Current Exhibits   Previous Exhibits   Exhibit Schedule   Back to previous exhibits April 6 - April 29, 2006 THE LAURA RUSSO GALLERY IS PLEASED TO PRESENT: Mary Josephson - Transplanted, New Paintings Betty Merken - New Works on Paper OPENING RECEPTION: First Thursday April 6, 2006: First Thursday Hours, 5-8pm Mary Josephson's figurative paintings resonate with vibrancy. The monumentality and expressiveness of her figures are accentuated by vivid colors and influenced by such artists as Paul Gauguin and Diego Rivera. Her figures may be situated in nature, lost in thought, communing with the animals, or holding a favorite fruit. In this exhibition Josephson explores being transported by the senses through memory and association. Her childhood memories include moving frequently from place to place and recollect a connection between certain locations and a love of fruits and vegetables. These remembered objects become symbols for a life gone by enabling the mind and senses to be transported to another place. Her lush settings draw the viewer in to realize thoughts or memories of how things were or might have been. Mary Josephson has exhibited her work for over 20 years. She studied in Paris, France, at the Ecole National Superior des Beaux Arts before receiving a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 1986. Her work has been shown at the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Health Sciences University, the University of Austin, Texas, and the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA. Prominent collections include the Safeco Collection, Microsoft, Oregon State University, Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital, and the Portland Art Museum. Recent commissions include work for the Tigard Public Library, OR, Intersections for the Portland Fire and Rescue, OR, and Catlin Gabel School in Portland. Mary Josephson Backstage with Aurorarising 2005 oil on wood 24" x 19.5"" More examples by Mary Josephson Seattle artist, Betty Merken's painterly monotypes carry a simplicity and grace. Formally, her work is about color and structure, yet simultaneously asserting a painterly impulse. These somewhat apposing concerns create a structured sensuality within the work. Her rich use of color is intuitive and considered. Her colors layer the paper with natural pigments; yellow ochre, sienna, burnt red, indigo and umber, which she mixes herself for greater subtlety and effect. Opaque and transparent areas create a luminosity and depth. Some of Merken¹s monotypes are over six feet tall and her interest in nature and the timeless forms of architecture give the work massive scale pulling the viewer into a literal space. Her minimalist approach to the composition allows the geometry of space to create a place both allusive and enigmatic. Betty Merken earned, a BA in Arts Education from the University of Washington. She also studied art at the University of California at Los Angeles and completed a residency at Crown Point Press in San Francisco. She has taught extensively in Los Angeles and Seattle and exhibited her work since 1992. Her work is found in many public collections including the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts; the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, Portland Art Museum, OR; Grunwald Center for Graphic Arts, UCLA; and Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Betty Merken Red, Blue Quadrant Series I -01621 2006 monotype 30" x 33" More examples by Betty Merken Next month: Lucinda Parker - MOVING, New Paintings Jackie Johnson - New Paintings

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