CURRENT EXHIBITS

Maude Kerns Art Center Presents Two Shows:

"Witness: Earth & Sky"

"Consume & Dispose"

Opening Reception:
Friday, April 3rd, 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Exhibit Dates:
April 3 - 24

Artist Talk
Witness: Earth & Sky
Saturday, April 4, 1-2pm

Artist Talk
Consume & Dispose
Saturday, April 18, 1-2pm

Purchase artwork online

Click on thumbnails to view images.

"Witness: Earth & Sky"

Rich Bergeman

Amanda Thomas

"Consume & Dispose"

Jennifer Bucheit

Ralf Huber

The Maude Kerns Art Center is proud to present two exhibits opening Friday, April 3 and on view through April 24. In the Main Gallery is “Witness: Earth & Sky,” featuring the work of Rich Bergeman and Amanda Thomas. Both artists focus on landscape, with Bergeman emphasizing the appropriation of the land and Thomas its despoliation.

In the Salon Gallery is “Consume & Dispose,” showcasing the work of Jennifer Bucheit and Ralf Huber. Bucheit comments through her art on American consumerism, while Huber poignantly illustrates the human cost of child labor.

Two Artist Talks will be held, one on Saturday, April 4, from 1 – 2 pm, for “Witness: Earth & Sky,” and the second on Saturday, April 18, from 1 – 2 pm, for “Consume & Dispose.” The public is invited to hear the artists share their visions at these free events.

Corvallis artist Rich Bergeman has been exhibiting his fine art photography throughout the Northwest and beyond for 40 years. His current work is inspired by the land acknowledgement movement, and particularly the traveling exhibit, “This IS Kalapuya Land.” Through infrared photography, Bergeman explores the Willamette Valley’s tribal homelands to transport viewers to a land devoid of post-colonial marks. He hopes his infrared photography “imbues the work with a sense of disquiet and other worldliness … suggesting a presence beyond the present.”

Mt. Shasta, California artist Amanda Thomas works in a variety of visual media and teaches at the College of the Siskiyous. In “Witness: Earth & Sky,” she documents abandoned mining sites, displaying both 2- and 3-dimensional art. Her sculptures, which are glazed with acid mine drainage and soil samples from mining sites, call to mind rock formations and ancient artifacts, and her black and white photographs support the the ceramic pieces by providing a sense of place. She says of her work: “I hope to spark conversations about mining’s environmental impact, the role of mining in society, and our overarching issues of consumption, profit, and waste.”

Eugene artist Jennifer Bucheit, has shown her work throughout the US, including at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Bucheit uses post-consumer waste materials to comment on American consumerism, intertwining habitual consumer behavior with the everyday human condition. She collects paper packaging and photographs it in a still life setting. The resulting images are then printed directly on the interior side of the original packaging. Bucheit says that her work is intended to be “both aesthetically engaging and socially revealing, challenging conventional ideas of what [is] considered art and what [is] considered expendable.”

Springfield artist Ralf Huber was born in Switzerland and moved from Europe to the US in 2003. After 25 years of designing commemorative coins, Huber turned to making his own art in 2020. His work has been displayed in various West Coast venues. Huber addresses social issues, especially the horrors of child labor, using worn, weathered, and repurposed found objects in his mixed media creations. He hopes his work serves as a “reminder of the collective responsibility we bear to protect the innocence … of our youth” so their future is not sacrificed for the sake of economic expediency.

Interested in buying a piece?

Purchase artwork online

~ OR ~

To purchase artwork please call the Art Center at 541-345-1571 during regular office hours, 10am – 5:30pm, Monday through Friday.

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We will work with you to arrange for artwork curbside pick-up and/or delivery.

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