Collection Of... - posted on 07.18.09 by Christopher Jennings

Satellite Gallery presents “Collection of...” a group exhibit curated by Cory Peeke, Director of EOU’s Nightingale Gallery. The show will run from July 16th - August 13th. The gallery is located at 116 Depot Street in La Grande, OR. For information on the show and other art related events please visit http://www.satelliteartgallery.com.

"Collection of..." is a group exhibit curated for the Satellite Gallery by Cory Peeke, Director of EOU’s Nightingale Gallery. The exhibit explores the broad range of art present in the collections of some well known local residents. Peeke has selected eleven collectors who he believes have a strong eye for art and has asked those individuals to pick one piece from their collection that they highly prize by an artist whose work they wish to promote. Accompanying the collector’s piece on exhibit will be another work by the same artist that will be for sale to the public. Also included along with the two works will be a brief statement written by each of the collectors on why the piece they’ve chosen to include is a meaningful part of their art collection and why they consider the artist deserving of further recognition.

The eleven collectors are most likely familiar names to many area art enthusiast, each being a respected artist in his/her own right. Gallery visitors will be presented some insight into the mind of these collectors as well as eclectic mix of work by a broad selection of artists from both the US and Canada.

Annie Eskelin has chosen a work by La Grande artist Bill Atwood who is well known to gallery regulars for his sculptural work and involvement with Waypoint Studios. Kat Galloway selected a work by EOU alumni and OSU faculty member Andy Myers whose mixed media drawings have been widely exhibited and reviewed in Art in America. Area art luminary Don Gray has chosen a piece from his collection by Marc Roder, a former Union resident who currently lives in Canada and makes what Don refers to as “wonderfully clunky semi-abstracts”. Peter C. Johnson has selected work by his friend Kris Harzinski who does very conceptual mixed media work. Amber MacLean has picked a prize piece by Hawaii artist Keone Thurston. John Mueller, one of the founders of the Satellite Gallery, has chosen a wonderful little painting by Texas artist Gabel Karsten. Cory Peeke has selected to include San Francisco artist Michael McConnell, whose work viewers may recall from his 2008 solo exhibit at the Nightingale Gallery. Jessica Plattner will be introducing regional viewers to the work of her mother, the highly respected painter Phyllis Plattner. Kevin Roy will be showing off a recent purchase of ceramic sculpture by the artist Devin Farrand, who recently graduated from EOU and is on his way to graduate school at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Finally Katie Edwards and John Townsend will reintroduce us to the work of former La Grande resident Kevin Layton who currently resides in Montana.

All ten of these artists make visually appealing and conceptually stimulating works that engage both the eye and the mind. Please come out and get a peek at the kind of work some of our area’s best known artists collect and be introduced (or re-introduced) to a diverse group of artists whose work you might wish to add to your own collection.

Collector/Artist:
Kat Galloway/Andy Myers
Don Gray/Marc Roder
Annie Eskelin/ Bill Atwood
John & Katie Townsend/ Kevin Layton
Jessica Plattner/Phyllis Plattner
John Mueller/Gabel Karsten
Cory Peeke/ Michael McConnell
Peter C. Johnson/Kris Harzinski
Amber McClean/ Keone Thurston
Kevin Roy/ Devin Farrand