LightSpell

Paintings and pastels by Angelina Marino
Metal sculpture by Angelina Marino and Joel Heidel
January 2-26, 2010

Start the year with a blast of light. Angelina Marino’s paintings and oil pastels that celebrate dance, mysticism, flamenco and love and will be shown with her sculptural work in collaboration with Joel Heidel.



Some of the sculptures were created from Marino’s drawings and translated into three dimensions by Heidel who welded two-dimensional shapes into three dimensional images. Other sculptures were “found” in left over pieces and took life in the collaborative process.

Because of the angles that are made possible by using thin gauged metal, elements of the sculptures appear suspended. Working under the stars on Sauvie’s Island, the artists were struck by the serendipitous effect the light had on their work. The physicality of the sculpture, though striking and solidly engaging, had an evocative counterpart - the incredible lucidity of a cast shadow.

Merry Melange of Art

Mixed media on reclaimed board by Tim Combs, Portland
Pastel landscapes by Scott Jeffs, Portland
Fused glass enamel on copper trees by Angelina Marino, Portland
Acrylic paintings by Lisa Sayles, Portland
Glass nativities and ornaments by Ana Maria Torres, Quito, Ecuador
Tagua nut carvings and ornaments by ProPueblo, Ecuador

Deck the halls and decorate the walls with small works of art by four local artists and handmade crafts from Ecuador.

• Tim Combs, as The Reclamation Project, works with materials found, reclaimed and recycled. He usually creates pieces of Asian aesthetics.



* Scott Jeff’s award-winning pencil drawings and pastel landscapes can be seen at juried festivals and one-man and group exhibits throughout the northwest.



• Lisa Sayles teaches at Clark College and exhibits artwork often with feminist subject matter. She has created over sixty abstract paintings for this show.



• Angelina Marino's vibrant paintings and sculptures can be seen in public commissions and corporate offices. In the enamel-on-copper series to be shown here, she transforms the tree in all possible colors and moods.



• Ana Maria Torres is an innovative glass artist from Ecuador who creates contemporary fused glass art, uniting natural elements - earth, wind, fire and water - and religious images.



The ProPueblo Foundation is providing work to many artisans in Ecuador, especially those carving tagua nut from the palm tree, also know as vegetable ivory.



November 27 - December 29, 2009
Opening and Artists' Reception - November 27, 11 AM-9 PM

Day of the Dead - group art show

Paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, prints and mixed media
October 29 - November 22, 2009

The theme of the group show is Day of the Dead, and the run of the show will include Halloween and the two Days of the Dead, November 1 and 2. Gifted Hispanic artists from Portland and the Willamette Valley - Analee Fuentes, Gene Flores, Alejandro Ceballos, Susana Espino, Paulina Hermosillo, Armando Olveda, Vincent Ramirez, Enrique Santacruz and Pepe Moscoso - will exhibit new work, and other artists working within the genre, such as Cori Jacobs, Greg Carrigan, Clay Hoffman, Lorena Goss, Sue Burnett, Nancy Watterson Scharf and Sarah Smith will also have their art in the show.



The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage (and others) living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which take place on those days. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Observance of the holiday in Mexican-American communities in the United States has become more important and widespread as the community grows numerically and economically.



On Alberta Street for the second year, there will be significant activity related to the Day of the Dead. In addition to the show at Onda, there willl be another major group show of Day of the Dead art located at Guardino Gallery. A procession commemorating the Day of the Dead will take place on Last Thursday, October 29. Several Day of the Dead altars will also be built - one at Onda Gallery and one in the parking lot in back of Guardino Gallery.

Rogene Mañas and Brian Mock showing in October

Paintings/mixed media by Rogene Mañas
With her unique, primitive art style and inventive mixed media techniques, this successful Eugene artist makes her Portland debut at Onda. Combining plant, bird, and insect imagery with figurative elements in a slightly surrealistic fashion, Rogene Mañas explores and illuminates what she calls “the essence within.” Drawing from her imagination, her organic and often haunting compositions reflect both her Mediterranean heritage and her passion for Mexican folk art. Using papier maché, collage materials and acrylic paint, she creates sculptural reliefs and textural paintings in handmade box frames.


Sculptures by Brian Mock
Brian Mock likes the challenge of creating sculptures which are unique, fun and inherently curious. He merges imagination with technical skill by incorporating unusual found objects and everyday items into one-of-a-kind pieces. Work integrating welded, recycled material is designed to be highly interactive and results in a spectrum of applications such as abstract wall pieces, freestanding sculptures, and functional furnishings. His work prompts viewers to question the reality of what they see.

