Exhibit Sponsor:
Jerry's Home Improvement Center
The Maude Kerns Art Center is proud to present two exhibits, the 26th annual Mayor’s
Teen Art Show and Whiteaker Printmakers 2025 Emerald Print Exchange, both
opening on Friday, September 12. The Mayor’s Teen Art Show features artwork by 34
teen artists from 12 area schools in the Main Gallery. For many of these talented young
artists, the Mayor’s Teen Art Show is their first experience exhibiting in a professional
art gallery. The Emerald Print Exchange showcases 161 unique, hand-pulled prints by
artists from six countries and 28 states in the Art Center’s Salon Gallery. Both the
“Mayor’s Teen Art Show” and the “Emerald Print Exchange” are on view through
October 3.
The Mayor’s Teen Art Show was juried by Thurston High School art educator Perry Joseph, artist and Maude Kerns Art Center instructor Steve Steinaway, and past Mayor’s Teen Art Show award winner Moth S, who is a new instructor at Maude Kerns Art Center. Selected teen artists display work in a wide array of mediums, from works in acrylic and oil to textile and assemblage pieces. The Awards Ceremony takes place on Friday, September 12, beginning at 5 pm. Mayor Kaarin Knudson presents the Mayor’s Choice Award winner. Additional awards, including Best of Show, three Juror’s Choice Awards, and the Maude Kerns Art Center Award will also be announced. The 2025 Mayor’s Teen Art Show is sponsored by Jerry’s Home Improvement Center.
Alexander Baker, 15 years old, from the Academy of Arts and Academics, shows an acrylic painting titled Duality of Man in the 2025 Mayor’s Teen Art Show. With its strong vertical orientation and vibrant red background, the painting portrays two brightly colored heads of a man, one inverted above the other. Alexander says that he likes to try different mediums, experiment with color schemes, and use unusual perspectives in his paintings to inspire viewers to see art in fresh and exciting ways.
Teia Hilson, 15 years old, from North Eugene High School, displays two detailed ink on paper pieces. Deceptively simple seen from afar, both works include intricate, repetitive designs when viewed up close. Teia regards Krazy Koi as a breakthrough piece because it was in this work that she added color to her normally black and white designs. She says: “I am so excited to debut this new art style that no one has ever seen from me before. It turns out that a little color was the only inspiration I needed.”
Lorelei Leslie, 15 years old, from Churchill High School, exhibits a work in pencil, titled Dreamworld, in this year’s Mayor’s Teen Art Show. Lorelei, who calls her piece a “dream collage,” spent weeks creating, shading, and perfecting her work, which includes images of special significance to her. She says of her art: “My art reflects who I am as a person, what I'm feeling, and the messy things I've hidden under the surface. … [A]rt is a way of letting people into my life, into my mind, and what I've experienced.”
Makenna Taylor, 18 years old, from Sheldon High School, shows a striking ceramic bust in this year’s exhibit. She says that her piece portrays the two halves of herself: “the side that the world sees and the side that is inside of me, my creative and imaginative side that doesn't always get shown off but is always there.” Makenna hand built and sculpted the bust, then glazed it so that half of the face – the imaginative side - is covered in streaks of color, in contrast to the side representing her public persona.
Whiteaker Printmakers 2025 Emerald Print Exchange features limited edition prints in a wide variety of print media by 161 artists from six countries and 28 U.S. states. These works can be seen in person at the Art Center, September 12 – October 3, with an Opening Reception on Friday, September 12, from 6 – 7 pm. Exhibited prints will be auctioned for purchase online on the Whiteaker Printmakers website in an Online Reverse Auction Fundraiser, which begins September 12 at 12:00 am.
The Reverse Auction is a great opportunity to get a limited-edition print from artists around the world. The prints are limited to an edition of 12 and can never be printed again. Prints start at $95 and drop by $3 every day until they reach $20. Buyers not only receive a limited-edition print (only 12 will ever exist in the world) but they support Whiteaker Printmakers and Maude Kerns Art with their purchase.