On Friday, September 21, 2007, Gallery ’76 was rededicated as the Robert Graves Gallery to recognize Mr. Graves’ efforts to establish a public art gallery for the citizens of North Central Washington and to honor his 34 year teaching career at Wenatchee Valley College.
Robert Graves Gallery is located in: Sexton Hall of Wenatchee Valley College, 1300 Fifth Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801 Ninth Street entrance Telephone: 509-682-6776 John Crew, President
Snapshots: Large Format Camera Photography by K.L. Slusher April 5 - May 13 Reception with the artist: Monday, April 5 at 5 p.m.
Kenneth L. Slusher is a Seattle area photographer specializing in black and white, large format images of Northwest landscapes, Seattle and Tacoma construction projects, and Northwest artists in their studios. Slusher began his photographic journey in 1972 while a journalism major at Western Washington University where he studied under Bob Embrey. He later taught black and white and color photography in Seattle area schools and worked as a technician and supervisor in photography labs before opening his own gallery which he operated for six years.
Slusher’s work has been seen in numerous magazines and periodicals, including Puget Soundings, Northwest Photography, and Arcade: Northwest Calendar for Architecture and Design. In addition to his print work, he has worked on several videos, including John Logan Harter: Northwest Surrealist, The Seike Garden: An American Story and Sketches: The Fremont Fair 2002.
Slusher’s images may be found in public and private collections throughout Washington state including the Washington State Historical Society and Museum, Museum of History and Industry and the Tacoma Public Library Special Collections.
Creative Roots: Paintings by Frederick M. Johnson
Frederick Johnson was born in Dryden, Washington in 1926 and it is still his home. He grew up on the family farm through the “Great Depression” and left soon after for military service in World War II. After his tour of duty in the European Theater Fred enrolled at the University of Washington on the “GI Bill” to pursue his interest in art. Studying with painters such as Alden Mason and Walter Isaacs, he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts Degree in 1953. He then traveled to Europe and continued his studies in Paris. As an only son, his career as an artist was cut short when he was needed to run the family farm. His current exhibit is the first opportunity for the North Central Washington community to view his accomplishments as a painter. It is a brilliant showing and long overdue.
Jim Dine Exhibit to open September 21, 2009
This fall we will open our 2009/2010 season with our most important exhibit to date. Original paintings, prints, drawings and bronze sculpture by internationally known Pop Artist Jim Dine will be coming to Wenatchee.
Dine began his rise to prominence in New York in the late 1950s, where he staged “happenings” and collaborated with Allan Kaprow, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg. He has held guest professorships at Yale University and Oberlin College and was represented in the Venice Biennale in 1964 and the Documents “4” in Kassel in 1968. While considered by many to be a Pop Art Icon, Dine shuns the term, considering his work to be more concerned with inner feelings than the banal more commercial imagery of Pop Art. While he often chooses common items such as tools or bathrobes as his subjects, they are represented in a more traditional painterly way that is highly personal. Besides the images of valentine hearts and bathrobes for which he is best known, Dine finds inspiration in classical Greek and Italian art, which finds representation in many of his recent 2 and 3 dimensional pieces. All of these influences will be reflected in the exhibition this fall.
We owe a debt of gratitude to two men besides Mr. Dine for making the exhibit possible. The first is Mark Anderson who owns Walla Walla Foundry, Inc, where Dine has many of his monumental bronzes cast. The pieces we will exhibit are from the foundry’s collection and are made available by Mr. Anderson’s generosity. The second debt is to Jim Huber, whose vision of “doing the impossible” has lead us to this marvelous conclusion.
Current Gallery News:
Jim Huber, A Lyrical Abstractionist
By Sheila Graves
As a young child, Jim Huber became fascinated with art, especially when it came to color and design. He lived with his grandparents during the first six years of his life and credits his grandfather, an amateur landscape artist, with inspiring and supporting him along the way. Over the years, his interest in the arts developed into a passion. He eventually earned a master of fine arts degree from Claremont Graduate University in Southern California.
Today, the retired teacher spends his time working in his home studio creating what he refers to as lyrical abstractions. “They are music without the lyrics,” he said recently at his Wenatchee home. Several of his works hang throughout his home and it’s obvious, even to the untrained eye, that color and movement is essential to their makeup. He spends an average of four to six hours a day in his backyard studio, where he creates his linear-inspired abstractions.
