Visit art displays at the Bandon Library in the lobby gallery and cases. Click here for background and contact information.

CHECK OUT Bandon Library Art Gallery Facebook Page

The show is open to the public from Tuesday through Saturday during the library’s hours:

• Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday: 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Friday: 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Closed on City of Bandon holidays

Find more details on our Facebook page.

December 2017
“Melancholia:” Photographs by Manuela Durson, wood sculpture by Dan Sawyer

Photo credits: Tunnel of Light by Manuela Durson; Untitled by Dan Sawyer

The minimalist photographs of Manuela Durson contain a spare but vibrant beauty. These strong, uncluttered images are imbued with a melancholic spirit, but not a negative one. On the contrary, they evoke the silent, profound experience of being alone with Nature in a depopulated world. The traces of humanity she does make note of, the decrepit ‘Lone Dory’ and the rotted remains of a pier in ‘Into the Blue,’ only emphasize the contemplative solitude of the moment. These photographs were taken all along the West Coast, from Mexico to Oregon.

Dan Sawyer gathers driftwood from Bandon and other beaches, and transforms it into free-form sculpture. He emphasizes the wood’s innate characteristics through sanding and polishing, and may cut into the original piece to find its sculptural essence. With their curved lines and rounded surfaces, these sculptures flow like the sea that cast them up.

October – November 2017
“Chinese Brush Paintings by Janice Horne”

Find more details on our Facebook page.

“Chinese Brush Paintings” by Janice Horne. The subtle colors, delicate lines, and spare composition of Chinese Brush painting are very different from art made in the West. While traveling in China 30 years ago, Janice Horne studied and practiced this ancient art, a discipline passed down through the generations by masters to new students. Using their chi (one’s own, intrinsic energy or life force) to guide them, students work to replicate the brush, composition, and color techniques of the masters, until they are ready to create their own works, at which point they use these difficult and precise methods in original compositions. Artistic satisfaction is derived from both the successful grasping and executing of the masters’ work, and from the ability to find one’s own personal expression via the medium. In this show, Janice displays both paintings that represent the work of the masters of the Lingman School of Art (of the Guangdong region), as well as her own, original paintings.

The quilting display continues in the cases through November 30th, and plenty of tickets are available for the December 5th raffle. That gorgeous quilt could be yours!

August – September 2017
“Processing the Image: Manipulated Photographs by Brian York.”

Find more details on our Facebook page.

Brian York begins with a photograph, which is then heavily manipulated and processed using Photoshop and other programs. The piece is then enhanced with digital hand painting and other effects. The result is a textured, complex image that feels like a painting, while retaining some of the qualities of a photograph. Brian’s attention to color and detail reflect his excellent instincts for which aspects of the original image to alter or enhance and which to leave intact, as well as what colors to saturate or bleed away; which areas to soften, which to sharpen, in order to create visual tension and emotional impact.

And August through December, the gallery will be displaying a beautiful, handmade quilt that Bandon Library Friends and Foundation will raffle off to benefit the library. Tickets are available at the checkout desk.

June – July 2017
The 3rd Annual Mosaic Show: “Piece by Piece: Finding Inspiration in Materials.”

Find more details on our Facebook page.
Reception:  Sprague Room on Saturday, June 3rd, from 2-4 pm.

The 3rd Annual Mosaic Show: “Piece by Piece: Finding Inspiration in Materials,” celebrates mosaic art in all forms, from abstract and conceptual Fine Art to micromosaic jewelry and crafts pieces. The Mosaic Show is a good place to explore this exciting medium. Materials in these mosaics include Venetian glass, stone, beads, stained glass, and upcycled objects.

The show features work by artists from Oregon  as well as Australia, France and the great state of Oklahoma. It includes a display of raw materials, definitions of terms, and information about resources. Most of the pieces are for sale, and many of the artists do commission work.

Join us for a reception in the Sprague Room on Saturday, June 3rd, from 2-4 pm, to kick off the 3rd Annual Mosaic Show, “Piece by Piece: Finding Inspiration in Materials.” We will be working on a group mosaic project, which will become part of a Public Art project in Washington State. There will be refreshments. See you there!

May 2017
Bandon High School Students

Bandon High School art students take over the Bandon Library Art Gallery from May 1st – 31st, displaying their paintings, drawings, and pottery on the walls and in the cases. Under the direction of teacher Jen Ells, these young artists explore many techniques and study a variety of artists;. Her interesting and challenging assignments give the students a chance acquire the technical skills necessary to express themselves through art.

March – April 2017
“Bronze”
Photographs by Jan Cedras Ayers & Bronze Sculpture by Ken Ayers
There will be a reception for the artists on Sunday April 2nd, 2-4 pm, in the Sprague Room

A photographer of wide-ranging interests, Jan Cedras Ayers began photographing her husband Ken’s bronze sculptures to make a record of them, when she found herself enthralled by the way the light moved over them, the colors and reflections captured in their surfaces. She saw revealed a potential for making photographic studies of them as stand-alone works of abstract art. As she makes these explorations of composition and light, her photographs become topographies of stunning depth and complexity.

Ken Ayers’ sculptures begin as bits of kelp, stems, pieces of driftwood, slender, vine-wrapped trunks, bits of twine or cloth, and become fantastical bronze flowers and plants from another world. These twisting, dancing creations may be made from a single element, or may incorporate several pieces from different sources bound together to create something unknown in nature, but which clearly reference the familiar, natural world. Their mysterious forms are studies in grace, often seeming almost airborne despite their weight.

January and February 2017
“Dreamscapes” - Paintings by John Butler, Hand-carved items by the South Coast Woodturner's Club. Reception for the artists: Sunday, January 15th from 2 – 4 pm in the Sprague Community Room.
	Oil painter John Butler's stunning dreamscapes explore the unconscious, the world of dreams and the inner life. Using familiar elements in unfamiliar ways, his complex images capture the kaleidoscopic nature of time, perception, and memory, the many levels of awareness available to us during even the most mundane activities. His canvases shimmer with color and light, opening new vistas of imagination.
	The cases are filled with the finely carved bowls, platters, vases, and magic wands made by the South Coast Woodturner's Club. Its members are artisans who share a love of wood turning.