During the summer of 2019, Maryhill Museum of Art led a collaborative printmaking project featuring 11 artists working with communities along a 220-mile stretch of the Columbia River from the Willamette River to the Snake River.
The Exquisite Gorge Project brought together artists and communities to create a massive 66-foot steamrolled print. Artists worked with community members from their assigned stretch of river and carved images on 4 x 6 foot wood panels. Each completed panel was connected end-to-end and printed using a steamroller, during a print event on Saturday, August 24, 2019 on the grounds of Maryhill Museum of Art. The resulting print was on view in Maryhilll’s M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center from September 3 -25, 2019.
A full-color publication with all of the woodblock prints and artist statements is now available! Click here to view. You can also order a copy of the publication through the Museum Store. The cost is $12.95 + shipping. To order email museumstore@maryhillmuseum.org or call 509-773-3733 ext. 33.
The Exquisite Gorge Project I: Printmaking
To read a press release on the project click here. Scroll to the bottom of this page for media coverage, including a 10-part series on the project by Friderike Heuer.
Participating Artists
Dylan T. McManus, Artistic Director of Exquisite Gorge Project, Artistic Director of Little Bear Hill, The Dalles, Oregon
Louise Palermo, Project Director of Exquisite Gorge Project, Curator of Education, Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, Washington
Gallery

Partners
The partners involved are: Maryhill Museum of Art, Lewis & Clark College, Arts in Education of the Gorge, The Dalles-Wasco County Library, The Gorge Veterans Museum, The Dalles Art Center, Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries, Whitman College, and White Salmon Arts Council, Little Bear Hill, LLC, and Christopher Pothier Fine Art. Information on how the public can connect with artists will be disseminated by each of the participating partners.
Sponsors
To date, sponsors of The Exquisite Gorge Project include: Klickitat County, Department of Economic Development, Lodging Tax Award, Washington State Arts Commission / National Endowment of the Arts, with additional support provided by Vonda Chandler, Gunkel Orchards, Maryhill Winery, Jo Dean and Juris Sarins, Little Bear Hill, LLC, McClain’s Printmaking Supplies, Continental Hardwood, Array of Elegance, Gamblin Artists Colors, Story Gorge, LLC, Greystone Papers, Your Party & Event Center, Great Skot Production Services, Sally Gilchrist Printmaking, Humanities Washington, and many of the museum’s partners on this project. For opportunities to support this great project, contact Colleen Schafroth 509 773-3733 x 23 or email development@maryhillmuseum.org.
Press Coverage
Printmaking Today article
Exquisite Gorge: It’s a Print, Oregon Arts Watch, August 28, 2019
Hood River News article, August 27, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Truth-Teller, Oregon Arts Watch, August 23, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Mapmakers, Oregon Arts Watch, August 19, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Explorer, Oregon Arts Watch, August 15, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Guardian, Oregon Arts Watch, August 12, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Alchemist, Oregon Arts Watch, July 29, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Bee Maven, Oregon Arts Watch, June 30, 2019
Artist Neal Harrington finishes woodblock of The Dalles, The Dalles Chronicle, June 28, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Listener, Oregon Arts Watch, June 24, 2019
Exquisite Gorge: The Witness, Oregon Arts Watch, June 18, 2019
Exquisite Gorge : Getting Started, Oregon Arts Watch, June 12, 2019
Work underway in TD on ‘Exquisite Gorge’ project, The Dalles Chronicle, June 9, 2019
Maryhill Museum of Art: Collaborative ‘Exquisite Gorge’ project announced, Hood River News, June 6, 2019