September 24- October 27, 2009
Opening and Artists' Reception: Thursday, September 24, 6-9 PM

Cowboys of the Americas—15 artists

Paintings, photographs, sculptures, mixed media
by Mabel Astarloa Haley, Sidonie Caron, Tim Combs, Joan Darling, Shyama Helin,
Allison McClay, Nance Paternoster, Mark Reber, Lisa Sayles, Paul Slick, Sara Swink,
Gary Terry, Greg Thilmont, Celia Wagner, Madison Weiss


Whether they herd cattle on the Argentinean pampas or compete in the Pendleton Roundup, cowboys are iconic figures in art and literature throughout the Americas. The September presentation at Onda is "Cowboys of the Americas" with 15 local, regional and international artists showing paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media pieces and photographs about cowboys/cowgirls/gauchos/vaqueros. Themes of action, work, isolation, community and fun, danger and violence are expressed in the thirty-two pieces exhibited.

Each of the artists finds his or her own connection to the cowboy legend and reality, and each works within a distinctive style. The examples here are illustrated with images by the artists.

• Mabel Astarloa Haley's large paintings of cowboys in Eastern Oregon, which have been included in a statewide exhibit called "Art About Agriculture", were the inspiration for the show, but she has also painted new scenes of gauchos from her native Argentina.



• Sidonie Caron's entry in "Art About Agriculture" is entitled "Cowboy Horsepower". She participated in "The American West, Cowboys, Indians & the Big Picture" (2002) at the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston MA and "Sustaining Change on the American Farm", Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, WA (2006).

• Sara Swink established the Clay Circle Studio in West Linn in 2006 and has shown her whimsical ceramic sculptures at galleries in the Portland area and at Portland Open Studios.

• Eldon P. Slick is a nationally exhibited and published painter, sculptor and illustrator from Tucson.

• Growing up in Klamath Falls, Gary Terry gained an intimate appreciation of the elements of ranch life and the natural world which he has translated into award-winning paintings and illustrations.

August 27-September 22, 2009
Opening and Artists' Reception: August 27, 6-9 PM

Mysteries of Metal—Paintings by Heidi Balmaceda, Sculptures by Ben Dye

Although she lived as a child in Chile with her family, Heidi Marie Balmaceda has spent most of her life in the Pacific Northwest. Her paintings often start with natural objects like trees or clouds which she then stretches and curls into something whimsical and fantastic. The new work is inspired by the Columbia Gorge. With solid color backgrounds and shapes in gold, copper or silver foil, her paintings are bold and graphic yet they suggest delicate mysteries of the cosmos.



Balmaceda is one of Onda's represented artists, and her work has been shown at both the Alberta and Lake Oswego locations. Her active exhibit schedule has also included two shows at Gresham City Hall (2009), a one person exhibit at Teatro Milagro (2009), a group show for Latin Heritage Month at Portland City Hall (2008), and exhibits at commercial venues such as Anthropologie in the Pearl District, Dragonfly Café, Borders and Cinetopia. She is scheduled for a show at the Sundance Resort in 2010.


With a degree in Ocean Marine Technology, Ben Dye worked as a commercial diver and, with art classes at Clackamas Community College and Marylhurst, he interprets his experience in the natural world. He uses recycled materials as raw stock, combining the original colors or rust patterns to create the finished look. He is interested in bringing a story to life from each piece.






















Dye was part of a group of creators of functional art who put together the influential "Table/Lamp/Chair" shows in the 1980's. More recently, because of the materials he uses, he has found a niche for his work in exhibits focused on outdoor art, including the Southeast Area Art Walk, Heart of Oregon, Hardy Plants Spring Sale, Clackamas Master Gardeners Fair, Wilsonvillle Festival of the Arts, Open Studios, Vancouver Recycle Fair, Gresham Art walk, Cracked Pots, Carlton Art walk, Art in The Forest, Crawfish Festival, Art in the Burbs.

July 30-August 25, 2009
Opening and Artists' Reception: July 30, 6-9 PM
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday, 12-4

Universes Big and Small—Sculptures by Pamela Grow and Paintings by Paul Solevad

Pamela Grow was born and raised in Australia and moved to the United States in 1969. Living on the Oregon and California coasts, she has collaborated with artists who helped define her spontaneous and slightly quirky style. She has worked with various media but found her passion in creating works of clay. She has exhibited at the Palos Verdes Art Center and Torrance Cultural Center in Southern California, as well as American Crafts Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, and Phoenix Rising Gallery, Seattle, Washington. She is a member of the Pacific Northwest Sculptors.



