The Maude Kerns Art Center presents two shows to begin the 2025 exhibit season: “Flow: The Language of Nature” and “Summoning the Light,” opening on January 10 with a free, public reception from 5 – 7 pm. Both exhibits are on view through Friday, February 7. The Title Sponsors for “Flow: The Language of Nature” and “Summoning the Light” are Nancy Pobanz and David Wade.
In the Salon Gallery is “Summoning the Light” showcasing photographer Linda Devenow and painter Laure Shipley, both local artists whose Willamette Valley landscapes emphasize the role of light. Devenow and Shipley surpass the limitations of their mediums in special ways. Devenow experiments with infrared images that expose waves of light the human eye cannot ordinarily see. She creates dreamlike, often painterly, photographs with a strong emotional impact. Shipley’s landscape paintings, including images of waterfalls, lakes, and rivers, are characterized by a near photographic precision. She enhances the quality of light by meticulously applying metal foil to the surface, emphasizing points of bright sunlight. The public is invited to an Artist Talk with “Summoning the Light” artists Linda Devenow and Laure Shipley on Saturday, February 1, from 1 – 2 pm.
In the Main Gallery is “Flow: The Language of Nature” featuring McMinnville, Oregon artists Britt Block and Julie Cassin and Portland, Oregon artist Vickie Meguire. All three artists share a focus on the healing quality of nature, particularly of water. Block says that her river paintings are about being present, “witnessing the river flowing through her, and witnessing herself as the river, and the flow of change.” Cassin, who works in mixed media on panel, focuses on small, often unnoticed elements in nature, like stones in a river. Meguire, a printmaker, is influenced by Japanese aesthetics and expresses her admiration for nature and the seasons in her work. Together, Block, Cassin, and Meguire evoke the flow of nature and its cycles from different and intriguing vantage points.
