(NOTE: Because of inclement weather, the opening date of this show will be Jan 20, not Jan. 13 as originally planned.)
By Randi Bjornstad
There can be art in just about everything, and the concept is proven in a new show called “Shifts: The Built Environment” that opens on Jan. 20 at the Maude Kerns Art Center and runs through Feb. 10.
Two artists are sharing the space. Michael Fisher designed the exhibit, which will have its opening reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 13.
A trio of old gauges becomes art through the lens of photographer James Bailey, who spent seven years documenting the old steam plant at the Eugene Water and Electric Board
One is Eugene photographer James Bailey, who has made a project out of documenting the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s old steam plant near the Willamette River for seven years, from 2009 to 2015.
Bailey uses archival pigment inkjet prints to preserve these historic images and calls what he has captured “the accidental visual aesthetics” of the industrial structure, in terms of its “shape, texture, light and shadow.”
He has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts from the University of Ohio and was part of a year-long residential workshop with photographer Minor White as well as working as a teaching assistant with Ansel Adams in Yosemite in the 1970s. His work resides in the Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers in Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery.
Bailey will give a talk at the art center from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1.
Joining Bailey in the show is sculptor Dave Rowe, who lives in Las Vegas and whose work focuses on the United States’ industrial past, bridging “the spaces between landscape and architecture (and) history and present day.”
Las Vegas sculptor Dave Rowe has large wall sculptures as well as small freestanding pieces in the show
Rowe’s pieces in “Shifts: The Built Environment” include three large wall sculptures and four smaller freestanding pieces.
His work has been shown widely, including solo exhibits at the Springer Cultural Center in Champaign, Ill., and at Minnesota State University in Mankato.
Shifts: The Built Environment
When: Jan. 20 to Feb. 10 with an opening reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 and an artist talk by James Bailey from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1
Where: Maude Kerns Art Center, 1910 E. 15th Ave., Eugene
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday
Information: 541-345-1571 or mkartcenter.org
