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Maude Kerns Art Center Presents
The 15th Biennial
Oregon Made for Interiors
Exhibit Dates
May 29 - June 26
Opening Reception:
Friday, May 29, 6 - 8pm
The Maude Kerns Art Center presents the 15th biennial “Oregon Made for Interiors” (OMFI) Exhibit, opening with a public reception on Friday, May 29. This year’s exhibit, which was juried by professional artists and furniture makers James Nason, Steve Reinmuth, and Stephen White, showcases the work of 36 artists from throughout the state, including entries from Portland, Florence, Eugene, Springfield, Lorane, Coos Bay, Junction City, and Roseburg. Also on view is the work of featured 2-D artist, painter Margaret Leutzinger.
The exhibit showcases high quality handmade furniture, including unique one-of-a-kind tables, chairs, cabinets and chests, screens, rugs and tapestries, and lighting fixtures. The exhibit is on view through Friday, June 26.
The public is invited to the Opening Reception, which takes place on Friday, May 29, from 6 to 8 pm. Many of the exhibiting artists will be present.
George Ayres, from Coos Bay and a newcomer to the “Oregon Made for Interiors Exhibit,” shows two finely crafted cabinets that embody the “simple, clean lines, and passion for small details” of his artistic style. A full-time professional woodworker (Brockway Ayres Woodworking), Ayres incorporates elements of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as other early 20th century work into his own unique pieces.
Bob Burt, of Eugene, considers woodworking his life’s vocation. Largely self-taught, Burt has fashioned tables, chairs, beds, chests, and kitchen cabinets. For this year’s exhibit, he shows two large-scale folding screens using a technique called marquetry in which wood and other materials are inserted into a wood veneer, which is then applied to the furniture surface. Burt has exhibited his screens in venues throughout the West Coast, as well as in Tucson and Washington, D.C.
Carol Jackson, also from Eugene, exhibits four tables and a wine bar in the 2015 OMFI. Many of her intriguing tables are made from a combination of various woods, including cherry and ebonized ash, aluminum, and glass. One table, titled “Go conFigure,” can be taken apart and reassembled to create many different configurations.
Margaret Leutzinger, the featured 2-D artist, exhibits her small-scale acrylic paintings, which are lovely complements to the OMFI furnishings. Her paintings are intimate expressions about place, including local spots in the Willamette Valley like Fern Ridge Reservoir. Leutzinger has shown her work locally at the Giustina Gallery in Corvallis and the Jacobs Gallery, as well as at the Cherry Center for the Arts in Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art.