Paul Solevad's work explores the idea of universality and connection. The greater “continuum” is expressed in creations of floating fractal symbols and shapes, small windows into our expansive reality. The ongoing continuity of nature, man, and the universe is melded in surrealistic expressionism. Solevad's most recent work delves further into the exploration of nature and form with the series of “Radiolaria” - single-celled organisms that express the fractal patterns seen on every level of our organic reality. He views this new work as meditative mandalas, allowing for contemplation and reflection.

June 25-July 28, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday 12-4
Opening and artists' reception: June 25, 6-9 PM

Onda at Latino Gay Pride

The gallery and I received an award last week during the Latino Gay Pride celebration. It's the second year the Mariposa Awards were given, and I was one of five individuals and/or organizations recognized, including the heads of the bi-lingual theatre group and the bi-lingual newspaper. The group of people involved in organizing the four major events of the festival did an amazing job and were a lot of fun too.




The theme for Portland Latino Gay Pride’s first celebration was called Noche de Familia y Mariposas/Night of Family and Butterflies. “Mariposa” is a slang term used in many Latin American countries to describe someone who is gay. For many, it was a term used in a disrespectful or derogatory manner. The committee decided to change that by celebrating who we are and taking PRIDE in the “mariposa” inside of all of us.

Onda Gallery featured in Travel Portland

Pablo and I were interviewed by Anna Sachse of Travel Portland about some of our favorite places on Alberta Street. The publication just came out and will be available through 2010.

Creatures and Creation—Sculptures by Miguel Illescas and Paintings by Cori Jacobs

Miguel Illescas is an Ecuadorian sculptor who specializes in animal figures indigenous to the Galapagos Islands and human figures of native folklore. The metal sculptures are exhibited in honor of the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, ‘On the Origin of Species’.

Illescas' distinctive style features delicate balance and colorful surfaces. Since 1989, he has shown metal sculptures in individual and group shows throughout Ecuador and other countries, including a 2007 show at the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.. His work is in public and private collections throughout the world, including large scale public art works in Ecuador.


Cori Jacobs is an American artist who paints in her San Francisco, Nayarit (Mexico) studio. Her subject matter is cosmic and personal. She has always loved the world of art and creativity. Daily she continues her exploration of this mysterious and unknown place, drawing and painting the images that arise, the places she encounters, the emotions and the people that surround her.

Born in Oregon and a graduate of the University of Oregon, she began her travels in Mexico to improve her Spanish and fell in love with the country. With a background in anthropology and a passion for indigenous art and craft, she lived for a time with the Huichol people, studying the traditional arts of yarn painting, bead work and embroidery in a small mountain community.

May 28-June 23, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday 12-4
Opening and artists' reception: May 28, 6-9 PM

May 9 is World Fair Trade Day

World Fair Trade Day was established by the Fair Trade Federation as a salute to the people and organizations who have dedicated themselves to making Fair Trade what it is today, a solution not an issue. Fair Trade is not just about poverty, it's about the alleviation of poverty. Fair Trade is not just about climate change, it's the end of environmental degradation and bad practices. Fair Trade is about change.

Since 1998, Onda Gallery has been proud to exhibit recognized and emerging artists from the Pacific Northwest and abroad. The gallery has a strong commitment to support local artists and invest in those who believe in "Sustainability and Fair Trade" practices.

Onda Gallery is the only gallery in the Portland area dedicated to Fair Trade. All of our gift items come from the hands of artisans protected by the principles of fair labor laws, safe working conditions, preservation of cultural identity and self empowerment. Gift items come from Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru.

Fair Trade/Environmental Art

In honor of World Fair Trade Day on May 9th, Onda Gallery - Lake Oswego and Alberta - will host exhibits by artists who incorporate recycled materials or speak to the importance of living sustainably. The Lake Oswego exhibit will be dedicated totally to Fair Trade/Environmental Art while the featured sculptor at Alberta, Joel Heidel, creates much of his work from recycled metal.

Abstraction: Paintings by Angel Matamoros and Sculptures by Joel Heidel

April 30-May 26, 2009
Opening and Artists' Reception: April 30, 6-9 PM

Angel Matamoros works with acrylic and mixed-media, but he enjoys experimenting with various styles, colors and textures. He uses a variety of techniques including multiple glazes, resists, encaustic, watercolor and oil pastel.

"My paintings are inspired by memories and emotions which I recreate using color, texture and the occasional line of type or collage element. A work is finished when it has conveyed an emotion or memory."

A native of Costa Rica, Matamoros now lives in Olympia, Washington.

