DECEMBER 17, 2021
ROSEBURG, Ore., Dec. 17, 2021 – The Art Gallery at Umpqua Community College will reopen next month after an 18-month hiatus, first featuring the work of a Los Angeles-based photographer who brings an optic-twisting perspective to urban landscapes.
The gallery will open for free to students and the public on weekdays from 10 to 4 beginning January 3, showcasing Richard Greene’s Abstract Architectural, a photographic exhibit that creates temporary optical illusions using exteriors and colors of grouped buildings.
I hope that you don’t know what you’re seeing, Greene said. My background as a musician has me interpreting architectural forms as music, full of harmonies and cross-rhythms, all captured in steel, brick, glass and concrete.”
The showing is one of several that were postponed when the gallery was closed for the pandemic (it also underwent seismic retrofitting) following the Winter 2020 term. Greene and others were gracious enough to reschedule their month-long showings at the 1,110 square-foot gallery inside UCC’s Whipple Fine Arts Building. Greene’s work has been in exhibitions across the country, and he’s a recipient of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery Award. There will be five other artists from across the U.S. in 2022, including Rich Bergeman, a photographer from Corvallis.
The Art Gallery’s primary focus is to showcase the work of quality artists for the education and cultural benefit of our students and residents of Douglas County, said Susan Rochester, Chair of Arts and Humanities at UCC. We schedule the exhibits to correlate with current curriculum. Greene’s art aligns with the upcoming term’s focus on a foundation in elements and principles of design and color theory.
She went on to say the gallery is considered a teaching gallery showcasing a wide variety of media and genres. We want to show our students and others in the community the different ways artists work, the various ideas they might explore within their work, and how those ideas can take form, she added.
Current and former students have expressed their excitement about the return of art events on campus. Jeremy Smith is studying clinical psychology with an art focus and plans to incorporate the latter in therapy.
I’m elated the art gallery will be open once again, he said. It’s a cool space and it’s been sad to see it empty.
Serena Swanson studied Art at UCC before transferring to Oregon State University (OSU) to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking.
The art classes at UCC gave me so much to look forward to with my goals of pursuing art further, she said. When I entered OSU, I had a more stable foundation than my peers, appreciating the precedent set by the UCC instructors. I continue to cherish my experiences there.
Greene’s showing will run until February 2. Other artists’ showings scheduled in the gallery for 2022 include February 7 – March 10: Lindsey Dunnagan, March 28 – April 28: Maria Ruggiero, and the Annual UCC Student Art Exhibition: May 5 – June 3.
About Umpqua Community College
Nestled in the beautiful North Umpqua River Valley, Umpqua Community College is the regional center for higher education in Douglas County, Oregon. UCC provides high quality college degree programs, workforce development, and community learning opportunities.
