Indie Folk: New Art and Sounds from the Pacific Northwest

Andrea Joyce Heimer, The Big Sky Rodeo Finals That Summer Were Marked By A Flash Lightning Storm, A Horse Fight, And My First Handjob In A Haystack, 2019, Acrylic on panel, 60 x 80 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Butterfly Kiss, 2019, Flashe, acrylic, wood stain on board with glazed ceramic , 11.75 x 15.5 x 2.75 inches, Courtesy of the artist; Adams and Ollman, Portland; Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen

Warren Dykeman, So What, 2020, Acrylic on paper , 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy of the artist and studio e, Seattle

Mary Welcome, Ukiah, Oregon (97880), 2013 Post Office (USPS), Digital Photograph, 12 x 18 inches, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of Mary Welcome

Marita Dingus, Fabric Basket, 2003 Fabric, metal,  18 x 20 x 20 inches, Courtesy the artist and Traver Gallery, Seattle

Joey Veltkamp, Washington State Ferries, 2018, Fabric, batting, and thread , 102 x 90 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle

Whiting Tennis, Untitled Pole Painting #1, 2016, Oil on canvas,  56 x 44 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, 'Mourner', 2013, Ladder, canvas, pastels, acrylic, collage, glazed ceramic, and macramé, 79.5 x 108.25 x 58.75 inches, Courtesy of the artist; Adams and Ollman, Portland; Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen

Gaylen Hansen, Kernal with Four Red Grasshoppers, 1980, Oil on canvas, 78 x 99.5 inches, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, Hassam and Speicher Fund

Vince Skelly, Aurora, 2021, Redwood,  32h x 14 x 11 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Adams and Ollman, Portland

Mary Welcome, Elgin, Oregon (97827), 2015, Post Office (USPS), Digital Photograph , 12 x 18 inches, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of Mary Welcome

Brian Beck, Untitled (crow over barn), 2018, Raw pine, acrylic, and enamel, 21 x 9 x 11 inches, Private collection

Marita Dingus, Scissor Basket, 2003, Scissors, found metals , 6 x 9 x 9 inches, Courtesy the artist and Traver Gallery, Seattle

Brian Beck, Untitled (crow leaving barn), 2019, Raw pine, acrylic, and enamel, 12 x 15 x 4 inches, Courtesy of the artist and studio e, Seattle

D.E. May, DM2103-926, Untitled, date unknown, Graphite, paint, canvas, and wood, 9.5 x 6 x 5 inches, Private collection courtesy of PDX Contemporary Art, Portland

Vince Skelly, Linnton, 2021, White oak , 19 x 25 x 19 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Adams and Ollman, Portland

Whiting Tennis, Tree in Green and Ochre, 2019, Oil pastel and collage on paper,  20 x 14 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle

Jeffry Mitchell, 2020 Alphabet, 2020, Porcelain and wood , 52 x 40 inches, Courtesy of the artist and PDX Contemporary Art, Portland

Warren Dykeman, Lago, 2019, Acrylic and graphite on muslin,  33 x 51 inches, Courtesy of the artist and studio e, Seattle

Blair Saxon-Hill, Red of Two Mouths, 2018, Hydrocal, cement, fiber reinforced plaster, gouache, wood, hair pin, metal shard, 24.5 x 33 x 7 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Cloud, 2019, Glazed ceramic, fused glass  15 x 12 x 3 inches, Courtesy of the artist; Adams and Ollman, Portland; Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen

Vince Skelly, Linnton, 2021, White oak , 19h x 25 x 19 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Adams and Ollman, Portland

Joe Feddersen, Drizzle, 2018 Monotype, spray paint, and staples 24 x 17.5 inches Courtesy of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland

Mary Welcome, Carlton, Washington (98814), 2020 Post Office (USPS), Digital Photograph , 12 x 18 inches, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of Mary Welcome

Jeffry Mitchell Pretzel Pot, 2012 Glazed ceramic  26.5 x 12 x 10.5 Courtesy of the artist and PDX Contemporary Art, Portland

Mary Welcome Shaniko, Oregon (97057), 2020 Post Office (USPS), Digital Photograph 12 x 18 inches Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of Mary Welcome 

