ARTS
& C U LTURE
5
Art show intrigues audience
BY ALLIE PERKINS
.........
STAFF writer
“ Everything isn ’t alw ays exactly w h at it
seems,” said Matthew Dennison. Dennison,
a P ortlan d-based artist, is sh ow ing his
paintings, drawings and sculptures in his
show, “ Birth Mark, ” in theNiemeyer Center
on Clackamas Community College’sOregon
City campus.
D en n iso n w a s recom m en d ed b y art
instructor Dave Andersen during a faculty
meeting to discuss the upcoming exhibitions
in the gallery.
Kate Simmons, studio technician at CCC,
reached out to Dennison to see if he wanted
to sample his artwork in the gallery for the
next year . He was thrilled.
A n a rtis t re c e p tio n w a s h e ld on
W ed n esd ay, Jan. 16, w h ere D en n iso n
discussed his work w ith students, teachers
and comm unity members, who were able to
ask questions and learn more about his art.
M any in attendance w ere awestruck at
Dennison’s unique and fascinating artwork,
leaving w onder to fill their m inds w ith a
new perspective on how people see things.
S im m o n s, a lo n g W ith, o th e r s ta ff
m em b ers, th o u gh t th a t D enn ison w a s
perfect to showcase his abilities at CCC.
“ W e felt like his work would really have
Matthew Dennison attends the artist reception for his exhibit in the Niemeyer Center on Jan. 16.
a lot to offer to the student body and to art
students in particular, of things that we want
without second thought.
“ S om etim es w e d o n ’t p ay a tten tio n
to touch on artistically,” said Sim m ons..
enough to w h at’ s going on in th e world,
“ His m eth od s in addressihg th e hu m an
figure, his styles and processes of painting,
and I think the work that art cando can slow
people down and capture a m om ent,” said
h ow h e w orks w h en h e ’s w orking th ree-
dim en sion ally, in con tra st to h o w h e ’ s
Dennison. “ Then people can look at that
working tw o-dim ensionally.”
m om ent and go from there. ”
m e ,” h e said. “ T h at’ s a conduit for m y
work.”
A rt stu d en ts w h o w a n t to b eco m e
professional artists can use the resources at
m em ber, expressed gratitude toward the
artwork. “ W hat I like about it is that it’s
very stylized,” Mooney said. “ Each stylized
piece, it’s different, you know? Each piece
CCC to connect with open gallery positions as
w ell as the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
has its ow n stylized reason. I’m trying to
Students and com m un ity m em bers had
m uch to say after attending D ennison’s
mythological, or if it has a m ystery behind
it, curiosity behind it, so I have to find but
artisf reception. Leeland Jone, a form er
w hat, or w here he gets his thoughts and
feelings that create things. That’s kind of
Dennison said his artwork was inspired
His artw ork creates a m essage to tell
viewers to stop for a m om ent and focus on
not by peoplebut by howhe views the planet.
th è current tim e, not to w orry about th e
“ M y inspirations are actually th e w h o le
w orld around m e, th e environm en t and
how w e respond to orir daily lives, ” he said.
future that’s coming.
Dennison gave tips to students seeking art
teacher, said, “ I’m glad to see someone kind
o f combining the old works with the modem
ones. It takes so.m uch w ork to know the
His goal is to create a narrative for people
opportunities in the community.
“ I ch o se to sh o w m y w o rk th ro u gh
hard w ork w ith the pretty designs, colors
and all of that. Also adding hum an interest
th a t m a k e s th e m th in k h ard er a b o u t
situations, rather th an p assing b y th em
galleries, and so I show Froelick Gallery in
Portland, and th at’s kind o f a vehicle for
and stories.”
C h ris M ooney, a n o th er co m m u n ity
understand w h ether it’ s m etaphorical or
interesting to find out.” ,
O thers w h o attended said D enn ison ’s
work allowed them to pause for a m om ent
and breathe. “ Birth Mark” is available to see
through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Feb. 1
and is free to attend.
“I ’m trying to understand
whether it’s metaphorical
or mythological...”
-Chris Mooney
One of Dennison’s sculptural pieces.
Visitors peruse the art exhibit in the Niemeyer Center.
Clackamas Print
thedackam asprint.com
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January 30, 2019