This content was published: November 14, 2013. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Leah Wilson: Distillations of Place
Cascade Paragon Arts Gallery
Becoming One: Finley VII (Late Fall), 2012, oil on wood panel, 30″ x 30″
- Dates: November 14, 2013 – January 9, 2014
- Gallery hours: 9am-5pm, Monday – Friday,
- Gallery opening reception: Thursday, November 14, 2013, 4-5:50pm
- Artist talk in the gallery: Thursday, November 14, 2013, 6-6:50pm, Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building (MAHB) room 222, PCC Cascade Campus
- Location: Terrell Hall 102, PCC Cascade Campus
Cascade Gallery presents Leah Wilson’s non-representational paintings of abstract color patterns that address changes within ecosystems over time. By scientifically devising systems with which to select colors and apply paint to canvas, Wilson avoids the age-old concept of “artist’s choice” and challenges traditions of landscape painting. Both process and finished paintings reflect an engagement with ecology and engineering through observation and data collecting. Through colors, patterns, and paint, Wilson tells stories of landscapes exploited for their natural resources, and she reveals the results of ongoing scientific projects to restore habitats. Viewing elements of time reflected through shifts in paint colors, one is immediately hit by the psychological effects of color, and upon longer contemplations, one begins to question what is “natural” and “native” in landscape.
Leah Wilson has worked with scientists and ecosystems in Oregon in the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge and in the Fern Ridge Wildlife Refuge. Currently, she is collaborating on a project with geomorphologist Fred Swanson in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest near Blue River, Oregon. This site has been designated for long-term ecological research spanning 200 years, and Wilson has committed to a life-long project with the Andrews Forest to see how an extended relationship with place can reflect in artwork.