Bubblelism - paintings by Marcio Diaz

The first Portland show of art work by Marcio Díaz, Nicaraguan contemporary artist living in Seattle, features paintings which you have to see to believe.

The technique he uses is his unique version of pointilism which he calls bubblelism. Each small pool of color is formed by concentric circles in carefully selected tones which eventually help form the larger image of the painting. That this technique is used in large scale pieces makes the achievement even more impressive.



For background on Marcio Díaz, here is his Artist Statement:

"I was born in a small farming community in northern Nicaragua. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and studied painting at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Managua, Nicaragua. I now devote my time entirely to painting. My art represents the country life; the people, nature, and culture of my country as well as the places I have lived and visited.

My experiences as a child growing up in a rural environment gave me an awareness of its natural beauty and lifestyles that I continue to cultivate today through my art. I am passionate about using bold, vibrant, rich colors in my paintings. . . . I am constantly studying art from around the world and I like to experiment with new techniques and textures.

My dream is to one day build an art school for underprivileged youth in my country as well as to promote culture and strengthen and nurture friendship and collaboration thought art everywhere I go."



January 28-February 23, 2010
Opening and artist's reception: January 28, 6-9 PM

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