Press Release: BRIDGES
Selected Watercolors from the Estate March 29 - May 7, 2011
Opening Reception: First Friday, April 1, 5:30 - 7:30
Karin Clarke Gallery is pleased to announce its fifth exhibit of paintings by Nelson Sandgren. Sandgren, a versatile artist, worked in many mediums -- oil, print, watercolor. But he is probably best known to Eugenians for the beautiful mural of the Oregon landscape which graces the lobby of the Eugene Airport.
Depiction of the forests and especially the waters of the Northwest was his first love. Each summer, Sandgren would adjourn to the coast with a group of artists for a couple of weeks of painting, teaching, and learning. The current exhibit of watercolors draws on one of his favorite subjects: bridges. The characteristic coastal arched bridge is seen with boats, with forest and river, with houses and people, reflected in the changing mood of sky and water.
The Gallery will host an Opening Reception on First Friday, April 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A Gallery Talk by Nelson Sandgren’s son, Erik Sandgren, will take place on Saturday, April 2, at 2:00 p.m. Biography:
Nelson Sandgren (1917 - 2006) Nelson Sandgren is best known for his wonderful watercolor and oil on-site paintings of the Oregon coast.
Nelson was greatly influenced by his teachers at the University of Oregon - David McCosh, Andrew Vincent and Jack Wilkinson, and although he did not study with her, Sandgren shared art philosophies with Maude Kerns in the later years of her life. In 1947 and 1948, Nelson studied with a second major influence in his work, Mexican muralist Alfredo Zalce, in Morelia, Michoacan. He became interested in creating larger scale paintings in collaboration with fellow artist friends. His public murals include those found at Mahlon Sweet Airport and the Lane County Court house in Eugene, Oregon, and also the Kerr Memorial Library at OSU, in Corvallis. He received numerous awards, grants and commissions during the course of his career, and exhibited in England, California, and Colorado, as well as Seattle and Portland. Click here to read the Eugene Weekly's March 2003 article on Nelson Sandgren show
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