The Soft Opening exhibit (March 3 – April 3, 2023) highlighted the works of 10 contemporary artists including Tony Furtado, whose whimsical ceramic sculptures are derived from his love of nature and passion as a musician; woodworker Martin Conley, who finds beauty hidden in the grain of foraged wood from the Pacific Northwest; award-winning plein air watercolor artist Jong Hong Zhong, whose work is currently in the collection of the Maryhill Museum and the public art collections of the Cities of Hillsboro and Lake Oswego; and Angelita Surmon, whose kiln-formed glass works utilize a technique that renders her compositions akin to light-filled paintings or drawings.
The exhibit also included works by printmaker and gallery co-owner Barbara Mason, whose distinctive solar plate etchings make bold use of line and solid form; Amy Stoner, who creates bright and nostalgic collages using layers of wax, ephemera and paper; and Carli Shultz, whose delicate silver jewelry is heavily informed by nature.
In addition to Mason and Conley, artists Joan Callaway, Laura Hopper, Michael Pedemonte, Carolyn Pettit, Natalie Warrens and Kelly Yeats Hoover were available at a Ribbon Cutting event March 3 to discuss their work. The exhibition was curated by Barbara Mason, an internationally known artist and printmaker, founder of Golden Road Arts and Grey Raven Gallery co-owner. Mason has served as president of the Board of Print Arts Northwest and the director of Waterstone Gallery, an artist-owned gallery in Portland, Oregon.
