Karin Clarke Gallery, located in the Art Annex, is
pleased to present an exhibit of new paintings by one of Eugene’s outstanding
artists, Margaret Coe. Continuing the
theme of her previous show, the fourteen or so paintings here are about Place: memories of travel in France and re-imaginings
of familiar landscapes in Oregon.
However, the real work in these paintings is an
investigation of the movement and countermovement of color and space. As each layer of color is applied, Coe re-imagines
the forms and the chromatic changes, and revises the original composition. A thick crust of paint is built up, resulting
in a paradox between the ethereal content of the painting and the earthy
quality of the paint surface. She
sometimes works on a piece for 4 or 5 years before she is satisfied that she
has extracted the essence of her experience.
Coe locates her painting process “between intention and
dream.” She feels an animated
interaction between the patches of color and the spaces they create that is
like clouds moving and reconfiguring themselves in the sky. The finished painting is a revelation, an
expression of a state of mind found to underlie the landscape.
Join us for a Reception on Friday, October 21, 5-7 pm and
take the opportunity to meet the artist and discuss her work.
The Art Annex is open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-5:30pm.
Margaret Coe 2010 Show - Paintings about Place March 2 - April 10, 2010 To anticipate the arrival of spring, the Karin Clarke Gallery is pleased to present an exhibit of landscape paintings by Margaret Coe. The twenty-seven oil and acrylic paintings include scenes from the Oregon coast, Crater Lake,the Santiam River, and French villages. Two approaches to landscape painting are blended in these works: direct observation of nature and memory of specific places.
Coe’s plein aire paintings are both preliminary sketches for studio work and, in their own right, spontaneous observations of nature. Regarding her work, Coe says, “A by-product of painting for hours on end in the natural landscape is the profound connection one makes to the subject. Certain qualities and shapes are committed to memory. They can be the subject of new, highly interpreted works. The original observations are transformed into themes. The idea is to experiment with motifs, color, and process in a larger format in search of a bolder vision.”
Coe’s masterful ability to superimpose complex structure and pattern on what she sees, without dissolving into abstraction, is evident in this work. Coe’s use of vibrant color and illuminating flashes of light gives her paintings their unique voice.
Margaret Coe, a longtime resident of Eugene, received her MFA from the University of Oregon in 1978. She studied with David McCosh, Andy Vincent and Frank Okada, and has been influenced by Northwest artists, including Nelson Sandgren, Charles Heaney, and C.S. Price. She taught art for many years at the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and the Maude Kerns Art Center. Coe’s work has been widely exhibited and is in the collections of the UO Jorden Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR. It is also represented in the Portland Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery and the Seattle Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery.
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