News Release: February 17, 2011

NEWS RELEASE Media contact:

Colleen Schafroth, Executive Director

(509) 773-3733, colleen@maryhillmuseum.org

Maryhill Museum of Art Opens 2011 Season with Studio Craft Exhibition
“Process and Presence” features selections from Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft

(GOLDENDALE, Wash., February 17, 2011) – Maryhill Museum of Art will open its 2011 season with a special exhibition drawn from the collection of Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft. Process and Presence: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft, will be on view March 15 – July 4, 2011, and include work by 30 artists working in clay, metal, wood and fiber.

Process and Presence: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft features 40 handmade objects created by artists primarily from the West Coast. Among those included in the exhibition are woodworkers Leroy Setziol and Sam Maloof, the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Also featured are ceramicists Peter Voulkos, Frances Senska and Toshiko Takeazu, jewelry artist Ramona Solberg, metalsmiths Linda and Joe Apodaca, and textile artists Judith Poxson Fawkes and Jack Lenor Larsen, a pioneer of post-war interior textiles.

An opening celebration will take place Saturday, March 19 and feature a lecture by Lloyd Herman, founding director of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and a keen observer of America's contemporary craft movement. Herman will lecture at 3 p.m., and will be joined at 4:15 p.m. by Namita Gupta Wiggers, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Craft, for a walking conversation through the exhibition. A full schedule of the day’s events as well as other exhibition-related programming is below.

The Studio Craft Movement
Since the dawn of time, craft artists worldwide have made functional objects for everyday use, employing craft skills ranging from weaving, to woodcarving, metalworking and building pottery. During the 20th century, renewed interest in traditional craftsmanship spread throughout Europe and the United States; as programs in ceramics, fiber, metals and wood proliferated, artists began experimenting and pushing the boundaries of these mediums.

Unlike traditional crafts, studio crafts embrace aesthetics as a primary function. Technical artistry is also a key feature. Many pieces are one-of-a-kind functional objects, but many are non-functional artworks that make use of craft techniques and traditional materials. The term “designer craftsman” was coined by textile artist Jack Lenor Larson, to differentiate studio artists from designers, and handicrafts from work being made by craftspeople associated with what has become known as the Studio Craft Movement.

Museum of Contemporary Craft
Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft is one of the oldest organizations dedicated to craft in the United States. It is home to a permanent collection of more than 1,000 objects that document the role of the museum and the Pacific Northwest in the evolution of 20th-century American craft. Founded in 1937 as the Oregon Ceramic Studio, the institution provided Depression-era support for regional craft artists, and over the years raised public awareness and the visibility of craft artists through workshops, exhibitions and publications. In 2007, the institution changed its name to the Museum of Contemporary Craft and moved to its current location in Portland’s Pearl District. In 2009, the museum integrated with the Pacific Northwest College of Art, making the joint entity one of Oregon’s largest organizations devoted to the visual arts.

Image above: From left, Peter Voulkos, Green Swirls Vase, 1952, stoneware. Collection of Museum of Contemporary Craft, Osmon B. Stubbs Memorial Award Recipient, 1998.52.03. Vase with Leaf, 1952, stoneware. Collection of Museum of Contemporary Craft, Gift of Rose Fenzl, 2001.10.01. Gourd Shaped Vase, 1952, clay. Collection of Museum of Contemporary Craft, Gift of Dr. Francis J. Newton, 1998.93.47. Photo by Dan Kvitka.

EDITORS: Images for use by the media are availble at http://www.maryhillmuseum.org/press.html

EXHIBITION-RELATED PROGRAMMING:

March 15 – 18

Mosaic Making workshop with Toms Royal
This four-day workshop introduces participants to the many facets of mosaic, from materials and design to layout, glazing and firing. Under the direction of artist Toms Royal, students will create a beautiful custom art piece to take home. Toms Royal creates a range of designs and works of art, including mosaic tile art, furniture, sculpture, textile design and paintings. Cost: $110. Pre-registration required; to register call (509)773-3733, ext. 25.

Saturday, March 19, all day
Celebrate the opening of Maryhill Museum of Art’s 2011 Season! View the exhibition "Process and Presence: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft" and join us for the following special programs:

Family Fun: Make Family Portraits, 1 to 4 p.m.

View portraits in Maryhill’s Paintings Gallery, including The Musician by Edwin H. Blashfield, and then make a portrait incorporating aspects of your own personality. On Family Fun days youth 18 and under are admitted to the museum free all day with one paid adult museum admission.

Art Talk: The Little Leaguer, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Learn more about Maryhill’s iconic painting The Little Leaguer by Robert Douglas Hunter, during a talk led by education volunteer Pat Brim-Williams.

Art by Goldendale High School Students, 2:30 p.m.
Visit the EyeSEE Activity Room to see an exhibition of artwork created by students at Goldendale High School. Students will be on hand to speak about their work.

