The Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) in Eugene, Oregonis building a community for the arts in downtown Eugene.We are re-inventing Eugene as a destination for visual arts activities for locals and visitors alike bybringing together civic leaders, business leaders, arts organizations, artists and community members in a dialogue to spur focused action toward a vital and profitable city center.
A new exhibit focused on architecture, Architects as Artists, opens at DIVA on January 10th, 2008. It features the work of internationally renowned architect, Robert Harvey Oshatz, alongside historical and recent images of downtown architecture from the city of Eugene, selected work of downtown proposals from UO architecture students, and artwork by local, working architects. The exhibit is sponsored by Wiswall & Walsh and runs through March 1st, 2008.
Robert Harvey Oshatz, from Portland, presents models, photographs, floor plans, drawings, and video of his work in three of DIVA’s galleries. Mr. Oshatz began working in the architectural field in high school, and studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. while receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Arizona State University. In 1971, Mr. Oshatz established the firm of Robert Harvey Oshatz, Architect, which has designed and built numerous commercial and residential projects over the past twenty plus years. Visit the Oshatz web site.
Our
Main Room focuses on downtown redevelopment, an issue that remains at
the forefront of discussion in our community and at DIVA. This exhibit
frames the discussion with an architectural lens. Photographs of
architecture from the 1960’s and current images of our sparse downtown
from the City of Eugene, along with four proposals for redeveloping
Broadway to 10th and Charnelton St. to Olive St. provide context for
the panel discussion at the opening reception.
Our smallest gallery features an exhibit of non-architectural artwork by 13 local architects. Pieces range from paintings and drawings to sculptures and furniture. All of the artists work at local architecture firms, teach architecture at the University of Oregon, or are retired architects; one is deceased.
The opening reception for Architects as Artists is on January 10th, 2008 from 5:30-8:30pm and includes a panel discussion facilitated by city planner, Nan Laurence, on architecture and downtown development. Other panelists include Robert Oshatz, Mayor Kitty Piercy, and Brad Malsin from Beam Development, among others.
MEMBERS GALLERY - February
DIVA's
Members's Gallery is all new with an exhibit by Deborah Heal, The Great
House. She says, "As I paint, the sense of time and place diminishes as
I peer into a large luminous moment where design is creating itself.
Deep knowing emerges of where and when to place the brush and how to
move the smooth colors over the surface. It is not my thinking mind
that calculates this act but a rapt observance of the impulse to
create. I beleive we all carry this impulse. As in a great house, there
are many rooms of diverse style and function. This exhibit captures
several of my inner rooms. Being from Santa Fe, the vistas, colors, and
shapes of the breathtaking northern New Mexico landscape color many of
these paintings. I will continue to explore this great house and travel
a painting pathway to the innermost room. My footsteps will be heard."
This exhibit runs through March 1st, 2008. Read more about the work of Deborah Heal. The gallery is currently showing the work of Tricia Clark-McDowell through the end of the month of January.
