Join the Humboldt Arts Council for Arts Alive on June 1

This is a press release from the Humboldt Arts Council:

William Thonson Gallery

Ian Carey: Blunder-Bus

May 18  to  June 30

This current body of work is a result of my reflections on an often confusing and absurd world.   A world that beyond any existential belief is created by the actions and inactions of all those involved.   I believe that my use of painting and drawing strategies is akin to thinking out loud.   The process of making helps me to navigate my interaction with an extraordinarily complex and conflicting world.   The visual language that exists within my work embodies my perception of human activity that mimics our current reality.   If the free use of gestural marks at one time suggested an internal struggle likened to the musicality of jazz, I believe the intermingling of a painterly and aggressive visual dialogue now represents the progressive attitude of what could be called punk.

Punk may be defined as a cultural and societal critique represented through several similar historical movements offering an ever-fluid opposition to a perceived status quo.   Punk provides a sporadic yet constant reminder of our need to reevaluate and challenge our political realities. It is the creative act (whether visual or sonic) that can aid in our development of an emotional range, informed by our internal understanding, constructing and informing our shared realities. I would like the viewer to enjoy an experience of self-discovery while navigating the images presented.   This activity allows for the spectator to seek out a psychological relationship to the distortion of the image while reveling in the information provided. It is my sincere hope that the work offers an opportunity of a shared thinking experience, one that allows the viewer a time to reflect and perhaps find a greater awakening to the problems that affect all.     In an idealized world, my work acts as a catalyst that may help us all find common cause to create positive change.

Anderson Gallery

Divine Providence

April 28  to  June 2

Divine Providence  features selected photographs, works on paper, and sculptures  by three artists that each explore what it means to own and exploit a landscape. As a national debate rages over public control of land and resources, the Lee Running, Meredith Lynn and Nicole Jean Hill are interested in fundamental questions about how a struggle for dominance has impacted the current relationship to a sense of place and environmental stewardship in the American West. The artists grapple with the physical and cultural remnants that point to the struggle for power and mythmaking that molded the national character of western expansion.   The works question the impact of this violent relationship to the natural world and critique a narrative that was written by men and glorifies a decidedly masculine relationship to the environment.

Roadkill is just one part of the collateral damage of our economy, land use, and speed. Lee Emma Running finds the bones of whitetail deer in the ditches and waterways near Interstate 80. These remains are the material for a series of sculptures and works on paper. Nicole Jean Hill creates landscape and still life photographs along the periphery of rural communities in the American West, collecting evidence of the lawlessness inherent in the liminal space between public and private land. The images contain evidence of the disruptive character of human activity, efforts at cultivation, and the inherent wildness of an environment. Meredith Lynn’s text-based paintings draw upon the romantic language that has framed our relationship to the frontier – poetic mantras that both obscure and narrate violence as a uniquely American spiritualism.

Knight Gallery

Wesley Hurd: The Odyssey of These Days

June 1  to  July 7

Wesley Hurd’s painting series,  The Odyssey of These Days, explores intimate depths of loss, struggle, grief and hope. The paintings present an abstract visual narrative evoking the intensity of human suffering and our journey beyond it, into hope.

According to Hurd, “This series of abstract paintings formed an unexpected narrative in three movements: shock and struggle, loss and grief, and finally memoriam and acceptance of loss. Rather than focusing on the social, political and ideological, I am interested in how we form meaning from life experiences—good and bad, pleasurable and painful.” The tragic shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College in 2015, occurred in the midst of the making of this work, deeply influencing the final two paintings.

Melvin Schuler Sculpture Garden

The Sculpture of Dan McCauley

December 1 through August 25

McCauley’s scrap art is created with material he finds in scrap yards. The artist’s work is nothing if not sustainable. Turning objects that would otherwise end up in a landfill into things the community can gather around and enjoy is the essence of recycling. He also mimics nature’s art, as he builds realistic and life sized mountain lions and bears. McCauley also hopes by sharing his work he can encourage other people who dream of doing art to embrace their hopes and work to see their own pieces in the public eye.

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Museum Store/Permanent Collection Gallery

Visit the Museum Store for a selection of gifts and merchandise inspired by the artwork on view by Morris Graves, Glenn Berry, Melvin Schuler and Romano Gabriel. The Museum Store carries a wide selection of posters, contemporary art books, cards, exhibition catalogs, children’s books, note pads, tote bags, jewelry, wine glasses, and coffee mugs. Humboldt Arts Council Members receive a 10% discount on all merchandise in the store.

Homer Balabanis Gallery

Humboldt Artist Gallery

Venture into the Humboldt Artist Gallery in the Morris Graves Museum of Art—the perfect place to find that unique, original gift. The gallery features many exceptional Humboldt County artists currently working in our region.  Designed as an artist cooperative, the gallery features local artists working in a variety of media from representational and abstract paintings, prints, jewelry, photographs, and ceramics.

The Morris Graves Museum of Art, located at 636 F Street, Eureka is open to the public noon-5p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $2 for seniors (age 65 and over), military veterans, and students with ID; children 17 and under free; Families with an EBT Card and valid ID receive free admission through the Museums for All initiative, Museum members are free. Admission is always free for everyone on the first Saturday of every month, including First Saturday Night Arts Alive!, 6-9 p.m. and Mini Masters at the MGMA.