Lecture: Lloyd Herman, 3 p.m.
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to hear from Lloyd Herman, who The University of Washington Press calls "one of the foremost authorities on the contemporary craft movement in the United States." As founding director of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Herman has been a keen observer of America's contemporary craft movement for 35 years. He now resides in the Seattle area and lectures widely on American crafts; he has juried numerous art competitions, and was decorated by the monarchs of Denmark and Belgium for exhibitions he organized on the crafts of their countries.

Gallery Walk: Lloyd Herman & Namita Gupta Wiggers, 4:15 p.m.
Eavesdrop on Lloyd Herman and Namita Gupta Wiggers, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Craft, as they wind their way through the exhibition Presence and Process: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft. This informal gallery talk is sure to be a fascinating dialogue between two of the country’s leading experts on the studio craft movement.

BIG DIG & Reception, 5 p.m.
Explore the early excavation work at the site of the new Mary and Bruce Stevenson Wing. Afterwards join us for refreshments as we celebrate both the 2011 season and our future.

Friday, April 22, 1 to 4 p.m.
Workshop: Beadmaking with Carol Heath Stabile
Rolled paper beads date to Victorian days, when wallpaper remnants and catalog pages were transformed into everything from jewelry to curtains. Artist Carol Heath Stabile will lead participants in making both traditional tapered beads and a modern cylindrical bead using papers culled from magazines, maps, origami papers, and even food labels. Stabile lives in Port Townsend, Washington and has made creating art and teaching her lifelong career and passion. While primarily a fine artist working in pastel, her jewelry has been featured in stores in the United States and abroad. Cost: $40 and includes materials. Pre-registration required. To register, call (509)773-3733, ext. 25.

Saturday, April 23, 1 to 4 p.m.
Family Fun Program: Simple Beadmaking from Paper
Let your fingers do the walking through everything from magazines, maps and origami papers to create simple and colorful paper beads that can be turned into bracelets, necklaces and more. On Family Fun days youth 18 and under are admitted to the museum free all day with one paid adult museum admission.

Saturday, April 23, 3 p.m.
Lecture: Jim Koudelka
Hear from artist Jim Koudelka, whose ceramic work is included in the exhibition Process and Presence: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Koudelka’s creations have been included in numerous museum exhibitions and his work is represented in public art collections nationwide. He has taught at Oregon College of Art and Craft since 1988.

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ABOUT MARYHILL MUSEUM OF ART:
Housed in a glorious Beaux Arts mansion on 5,300 acres high above the Columbia River, Maryhill Museum of Art opened to the public May 13, 1940 and today remains one of the Pacific Northwest’s most enchanting cultural destinations. The museum was founded by Northwest entrepreneur and visionary Sam Hill, who purchased the property and began building the house with dreams of establishing a Quaker farming community. When that goal proved untenable, Hill was encouraged by friends Loie Fuller, Queen Marie of Romania, and Alma de Bretteville Spreckles to establish a museum.

Maryhill Museum of Art boasts a world-class permanent collection, rotating exhibitions of the highest caliber, and dynamic educational programs that provide opportunities for further exploration by visitors of all ages. On view are more than 80 works by Auguste Rodin, European and American paintings, objects d'art from the palaces of the Queen of Romania, Orthodox icons, unique chess sets, and the renowned Théâtre de la Mode, featuring small-scale mannequins attired in designer fashions of post-World War II France. Baskets of the indigenous people of North America were a collecting interest of Hill; today the museum’s Native American collection represents nearly every tradition and style in North America, with works of art from prehistoric through contemporary.

Maryhill’s Outdoor Sculpture Garden features more than a dozen large-scale works by Northwest artists. The Maryhill Overlook is a site-specific sculpture by noted Portland architect Brad Cloepfil; nearby are Lewis and Clark interpretive panels. Four miles east of Maryhill is a life-sized replica of Stonehenge, Stonehenge Memorial, which Sam Hill built to memorialize local men who perished in World War I. Nearby, the Klickitat County War Memorial honors those who have died in the service of their country since World War I.

The museum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2001 the museum was listed as an official site of the National Historic Lewis and Clark Trail and in 2002 was accredited by the American Association of Museums.

VISITOR INFORMATION:
Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 15 to November 15. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for youth age 7-18 and free for children 6 and under. Admission to the Stonehenge Memorial is free; it is open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily.

Sandwiches, salads, espresso drinks, cold beverages, and freshly baked desserts and pastries are available at Café Maryhill from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily; the Museum Store features art and history books, jewelry, Native American crafts and other mementos.

Maryhill is located off Highway 97, 12 miles south of Goldendale, Washington. Drive times to the museum are 2 hours from Portland/Vancouver, 3.5 hours from Bend, 4 hours from Seattle, and 1.5 hours from Yakima. For further information, visit www.maryhillmuseum.org.