(Rooted Exhibition Wall at the High Desert Museum | Photo by Kenneth Marunowski)
Check out First Friday events, new exhibit openings and artist meet and greets for January’s First Friday in Bend and in the Old Mill.
Bend Senior Center
1600 SE Reed Market Rd.
541-388-1133 • bendparksandrec.org/facility/bend-senior-center
The Bend Senior Center at the new Larkspur Community Center is showing art by members of the SageBrushers Art Society. Come visit the new facility and enjoy beautiful paintings in acrylic, oil and watercolor, as well as outstanding photography. Showing thru February.
Blue Spruce Pottery
20591 Dorchester E.
541-382-0197 • bluesprucepottery.com
This family-owned business has been making handmade pottery in Bend since 1976. Call to arrange a time to come shop their large selection of mugs, bowls, casseroles, lamps and more. Shop online and have gifts shipped directly to your family and friends. You can also find Blue Spruce Pottery at Red Chair Gallery in downtown Bend.
COCC Barber Library Rotunda
2600 NW College Way
541-383-7560
Plein Air Painters of Oregon (PAPO) is a group of outdoor landscape painters based largely in Central Oregon. Plein Air to Studio-Oregon Landscapes features the work of PAPO members, including both expressive paintings from the field, and studio paintings influenced by the outdoor painting experience. The exhibit is showing at the COCC Barber Library Rotunda January 3-February 25.
Plein air painting comes from the word “open air” in French, meaning the entire painting is conceived and executed on location. For centuries artists have been painting en plein air primarily using this method as a source for larger studio landscapes. The Impressionist painters of the late 19th century shocked the art world by presenting their outdoor work as the finished piece. Since then artists around the world have enjoyed sharing their plein air work as fully valid finished pieces.
The magic and spark of plein air comes from the artist’s response to the intensity of color, light and shadows, the temperature, wind, humidity, the challenge of bugs and changing light. Painting en plein air is an intense experience that requires immense concentration and quick reactions. A landscape caught from this exhilarating experience often has a freshness and liveliness that can’t be achieved in the studio.
The Library is open from 8am-6pm, Monday through Friday. Admission to the exhibit is free. For more information about PAPO, visit pleinairpaintersoforegon.org.
High Desert Museum
59800 S Hwy. 97
541-382-4754 • highdesertmuseum.org
A new exhibition opening on January 29, Imagine a World considers the ambitions, intentions and outcomes (sometimes disastrous) of intentional communities in the High Desert and Western United States over the past half century. It highlights contemporary artists as well, sharing their visions of alternative worlds and futures. Imagine a World invites each of us to reflect on how we are.
Continuing thru April 3, Carrying Messages: Native Runners, Ancestral Homelands and Awakening highlights the historical significance of running in Native cultures in the Western United States and the ways that some Native people today are drawing on running as a means of empowerment, sovereignty and cultural revitalization.
And continuing thru May 8, 2022 is an exhibit from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out. In an intersection of science and art, the exhibit showcases the evolutionary journey of fish while displaying the ethereal beauty of the images. Species featured in the exhibit include the rainbow trout (Oncohynchus mykiss), native to the High Desert, and others such as Shiho’s seahorse (Hippocampus sindonis) and the rarely seen pelican eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides).
To see additional current and permanent exhibits, visit highdesertmuseum.org/exhibitions.
Jeffrey Murray Photography Gallery
118 NW Minnesota Ave.
541-325-6225 • jeffreymurrayphotography.com
The Jeffrey Murray Photography Gallery features the work of local photographer Jeffrey Murray. Visitors can browse comfortably in the two-story gallery enjoying visually adventurous displays of landscape, wildlife and contemporary work. Open daily Tuesday-Sunday.
Kreitzer Gallery
20214 Archie Briggs Rd.
805-234-2048 • KreitzerArt.com
Please join Contemporary Realist Master Artist David Kreitzer at the Kreitzer Gallery and studio for First Friday 5-8pm and daily, throughout the month of December, featuring Art That Heals. David paints stunning oils and watercolors of water landscapes, vineyard hills, Nishigoi Koi, lilies, Nebraska Mid-West Heritage, the human figure and Central Oregon splendor. Please call 805-234-2048.
