(Above: Megaladon Shark, metal sculpture by Eugene artist Jud Turner)

By Randi Bjornstad

The Maude Kerns Art Center plans its shows months or even years ahead, but the title of the first show of 2021, If Not Now, When?, seems preternaturally appropriate to the times.

Tim Boyden’s Flutterbys Tell No Lies

Beyond that, of the four artists in the show — Tim Boyden, Ila Rose, Jud Turner, and Michael Whitenack — more than one has experienced personal challenges in the past year that have given them an even more heightened sense of what the exhibit means, artistically and personally.

Tim Boyden, for example, struggled throughout 2020 not only with the aftermath of his difficult decision in 2019 to close his downtown Eugene gallery, Out on a Limb, after eight years of operation, but also faced serious health issues that compromised his ability, if not his desire, to pursue his own sculptural art as well as to collaborate with other artists.

The concept for the collaborative If Not Now, When? exhibit came from artist Michael Whitenack after he and Boyden joined forces to create a sculptural creature representing a composite of their ideas and skills. In a news release announcing the show at the Maude Kerns Art Center, Boyden described it as about “community, collaboration, and positivity.”

The exhibit includes individual works by all four artists, but also various pieces done collaboratively by artist teams. Several of the collaborations involve imaginary “beings,” including a sculpture that depicts the head of a donkey on the body of a praying mantis.

Calm Between Storms, by artist Ila Rose

But If Not Now, When? also showcases the talents of the individual artists. Rose’s paintings range from representational to surreal and include nearly a dozen street murals on buildings in Eugene. The show will feature at least a half-dozen of her large paintings, as well as several collaborative pieces with her fellow artists.

Turner is known for metal and other sculptures — the Great Blue Heron at the corner of East 13th Avenue and Alder Street near the University of Oregon campus comes to mind — that often incorporate found objects and mixed-media assemblages. His themes often address mortality, environmental sustainability, and spirituality.

Whitenack creates three-dimensional works that present whimsy with hard edges to explore political and social issues, using his pieces to present a story or issue in a way that does not preach but instead raises questions.

“Mother Nature” plays a primary role in Boyden’s assemblages, which use mostly wood that he tries to retain as close to its natural composition and beauty as possible while still presenting them in ways that are not necessarily expected.

This show is sponsored by Eugene couple Nancy Pobanz, an artist who creates her own pigments from Oregon soils, rocks, and plants, and attorney David Wade.

Creating an exhibit that involves four singularly different artists — creating individually and collaboratively — can be a challenge, all admit.

Collaboration means “leaving your ego at the door,” Boyden acknowledges, but it also means that “you’re changed after you work on a piece with another artist.”

For his part, Turner mostly creates solo, but he recognizes that “collaborations are a chance to push boundaries and play with the creative process.”

To Rose, the strength of collaboration lies in teaching artists to communicate with each other, even if it is “sometimes uncomfortable.”

If Not Now, When?

When: Jan. 15, 2021 through Feb. 12, 2021

Where: Maude Kerns Art Center, 1910 E. 15th Ave., Eugene (corner of 15th and Villard streets)

Details: The Maude Kerns Art Center follows State of Oregon and Oregon Health Authority guidelines for mask wearing and social distancing; artwork may be viewed and purchased in person or online

Special event: Virtual talk with the artists via Zoom from 6 pm. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb.4; for information go online to mkartcenter.org

Gallery Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday when exhibits are on display

Information: 541-345-1571 or mkartcenter.org

Wrong Side of the Tracks by Michael Whitenack