4
AUGUST 11�18, 2021
MIXED MEDIUM
THE ARTS AROUND
EASTERN OREGON
New art exhibit opens in Pendleton
‘Night Passages’ will be on display through September
Go! staff
P
Courtesy of the artist
“Waiting for Plant Magic in the Anthropocene” is among the works of Kirsten
Furlong exhibited at the Pendleton Center for the Arts through September.
ENDLETON — The geologic
time scale may not seem
related to art, but Kirsten Fur-
long’s new exhibit, “Night Pas-
sages,” at the Pendleton Center
for the Arts shows otherwise.
“I create images and objects
about human, animal and plant
interactions in places where
these relationships are defi n-
ing the Anthropocene,” Furlong
said, describing her work.
The show opened Thursday,
Aug. 5, and will be on exhibit
through Sept. 30. Admission
is free to the gallery, at 214 N.
Main St.
The Anthropocene Epoch,
according to a press release, is
an “unoffi cial unit of geologic
time, used to describe the most
recent period in Earth’s history
when human activity started to
have a signifi cant impact on the
planet’s climate and ecosys-
tems. The word Anthropocene
Wed-Fri 12-5 pm & Sat 10am-2pm
is derived from the Greek words
anthropo, for ‘man,’ and cene
for ‘new,’ coined and made
popular by biologist Eugene
Stormer and chemist Paul Crut-
zen in 2000.”
Furlong’s recent projects re-
late to nuclear waste in the high
desert of the western United
States, declining habitat in the
grasslands of the Great Plains,
and the eff ects of climate
change on species everywhere.
According to the artist’s state-
ment, “animals and plants serve
as emblems of nature and as
metaphors for human desires.
She uses detail, repetition and
patterns inspired by those
encountered in the natural
world as a representational tool
while also using mark making
to express empathy, loss and
longing.”
Furlong was born in Milwau-
kee, Wisconsin, and currently
lives and works in Boise, Idaho.
She received a BFA from the
University of Nebraska and an
MFA from Boise State Univer-
sity. Her work has been shown
nationally and internationally in
solo and group exhibitions, in-
cluding several this year. Expe-
riences at artist residencies in
Denali National Park in Alaska,
Signal Fire and PLAYA in Or-
egon, Jentel and Brush Creek in
Wyoming, Montello Foundation
in the Great Basin of Nevada,
Prairieside Outpost in Kansas,
and Good Hart Artist Residency
in Michigan have created the
foundation for many recent
projects. She is the director of
the Blue Galleries and a lecturer
in the Department of Art, De-
sign and Visual Studies at Boise
State University.
Support for the exhibit came
from the Oregon Arts Com-
mission and the Alexa Rose
Foundation. More information
is available by calling 541-310-
7413 or online at www.pendle-
tonarts.org.