In the tradition of Turner and Cezanne, painter David Kreitzer’s love of nature, fantasy and the human form, propels him to create exquisitely detailed, mood-invoking landscapes, figures and striking still life floral studies in a variety of mediums. A full time artist for 55 years, David’s career began with sold out shows at Maxwell Gallery in San Francisco. David grew up as the son of a Lutheran minister who, due to his vocation, moved his family frequently throughout the Nebraska countryside. Kreitzers’ works are in the collections of Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, Hirschhorn Foundation, Revlon Corporation, Olga Corporation, Barnes-Hind Corporation, Sinclair Paints, Lloyd’s Bank, Cargill Corporation and the San Diego, Santa Barbara, Nebraska and Minnesota Museums. Private collectors include Ray Bradbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Michael Douglas, Pepe Romero, Quinn Martin, Raymond Burr and Robert and Linda Takken.
“David Kreitzer…is a highly traditional figure painter who demonstrates how much poetic intensity the old tradition can still contain.” ~Thomas Albright, San Francisco Chronicle.
Layor Art + Supply
1000 NW Wall St., Ste. 110
541-322-0421 • layorart.com
Layor Art + Supply is excited to be featuring Evan Namkung’s show Concrete/Canvas for January 2022! Evan is an artist and muralist from Bend who specializes in painting both the natural and human world, shining a light on those who are often unseen or devalued. His art is inspired by life experiences, from growing up in the vibrant urban setting of Oakland, California, to the natural wonders of Central Oregon and time spent traveling throughout the world. His most recent public mural, Mountains for All, was completed in the Tin Pan Alley on the Downtown Bend parking garage in August 2021.
“Concrete/Canvas explores a diverse group of subjects through a lens filled with color and movement,” Evan states. “My goal is to capture playful snapshots of the human experience while infusing them with the spontaneity and unpredictability of graffiti and street art.”
Evan’s show goes thru January and can be viewed during Layor’s regular business hours: Monday through Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 11am-4pm and Sunday 12-4pm.
Lubbesmeyer Studio & Gallery
Old Mill District, second story loft
541-330-0840 • lubbesmeyer.com
The Lubbesmeyer twins offer a range of work created in fiber and paint. Through the twins’ collaborative process, they distill literal imagery into vivid blocks of color and texture, creating an abstracted view of their surroundings. Call the studio for hours and appointments.
Mockingbird Gallery
869 NW Wall St.
541-388-2107 • mockingbird-gallery.com
This Friday, January 7, Mockingbird Gallery is proud to open our three-person show, Bold Strokes, featuring the amazing works of G. Russell Case, Jennifer Moses and John C. Traynor. This exhibit will run thru January.
G. Russell Case’s subjects are observations made during his travels. He paints directly from nature to record colors and light, and his studio compositions are derived from thoughts and sketches recorded outdoors.
Jennifer Moses has explored many types of mediums before finally focusing once again on painting. Moses says, “I often find that I am drawn to the intimate aspects of a landscape; a moment, a gesture or a specific feeling that unfolds when I’m quiet.”
John C. Traynor is a skilled painter of every genre. In the tradition of the Dutch Masters, he suffuses his work with a soft rendering of light that captures the essence of nature in a quiet yet powerful way.
Oxford Hotel
10 NW Minnesota Ave.
541-382-8436
The Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend welcomes photographer and High Desert Art League Member, Karen Maier, in an exhibition entitled Summer in Winter, featuring macro photography of flowers. Karen says, “I remember collecting wildflowers as a child and bringing them home to my mother who was a gifted painter. She used her own garden as subject matter.”
Karen photographs garden flowers, especially poppies and iris, but enjoys exploring the landscape to capture wildflowers in unique places. Her joy in macro photography bloomed in the desert of Big Bend National Park where she and her husband often camped and hiked while living in Austin, Texas. During that time Karen worked as a commercial photographer specializing in jewelry. She says that work refined her skill and highlighted her interest in macro photography of natural subjects.