Huber was born in Portland, Oregon and ended up attending at least 17 schools over the years, due in part to his parents’ divorce and many moves that followed. After a stint with the Navy Reserves, which included two deployments to Vietnam, he used his GI Bill to enroll at the University of California at Riverside. He was the first person to graduate with double degrees in Art History and Studio Art in 1971. He remembered that at the time, his education professors remarked how amazed they were that he had come so far, considering his earlier experiences of countless moves and different schools. Huber was 26 when he entered his first juried art show in 1970-71 at the San Bernardino County Museum.“This was the era of minimalism and conceptual art and at the time, I became inspired by Frank Stella, Kenneth Nolan, Elsworth Kelley,’’ he said. He also garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollack’s drip-style method and his use of colors. He was accepted into Claremont Graduate University, where he received his master of fine arts degree in 1975.He was married by now to Diane and they later had two children, Devin and Caitlin. He supported his young family by teaching at the elementary school level, a position he held until his retirement after 31 years with the California School District in Riverside.
During those years, he maintained a studio in his garage and by the mid-80s he developed a relationship with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Rental Gallery. His paintings sold and he stayed on for six years. He remembered that one of his paintings was bought by a sister of Nicole Brown before the famous and much televised trial of OJ Simpson. “I hope she still has it and not OJ,” he said. Following retirement, he and his wife returned to the Northwest, settling in Wenatchee, where he served on the Arts Commission for two years.
Huber walked over to one of his canvasses in the living room: “I like to take my eyes and climb in between the lines and negative spaces – it’s like going into a new world,” he said of his work. “I like designing things – creating a mystery. I can’t sit for very long before I have to get up and create something.”
Many Thanks to Our Supporters
As we wrap up our first year as Robert Graves Gallery there are many people to thank. First and foremost are you our members who continue to be the life blood of the gallery. Your annual dues, which you will find forms for in this newsletter, provide the funds for shipping, transportation, accommodations, advertising, honorarium and a significant portion of our ever growing printing and postage costs. We are grateful for the in-kind services provided by WVC and their budgetary allotment, but as the community grows so do our needs.
We thank our volunteer docents, reception volunteers and board members, serving the gallery, college and community with our gratitude as their only compensation.
And we thank those who have offered professional services pro-bono over the last two years. Our sometimes confusing and frustrating dealings with bureaucracy have been greatly reduced by Susanne Altman, CPA PLLC who, with great patience, has seen us through some difficult times. The Speidel Law Firm developed and processed our new incorporated name as Robert Graves Gallery. The firm continues to help us with legal advice when we need it.
All of that tedious work goes on behind the scenes so we can fulfill our commitments to the community with style and panache. That image of sophisticated professionalism has largely been provided by Korey Korfiatis and his team of graphic artists at Saggezza Creative Group who designed our new logo, helped us with fundraising, and are helping us create a high quality brochure.
Thanks to all of you for your help and dedication to art, education and community.
John Crew, President of the board.
We are Looking For Additional Board Members
The gallery members of the board are currently looking for a few new members to help with fundraising and promotional activities. If you are interested in helping the gallery continue a strong presence in N.C.W. and have talents you would like to share with us, please contact John Crew, President, at (509) 682-6776 or (509) 665-5977. We would love to hear from you.
Current Board of Directors: President/Gallery Coordinator: John Crew; Secretary: Sheila Graves;Treasurer: Shirl Bradford; Lois Cole: Vice President; Jim Huber; Gordon James; Hank Langeman.
Please join us today in creating a strong foundation of support for Robert Graves Gallery and the visual arts by becoming a member.
Robert Graves Gallery is a nonprofit, community-supported public art gallery located in Sexton Hall on the Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee campus. It is the gallery's purpose to promote awareness of the visual arts through quality exhibitions, classes, workshops, lectures and related programs.
Even though Robert Graves Gallery is located on the campus of Wenatchee Valley College and partially funded by the college, it is a separate entity of the college. It is a gallery for all of us in North Central Washington. The majority of funds needed for operating come from membership fees, donations, art exhibits and sales events.
MEMBERSHIP and RENEWAL OPTIONS
Robert Graves Gallery offers a variety of membership options to allow your participation in supporting art in our community. Every membership confirms your support for our basic goal of providing a venue for the exhibition of a diversity of high quality art in our community. Join us today!
1300 Fifth Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone: (509) 682-6800
Frederick Johnson was born in Dryden, Washington in 1926 and it is still his home. He grew up on the family farm through the “Great Depression” and left soon after for military service in World War II. After his tour of duty in the European Theater Fred enrolled at the University of Washington on the “GI Bill” to pursue his interest in art. Studying with painters such as Alden Mason and Walter Isaacs, he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts Degree in 1953. He then traveled to Europe and continued his studies in Paris. As an only son, his career as an artist was cut short when he was needed to run the family farm. His current exhibit is the first opportunity for the North Central Washington community to view his accomplishments as a painter. It is a brilliant showing and long overdue.
