Second Saturday Summer Kick-off at the Betty Gray Gallery

by JIM FISTER

As we head into summer in Central Oregon, the Betty Gray Gallery in the Sunriver Lodge is continuing one exhibit and welcoming another with a Second Saturday reception to lead into the Second Saturday Artwalk in Sunriver.

In the upstairs gallery, photographer Christian Murillo recently finished an exhibit in Italy featuring the Cascade Mountain Range and its unique landscapes. Christian has immersed himself in the range as an experienced backpacker, mountaineer, and alpine climber. He reveals the most expressive vantage points in the region. His lens captures landscapes that few people witness in such detail, and even fewer get to photograph. The objective of his project has been to artistically depict mountain portraits and grand scenery so as to foster a relationship between the viewer and the Cascade Range. The power and unforgiving nature of these peaks is unmistakable. So is their fragility and susceptibility to the whims of volcanic activity and rapidly changing climate. That paradox is the central theme of this photographic collection. The exhibit will be in the upstairs gallery through June and into July.

Downstairs, Alisa Looney’s inventive ReEnamelware series, titled Interdependence, will be exhibiting this June through August. Alisa creates original images in glass by fusing kiln-fired layers of enamel to steel forms. Nature and its unseen connections inform her work. Sketching and documenting while on hikes, bikes, paddles and skis throughout the seasons, she observes nature and looks for signs of connection

30+ local artists and movement… seedlings sprout through lava rock, clear water flows and bubbles over snags, and fungi fruit near tree roots from the hidden mycelium network. While drawing onto the glass enamel, Alisa sees the chest feathers of an owl as a forest, portraying the interdependence of all living things. The purpose of her work is to inspire the connections and care of our planet and each other.

This ReEnamelware series was made with repurposed enamelware, turning oftendiscarded household items into dynamic wall pieces. The artist searched for and found these intriguing enamel canvases at her neighborhood Second Tern Thrift Store, which supports the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory. She will be donating an additional five percent of proceeds from sales of this exhibition to the nature center, to support their mission to inspire present and future generations to cherish and understand our natural world.

Both exhibits will be featured in a special Second Saturday art reception on Saturday, June 10. This will be an additional artwalk space to complement the normal summer receptions at the Artists’ Gallery Sunriver, Sunriver Music Festival Office and Cascade Sotheby’s, as well as other participants. The reception will run from 4-6pm along with all the other locations.

Make sure to come see these wonderful works on display before the summer rush.

Second Saturday in Sunriver

Bring your friends and join the Artists’ Gallery Sunriver in a Second Saturday Art Walk at the Sunriver Village and Sunriver Lodge. The Artists’ Gallery will be hosting its normal reception where you can meet the artists, enjoy appetizers and desserts, and enjoy a selection of wine and beer as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Other stores in the Sunriver Village will be open and displaying art, including the Sunriver Music Festival office and Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty.

The Sunriver Lodge will be featuring an open reception as well. Artist Alisa Looney is opening her exhibit, while photographer Christian Murillo will be introducing his new book, Soul of Skagit. Wine and appetizers will be served.