Karen enjoys photography of other subject matters as well and recently exhibited a photograph at the Oregon Trail Museum in their show celebrating the Wild and Scenic River’s Act. That image was of Kokanee salmon that were swimming in the Deschutes River above Wickiup Reservoir. She also participated in a show of Oregon architecture at Oregon State University.
See more of Karen’s work at highdesertartleague.com.
Peterson Contemporary Art
550 NW Franklin Ave.
541-633-7148 • pcagallery.com
Please join Peterson Contemporary Art on January 7 in celebrating the First Friday of 2022. We will be displaying original paintings and sculpture by all of our talented artists from near and far. Our gallery is located in The Franklin Crossing Building on the corner of Bond and Franklin in downtown Bend. We will stay opened until 8pm that evening, and look forward to seeing you.
Red Chair Gallery
103 NW Oregon Ave.
541-306-3176 • redchairgallerybend.com
To start off the New Year, Red Chair Gallery showcases raku pottery by Michael Gwinup and landscape oil paintings by John Runnels. Tricia Biesmann also displays her colorful felted scarves and toppers.
Open 10am-6pm on Monday-Saturday and 12-4pm on Sunday.
Sage Custom Framing & Gallery
834 NW Brooks St.
541-382-5884 • sageframing-gallery.com
Continuing thru January 29 is featured group show, Small Works. A large group of talented local artists exhibiting everything from watercolor to oil paint, landscape to still life. All in the petite size range and all at affordable prices for everyone. Support our local artists! Show runs thru January 29, hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm, Saturday 12-4pm and by appointment, and closed for the holidays thru January 10.
SageBrushers Art Society
117 SW Roosevelt Ave.
541-617-0900 • sagebrushersartofbend.com
SageBrushers Art Society presents an all-member show of current works in the society gallery. Make a plan to visit the gallery and experience art created by Bend’s largest community of artists. The SageBrushers Gallery is open Friday and Saturday, 1-4pm. Showing thru February.
The Alexander
1125 NE Watt Way
458-256-6854 • thealexanderbend.com
Continuing thru January is featured artist Helen Brown. Helen is a Sunriver artist working in watercolor on rice paper. Her batik paintings can be seen at the Tumalo Art Company in Bend’s Old Mill District.
Helen chooses subjects ranging from animals to landscapes, but all in her recognizable batik style. The rice paper gives her work a very textural appearance. The nine pieces on display at the Alexander are representative of her variety of subject, that is… bees, horses, landscapes and statues.
The Wine Shop
55 NW Minnesota Ave.
541-389-2884 • thewineshopbend.com
The Wine Shop is showing recent work by Sagebrushers Art Society member Bette Butler. From the mountains to the desert to the garden, Bette offers some of her recent paintings in watercolor and Brusho (powdered pigment). Showing thru January.
Tumalo Art Company
Old Mill District
541-385-9144 • tumaloartco.com
January Group Show, Make a Wish, continues.
We are holding our December group show Make A Wish over thru January. Come in and celebrate the New Year from 3-7pm during the Old Mill District’s First Friday Gallery Walk. Make your own wish! Our artists have put together a body of work about things they wish for — for instance, of her painting Laugh With Me, Katherine Taylor says, “My wish is that we each remember to laugh more, becoming more light-hearted, kind, and carefree with each passing day.” And, Anne Gibson writes of, Dreams of Endless Summer, her landscape in the show, “I wouldn’t really dream for endless summer, the seasons are too good, and climate change makes that too eerie. But this place brings to mind long lazy days with tadpoles nibbling on your toes, small children laughing, dogs splashing after sticks, wildflowers blooming in profusion — that all add up to a kind of heaven on earth I dream we can preserve for our children’s children and theirs.” Each artist has written their thoughts to go along with their art.
Tumalo Art Co. is an artist-run gallery in the heart of Bend’s Old Mill District, open seven days a week.
The Wooden Jewel
844 NW Bond St., Ste. 100
541-593-4151 • thewoodenjewel.com
The Wooden Jewel invites Central Oregon to come in and be amazed at the variety of fine art works — both paintings and sculptures — as well as and unique, contemporary, handmade custom jewelry, all by local and international artists.