ARTSHOUND
‘LEGENDS’ BY
CANADIAN POP
SURREALIST ALEX
GARANT ON VIEW
AT ALEXI ERA
GALLERY
Pop surrealism descends on Eugene: Gallery
newcomer the Alexi Era Gallery, tucked neatly
between downtown and the Whiteaker (at 245 W.
8th Ave.), joins the festivities for First Friday
ArtWalk 5:30 to 8 pm Friday, July 1. Owner and
curator Aunia Kahn recently relocated the gallery
from St. Louis, where it was part of the pop
surrealism — a descendent of low-brow art — and
new contemporary art movement. This gallery
could be a huge boon for the edgier corners of the
local art community, as remaining galleries in
Eugene tend to show more traditional, safer works.
And the timing could not be better, as the Pacific
Northwest’s most renowned pop surrealist gallery,
Seattle’s Roq La Rue, announced its closing earlier
this spring. Aunia, herself a figurative artist and
photographer, has shown work locally in the annual
Día de los Muertos show at Maude Kerns Art Center.
Speaking of Maude Kerns, it’s time for the center’s
biggest event of the year: Art and the Vineyard July
2-4 at Alton Baker Park. For 30-plus years artists and
craftspeople have flocked to the festival’s Artists’
Marketplace, featuring more than 90 artists booths.
Keep an eye out for the booths of Kyla Corbett,
whose felted figurative pieces are reminiscent of
Impressionism, and Tim Giraudier, whose crystal-
clear photography captures the rugged wonders of
Oregon, from mushrooms and fisheries to mossy
forests and panoramas. Stick around for the Freedom
Festival fireworks show July 4.
2021: A Eugene Odyssey. The official buzzword
lately ’round these parts seems to be “2021.” As in:
Sniffing out what
you shouldn’t miss
in the arts this week
“Let’s tidy up this mudhole before 2021, when the
world is watching.” One of the most exciting
developments to come out of the hubbub
surrounding the 2021 IAAF World Championships
is the 20X21 EUG Mural Project, kickstarted by
the city of Eugene’s Public Art Program. The goal is,
essentially, to commission 20 local and
international street artists to paint murals around
Eugene before the championships. The Acidum
Project, an urban art collective from Brazil, already
completed the first mural June 27 on the east wall
of Cowfish Danceclub downtown. It’s bright, it’s
dreamy and it’s completely different than any art
in Eugene.
“There was energy there and excitement,” says
Isaac Marquez, the city’s public art manager, of a
mural project in the community. “The focus is on
artists doing the best public art in the world, period.”
Marquez says he believes the most important
part of 20X21 is the community-building, which was
in full swing this past weekend when streams of
people flocked to the mural to watch and get to know
the artists. Debbie Williamson, communications
manager at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and
committee member for 20X21, says it will also carve
out a notch for Eugene in the international art
community. “The more hospitable we are,” she says,
“the better Eugene’s world reputation.”
The next artist, the Los Angeles-based Beau
Stanton, will begin the second mural in August. To
get involved, email 20X21Eug@gmail.com. The
project needs everything from volunteers to house
stays and meals vouchers for visiting artists.
eugeneweekly.com • June 30, 2016
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