Joel Heidel works primarily in abstract direct-metal sculpture. He has extensive industrial training and experience in torch, wire feed/ mig, oxy/acetalene and arc welding, plasma and torch cutting and has performed these tasks on a wide range of metal gauges and types. He is knowledgeable in many processes including acid etching, glass making, glass casting and can employ an extensive variety of disciplines and skills

"I seek to escape the preconceptions of forms and to find new juxtapositions of seemingly incompatible elements. I strive to achieve balance between elemental and complex shapes and forms, overcoming established expectations. My personal artistic approach extends to my collaborative work as well, where two or more artistic minds work in concert to create a piece of work."

Heidel and his wife Angelina Marino live in Portland and collaborate on public art projects.

Two Photographers in Onda April Show

Reggae and Reggaeton
Photographs by Edis Jurcys and Hugo Ludeña

March 26-April 28, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday 12-4
Opening and artists' reception: March 26, 6-9 PM

The next show at Onda, part of the PhotoLucida* event, showcases work by two award-winning photographers, Edis Jurcys and Hugo Ludeña. Reggae in the title refers to Jurycs' silver gelatin prints of images from Jamaica; Reggaeton refers to Ludeña's color photos documenting urban Latino culture.

Edis Jurcys was born in Lithuania in 1973. At 16, he took his first photograph and then studied at the Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. With a cameraman's diploma, he did an eight-year stint with the CTV Russian channel. In 1989, he came to the US where he works as a commercial photographer and shoots video documentaries.

"Gijos" ("Thread"), his book of black and white photographs published in 2004, gathers images from his world travels, but it's not a travel book. Every image portrays intimate moments in the lives of the subjects using a subtle and deeply humanistic approach and tone. Two of the images have recently been selected by a a jury to be part of the tenth anniversary of the publication M.I.L.K. (Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship), which has included at least four Pulitzer Prize winners, and produced four books as well as an international touring exhibition. The new project, entitled Fresh M.I.L.K, Friends, Families, Lovers, and Laughter (http://www.freshmilkphotos.com/#), will include 150 images and is due to be published in the fall.

In March, 2008, Blue Sky Gallery exhibited photographs from "Gijos". Jurcys' other awards and accomplishments include Kulture Prize award at the International Photography festival in Belgium, 2001, Grand Prix award at the International Photography festival in Lithuania, 2006. A Reed college viewbook with his photographs won Gold Medal at CASE competition (2006), a PSU book won HOW 19th Annual Self-Promotion Design Merit Award (2006), and selected images have been purchased by Portland Art Museum for its private photography collection.

Hugo Ludeña arrived in the Pacific Northwest in 1993 and was immediately welcomed by the community. Discovering that Latinos living in the Northwest were very isolated from the rest of the society. he began capturing Latino life as it happened - festivals, concerts, community events, traditional weddings and every day life.

Thousands of photographs later, the collection which is the basis of the current exhibit, began to take form. In 2004, he selected eighty images as a documentary work entitled "Latino Life in the Northwest: A Cultural Journey". This series chronicles the contributions of Latinos to the development of the Pacific Northwest, pushing away Latino stereotypes in media and visual arts. Authentic Latino families are shown both in their work environments and in their celebrations, dressed in their best garments. Ludeña states, "We came to this country with our own values, history and traditions. My work ensures that these cultural [forms] are not lost or dissipated but are offered as a point of engagement for all."

Ludeña is the publisher of Latino Cultural Magazine, Seattle, Washington, which he started in 2006. He has participated in many exhibits in the Seattle area, including a solo exhibit at the Gallery 4 Culture (2007), a group exhibit, "Latino Art in the Northwest at the Seattle Trade and Convention Center (2008), "Autobiography", a show a the SAM Gallery, Seattle Art Museum (2008), 7th Annual PONCHO Invitational Fine Art Auction (2008), solo exhibit at the Greg Kucera Gallery (2008). He has also been exhibited and represented by Greg Kucera Gallery at Art Miami, Los Angeles Art Show and Art Chicago.

His awards and distinctions include a City Artist Projects grant in the category of visual arts, awarded by the City of Seattle (2006), the Juror’s Choice Award. Tacoma Community College (2007), PONCHO Artistic Merit Award (2008), Mayor’s Arts Award (2008), Seattle, Washington. His work has been acquired by the King County Public Art Collection, Group Health Cooperative, Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom. and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.

*Photolucida 2009 will bring hundreds of photographers, curators, publishers and gallerists to Portland April 23-26.

