Gallery
September Gallery Exhibition
Exhibit-Thursdays–Sundays | September 5-28 | 12:00-5:00pm
Opening Reception September 7 | 3:00-5:00pm
Gallery is closed the last Sunday of every month
Hoffman Center for the Arts | 594 Laneda Avenue | Manzanita
Free and open to the public
Featuring works by
Tallmadge Doyle, David Cohen,
and Columbia Basin Basketry Guild
Tallmadge Doyle
Tallmadge Doyle begins her process by investigating scientific research on her subject matter, which involves her physical presence in the landscape to absorb the colors, smells, sounds, and light qualities of an ecosystem. She works to collect sensory information and combine this with both real and imaginary cartographic elements. The invented imagery is a mapping of sorts, an approach that allows Doyle to reference both visual source material and scientific data. She brings this information into the creative realm of her imagination for the purpose of making art which will speak to our pressing environmental issues related to climate change
Doyle’s artistic output encompasses the traditional mediums of printmaking, painting, permanent public art installation, and relief sculpture. She has been most fortunate to participate in artist residencies over the last decade in several remote North American locations. These experiences have reshaped the context of her work to reflect on the natural history of the place and the patterns of adaptation as water and land shift in our future climate.
Celestial Oceans Series
I began the series Celestial Oceans in 2020, after researching a phenomenon nicknamed by marine scientists “The Blob”, a mass of warm water found off the Pacific Coast of Alaska, first detected in 2013. The Blob moved southward to the Northwest and California coasts, negatively disrupting marine wildlife from zooplankton to salmon to whale migrations.
This ongoing series considers intricate systems of microscopic ocean life forms simultaneously with the expansive telescopic realm of our solar system’s star formations. These natural realities, dissimilar in scope, yet at times indistinguishable in form, overlap and intertwine in my imagination to offer boundless creative potential. This work portrays images gleaned from what is invisible to human eyes.
Algae Universe Series
In 2021 I was invited to create editions of etchings for a portfolio project “Invasive Species” sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute of Marine Studies, Annapolis, Maryland. I began this series “Algae Universe” by researching and imagining what ocean organisms look like from a microscopic view. I have always felt that beauty is in the details.
I collected photographs from the internet and books for reference material of algae and algae blooms. These beautiful microscopic images allowed me the freedom to conjure up visual ideas from the magnificent, mysterious, and abundant vitality of marine life forms.
I started to daydream about the delicate cycles of microscopic life forms within ocean waters as playgrounds for new visual realities where color is ethereal, vivid and brilliant, where light is unpredictable and form vibrates, allowing access to the abundance and immensity of what is often unseen.
Doyle was born in New York City and attended The Cleveland Art Institute for undergraduate studies. In 1990 she came to Oregon to attend the MFA program at the University of Oregon focusing on Printmaking and Painting. Doyle’s work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. She is represented by the Seattle Art Museum Gallery and Davidson Gallery in Seattle, Augen Gallery in Portland and the Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene.
David Cohen
After graduating from art school, David Cohen spent nearly three decades assisting artists with the promotion and exhibition of their images and ideas. Working for a range of institutions with incredible legacies, he was able to find unique ways to highlight and celebrate the wealth of creativity in our community. In 2009 he began drawing again, leaving an approximately 25-year gap between attempts at serious art-making. Inspired by a rediscovered connection with nature, a life-long love of books and strong interest in history and science, Cohen discovered ways to connect all these in his current explorations. Developing his own technique for applying layers of watercolor, the work continues to evolve as he explores a myriad of ways to depict the natural world and our connection to it. The pieces in this exhibition share his latest interest in abstracting images by simulating historic mosaics and stained glass. The recent “mosaic” paintings are his attempt at celebrating nature’s beauty and mystery, conjuring up symbols for reverence as the ancient Romans did when they created their incredible nature-focused objects and mosaic floor designs
Artist Statement
As I work to discover my authentic voice, an expression of who I am at this place and time, each artwork that I create is a dollop of a thick stew containing a wide range of ingredients. In the pot are are all my interests and loves: nature, science, anthropology, books, collections, museums, history, curiosity, wonder and awe. Mixed in there are the spices: a love of light and shadow, a touch of mystery, and an ode to beauty. Each time I dip the ladle in, a different combination of ingredients and spices is gathered, so the work is not singular or linear. Through varying combinations and emphases, I can venture down many pathways investigating different worlds within this broader personal universe.
In making explorations of the natural world the major focus of my art, I am also trying to elevate its symbolic importance – something that artists have mined since the first days that they began to leave images behind. The recent “mosaic” paintings are my attempt at celebrating nature’s beauty and mystery, conjuring up symbols for reverence as the ancient Romans did when they created their incredible nature-focused objects and mosaic floor designs. This also aligns with my strong interest in exploring how we came to see the world as we do today and the many ideas and events that influenced us along the way.
My process is simple and direct. I use basic tools, pen and ink, pencil and watercolor, to create images that often ask the viewer to uncover relationships among and between collections of objects. Creating recognizable spaces for the objects to inhabit hopefully helps the viewer develop their own narratives and meanings.
Columbia Basin Basketry Guild
Broad and Boundless—the many waves of weaving with the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild
Broad and Boundless highlights the work of 17 CBBG members. This show is 
special in the variety of styles of basketry weaving the members utilize and the wide range of materials they use. Each artist puts a part of themselves into their baskets, connecting their inner self with their skills and unique materials they use to create beautiful objects. Come and experience these works and see how they expand your world.
The Columbia Basin Basketry Guild began with a small group of weavers in 1989. Today we serve more than 200 members at all levels of skills and experience. From gallery-represented artists to new students learning basic techniques, all members are enthusiastic makers who find joy and satisfaction in the act of creating traditional or contemporary pieces. For more information about Columbia Basin Basketry Guild click here.
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