction with Eugene Arte Latino.
• LovaKava Kava Bar & Restaurant (120 W. Broadway — Original art and Kava.
• Mosaic Fair Trade Collection (28 E. Broadway) — Handmade, fair trade jewelry, furniture, homewares, unique gifts, clothing, accessories, and more from all around the world.
• Oregon Art Supply (1020 Pearl St.) — Seeking Understanding and Taking Refuge: A Year of Watercolor, a series of paintings with themes of connection and conflict by Terry Duffy. Open until 7:30 p.m.
• Passionflower Design (128 E. Broadway) — Jewelry, clothes, and gifts featuring regional and U.S. artists and designers. Open until 6:30 p.m.
• Sparrow Studios (136 E. Broadway) — Grand opening with prints and original drawings of gig posters, original book illustrations, and one-of-a-kind prints by artist and illustrator Neal Williams. More info: www.sparrow-studios.com

Tammie Albert’s acrylic pours, on display at  Wild Light Yoga, feature the colors of the Pride Flag

• Starlight Lounge (830 Olive St.) — Vibrant Herstories Real and Imagined from the Heart and Spirit, acrylic paintings by Frankie LeeJohnson. Instagram: @flotuspire.
• Townshend’s Teahouse (41 W. Broadway) — Benjamin Terrell’s oil and watercolor paintings are real and imagined remembrances, Water on Both Sides.
• Wild Light Yoga Center (820 Charnelton St.) — Acrylic pours by Tammie Albert, featuring colors of the Pride Flag, in support of Pride month; on display through August.
• White Lotus Gallery (767 Willamette St.) — Highlights from the Gallery Collection,  featuring showcases works from the gallery’s Asian fine arts collection, including Japanese woodblock prints from multiple eras, and prints created from etching and mezzotint.

Additional Free Events

Trashion — Opal Center for Arts and Education and A3 High School (Willamette St from Kesey Square to Hult Center) presents a live mannequin fashion show that supports reuse and zero waste culture, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Feedback to the Future — presented by Sean Sisson in the walkway alcove between Graduate Eugene and the Hult Center, with live video installation using CRT TVs and dead media formats such as VHS, CEDs, and video feedback loops. 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

#instaballet  — Oregon Contemporary Theatre, 194 W. Broadway. Dancers from Eugene Ballet Company create a new ballet with audience-suggested movements, starting at 5:30 p.m., with resulting performance at 8:00 p.m.

The Little Hands Art Center — 245 W. 8th Ave. Child care provided during the First Friday ArtWalk, with art projects, games, and movies; $6/hour per child, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sign up by Thursday 8/1 at www.littlehandsartcenter.com

Music in Kesey Square — Broadway and Willamette streets. Features Oleada, a Portland-based, instrumental music project that combines elements of chicha, psychedelic cumbia, jazz, dub, surf and post-rock. Oleada has performed all over the greater Portland area, as well as weddings, fundraisers for nonprofits, and Latin heritage events in Portland, Woodburn, Eugene, and Salem. Their first official EP, “El Pueblo,” released in December 2018, is available on many music purchasing sites. 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Artist Marketplace (Kesey Square) — Local artists showcase their original artwork of various mediums in this marketplace-like atmosphere. 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

No Shame Eugene (99 W. 10th Ave.) — Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with live music. The show begins at 8:00 p.m. with 15 original, five-minute acts including monologues, sketch comedy, and the experimental. Each show includes the first 15 acts to register with the host. Come to perform, but there’s no shame in just watching.

 

About Lane Arts Council

Lane Arts Council, founded in 1976, is a nonprofit organization that cultivates strong and creative arts communities in Lane County, including in-school arts education programs, support for local artists and arts organizations, and coordination of community programs such as the First Friday ArtWalk.

August ArtWalk Sponsor: CAMERON McCARTHY,  a 23-member landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm with offices in Eugene and Portland. They are lead consultant for the Eugene Town Square Concept Design project and are currently facilitating an extensive public involvement process that will inform the final design improvements including a new City Hall, all-season Farmers Market and a vibrant Eugene Saturday Market. They are located in the historic Quackenbush building in downtown Eugene.

August ArtWalk Media Sponsor: KLCC, NPR for Oregonians, brings the arts to its 88,000 listeners with on air features, performances and reviews. KLCC provides NPR news, local and regional news, and a wide variety of music at 89.7 FM, klcc.org, and the free KLCC App.

Acrylic paintings by Jennifer Greenwell are on show at Full Circle Fitness at 1711 Willamette St., No. 302