10th Anniversary Touching Cuba exhibit

On March 12, 1999, the Touching Cuba art exhibit opened at Onda Gallery. It was the first time in decades that artists living and working in Cuba were shown in Portland, and the crowds at the opening and through the run of the show were exhilarated by the quality and originality of the work. Although artists such as Manuel Mendive, Alfredo Sosabravo and Alicia Leal are not well known in the United States because of the economic and cultural embargo, they are acclaimed around the world and collected by aficionados of contemporary art.

Sandra Levinson, the director of the Cuban Art Space in New York, selected the nearly 100 pieces for the show and came to Portland to help install the paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures as well as the craft pieces including textiles, jewelry, papier mache and much more.

Sadly, the 2000 election and the eight years of the Bush administration meant that the opportunities for cultural exchange with Cuba not only didn't increase but decidedly decreased. Some art galleries, including the Cuban Art Space, have continued to fight for the right to bring art and artists from Cuban, and some organizations have continued to pressure the US government to lift the embargo.

We can only hope and pray that the Obama administration finally puts an end to the anachronistic and vindictive policies of the last forty plus years (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/08/cuba-obama-administration) and that we can truly look forward to touching Cuba again.

March exhibit at Onda

Paintings by Rita Urdaneta and Wilson Neto
Sculptures by Zulay Quintana
February 26-March 24, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday 12-4
Opening and reception: February 26, 6-9 PM

Kicking off the spring art season, we have two painters and one sculptor, two Venezuelans and one Brazilian,in the next exhibit at Onda. Rita Urdaneta, one of Onda's represented artists, will show a new group of paintings in her distinctive graphic style. Wilson Neto, a young Brazilian artist developing his presence in the US and Europe, brings paintings of women from various ethnicities portrayed in bright colors and intricate textures. Zulay Quintana, like Urdaneta originally from Venezuela, creates sculptures of powerful women engaged in active athletic pursuits.

All three artists have extensive exhibit history - Urdaneta in Canada and the US, Neto in Brazil and recently in Germany, and Quintana in Venezuela and Houston where she currently lives and works.

Onda Gallery
2215 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211
503.493.1909
http://www.ondagallery.com

Visual Arts tour to Buenos Aires

Onda Gallery Visual Arts Tour Buenos Aires
October 9-23, 2009

Join me, Onda Gallery director, Allan Oliver, on a behind-the-scenes tour of Buenos Aires’ vibrant art world. This trip offers Buenos Aires with excursions to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, and Iguazu Falls.

HIGHLIGHTS:

GALLERY VISITS to galleries such as Braga Menendez, Rubbers, Bohenkamp-Revale, Ruth Benzacar, Matilde Bensignor, Daniel Abate, Appetite and Rostbif

STUDIO TOURS to artist studios such as Teodolina Garcia, Vilma Villaverde, Aldo Sessa, Filete artists such as Martianiano Arce, Alfredo Genovese and Jorge Muscia

PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS to the homes of art aficinados such as Marion Helft, Juan & Patricia Vergez, Luis Parenti and Cecilia Caballero. (Two of the visits to include lunch and/or dinner)

VISITS to MALBA, Museum of Fine Arts, Centro Cultural Recoleta

Half Day Sightseeing tour of Buenos Aires

Two Tango Shows: Rojo Tango and Esquina Carlos Gardel including dinner

Full day Excursion to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay UNESCO site

Two Night Excursion to Iguazu Falls including full day tour of the Falls, accommodations and flights

TRIP COST WITHIN ARGENTINA
(DOES NOT INCLUDE INTERNATIONAL AIRFARE see below**)
Group based upon 11 participants (will increase if less than 11)
Cost $4765.00* per person, double occupancy based upon 11 participants.
*Single Supplement is $900.00 added to above figures

Includes 10 nights Buenos Aires accommodations based upon shared occupancy with daily breakfast, English speaking art guide, Rojo Tango dinner show, half day city tour, art museums, galleries, studios and private art collections in Buenos Aires, internal Iguasu Falls flights commencing and terminating in Buenos Aires, 2nts accommodations Iguasu Falls with daily breakfast, full day excursion to Falls on the Great Adventure , private local jungle guides, day excursion to Colonia, a farewell dinner at the Esquina de Car los Gardel Tango show.

**International nonrefundable airfare from Pacific Northwest coach to Buenos Aires is approximately $1200.00-1600.00 .

Nonrefundable deposit of $1200.00 required by March 30, 2009 to reserve space.

For details and booking, contact:
Nancy Pole- Wilhite - booking agent 503.296.7913
email:nancy@terranovatour.com

For general information, contact:
Allan Oliver, Onda Gallery 503.493.1909
www.ondagallery.com
email:alberta@ondagallery.com