Marita Dingus Metal Basket, 2003 Mixed media 10 x 17 x 17 inches Courtesy the artist and Traver Gallery, Seattle

Joe Feddersen High-Voltage Tower, 2015 Twined waxed linen  9 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches Courtesy of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland

Joey Veltkamp The Blue Angels, 2018 Fabric, thread 72 x 91.5 inches Courtesy of the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle

Whiting Tennis Feral Cat, 2019 Acrylic with collage, hand-printed paper and oil pastel on canvas 45 x 33 inches Courtesy of the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle

Cappy Thompson Beekeeper, 2015 Vitreous enamel reverse-painted on blown glass 11 x 9 x 7 inches Courtesy the artist and Traver Gallery, Seattle

Mary Welcome Crescent, Oregon (97733), 2020 Post Office (USPS), Digital Photograph 12 x 18 inches Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU Permanent Collection, Gift of Mary Welcome 

Joe Feddersen Parking Lot, 2018 Twined waxed linen  7 x 6 x 6 in Courtesy of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland

Joe Feddersen Blue Chief at Elk Crossing, 2018 Monoprint with spray paint, relief, and collage 24 x 17.5 inches Courtesy of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland

Denzil Hurley Notch Glyph #2, 2015-2016 Oil on linen 70 x 80 inches Courtesy of Juretta Hurley and Canada, New York

Denzil Hurley Glyph Frame #6, 2019 Oil on linen and wooden broom stick 83 x 32.5 inches Courtesy of Juretta Hurley and Canada, New York

EXHIBITION ON VIEW:

June 17th – August 13th, 2022
Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 4pm

About

The Pacific Northwest is home to a unique artistic ecosystem involving craft traditions, pre-industrial cultures, and Indigenous and settler histories. Like folk art, the works featured here are handmade, unpretentious, and often blur the line between functionality and aesthetics. Artisanal woven baskets and tooled-wood objects mix with works that are makeshift, improvisational, and often employ salvaged materials. For the artists—patchwork quilters and abstract painters alike—a rural and working class ethos of passed down knowledge and making do with what you have are as foundational as academics and studio technique.

The exhibition features an intergenerational array of notable artists from throughout the region including Marita Dingus, Warren Dykeman, Joe Feddersen, Blair Saxon-Hill, Whiting Tennis, and Cappy Thompson. A playlist of Indie Folk music selected by Portland’s Mississippi Records will accompany the exhibition, filling the galleries with the sound of the Pacific Northwest.

Organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU and guest curated by Melissa E. Feldman. Indie Folk will travel to the Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR and the Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA. We acknowledge Adams and Ollman, Portland, Oregon, where Indie Folk began in 2020 as a virtual exhibition. Funding for this exhibition is provided by the Samuel H. and Patricia W. Smith Endowment, the Mildred S. Bissinger Endowment, Patrick and Elizabeth Siler, Nancy Spitzer, and members of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU.

About the Curator

Along with her ongoing work as an independent curator and writer, Melissa Feldman held positions for the last several years as Distinguished Visiting Faculty at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, and Director of the Neddy Artist Awards. Recent curatorial projects include Uses of History (2019) at studio e, Seattle; Push Play, an Independent Curators International touring exhibition (2013-17): A Cool Breeze: L.A. and Vancouver Art in the 1960s and Beyond at Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver B.C. (2017); Another Minimalism: Art After California Light and Space (2015-16), at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh and UK tour; Dance Rehearsal: Karen Kilimnik’s World of Ballet and Theatre (2012) at Mills College Art Museum, Oakland and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver. Feldman has been a frequent contributor to Art in America and Frieze among other international publications and has taught at the California College of Art, the San Francisco Art Institute, and Goldsmith’s College, London.

View the Digital Publication HERE

Artists:

Brian Beck
Marita Dingus
Warren Dykeman
Joe Feddersen
Gaylen Hansen
Sky Hopinka
Denzil Hurley
Jessica Jackson Hutchins
Andrea Joyce Heimer
D.E. May
Jeffry Mitchell
Blair Saxon-Hill
Whiting Tennis
Cappy Thompson
Vince Skelly
Joey Veltkamp
Mary Welcome