(Above: Artist Margaret Coe’s semi-wild back yard was a continual inspiration for her work during the pandemic years of 2020-2022.)

By Randi Bjornstad

Karin Clarke announces a show of work by longtime Eugene artist Margaret Coe, 27 paintings titled simply, Work, created during the “pandemic years” of 2020 through 2022.

Sequestered during that time, Coe relied upon her own semi-wild Eugene back yard that borders the woods of southeast Eugene to provide her with inspiration and a wealth of botanic and meteorological subject matter.

“These works are such personalized interpretations of the plants and trees around me that they exist as mystical experiences for me rather than representing something,” Coe says in introducing this new collection. “They are meditations.”

However, the new show also includes several paintings from other locations in Oregon, as well as five reworked paintings that originated from earlier trips by the artist to Italy and France.

Coe has been a visible part of the Oregon art scene for more than 50 years, both as a well-known painter and as a teacher of painting at the University of Oregon and Lane Community College.

Her husband, Mark Clarke also is a well-known name among Oregon and Pacific Northwest art aficionados. He died in January 2016 shortly after his 80th birthday. Their work was shown in a duo-career retrospective in 2017-18 at the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

The couple’s two offspring are Karin Clarke, herself a painter as well as running two galleries in downtown Eugene, the main Karin Clarke Gallery and a small gallery space, Karin Clarke at the Gordon in The Alley at the Fifth Street Public Market. Their musician son, Tim Clarke, is a professional trumpet player headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y.

Work, paintings by Margaret Coe

When: Jan. 18 through Feb. 25, 2023

Where: Karin Clarke Gallery, 760 Willamette St., Eugene

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

Special events: Reception for the artist from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21; open 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. during downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk on Feb. 3

Information: Telephone 541-684-7963; email karinclarkegalleries@gmail.com; online at karinclarkegallery.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Reception: Saturday, January 21, 2 – 4 pm

First Friday Artwalk: February 3, 5:30 – 7:30 pm