2021 Awards
People's Choice
Kum-Ja Lee
Through the Bars, 2021
Wool, cotton, acrylic yarn, weaving, 53 x 39 x 2.5 in
Quotes from Voters
"This mixed media work has both a vibrancy of light and an organic embodiment that draws the viewer into the piece. These tender bars of our entrapment seem to hold us together as united in our suffering, woven together as a container of truths and fears, love and hope, all the while questioning our confinement.”
"Huge shout out to Kum-ja Lee. Your dedicated professionalism and uniquely beautiful work is truly an inspiration.”
“I can't believe it's a color made of Wool, cotton!!!! Amazing!!!!”
Curator's Choice
Kyzen Pemberton
Untitled, 2020
Copper, bronze, 6 x 2.5 x 2.5 in
Curator Statement
As an artist that works in metal, I recognize and appreciate the meticulous attention to detail that went into the making of this piece. Kyzen utilizes casting and fabrication processes to create a dynamic and cohesive form that evokes curiosity as it draws in the viewer to explore the variety of surfaces and connections” - Chanin Santiago
Mayor's Choice - 3D
William Rutherford
Grandi Orecchi, 2019
Painted Doug Fir, 54 x 15 x 10 in
For more information visit bill-rutherford.com
Mayor's Statement
This piece stood out to me for its grace and balance. It is at once an evocative sculpture of a stylized head and a totem. Even though the head is out of proportion given its tall height and narrow width, its balance is serene and calm. It feels like a talking image and also a meditation. I love the sharp straight nose balanced by the curvy ears, fleshy full eyes and lips. It is a compelling piece. - Mayor Vinis
Mayor's Choice - 2D
Barry Pennington
Two Triangles, 2019
Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 37 in
For more information visit artsandcultureeugene.org/barry.
Mayor's Statement
This couplet of abstract paintings stands out to me because of its strong design, sense of movement, and bold colors. It bounces off the wall. This piece embodies everything I love about abstract art. The fact that the single unified work is divided into two separate canvasses adds to that sense of movement, and the tension between connection and separation. It forces the viewer to look deeply and enter the painter's vision. - Mayor Vinis
Juror's Choice
Mei-ling Lee
Golden Slumbers, 2020
For more information visit meilinglee.lccmedialab.com
Juror Statements
“As a Mayor's Art Show juror, I felt an obligation to highlight work that not only has artistic merit but also has value to the community. Mei-ling Lee "Golden Slumbers" is clearly about community and for community. She offers to us a haunting and memorable portrayal of one of the pressing issues of our day - gun violence in America. Through her original music score and performance presented in video format, she makes her work easily accessible to all. More than that, she make us feel and think about the issue deeply.” - Sandra Honda
“This piece is timely socially and politically,. It is interesting to bring immersive, experiential work to this community, and the work was particularly thoughtful and ambitious. There were so many strong artists In group that it was challenging to decide!” - Anya Kivarkis
Sandra Honda
Sandra Honda is a contemporary visual artist and writer. Her highly abstract and gestural drawings process her experiences growing up sansei, or third-generation Japanese American. Her work is heavily influenced by music, especially jazz, and poetry. In 2018, she left a long career as a speechwriter and scientist in the Washington, DC area, relocating to Eugene to live her dream of becoming a full-time artist. Since then, she has established a studio practice at the ArtCity Studios on Broadway. She is a published writer in the Eugene contemporary art writing community. Trained as a representational painter, she has had the privilege of having been taught by wonderful artist-teachers at various art centers around the country.
Anya Kivarkis
Anya Kivarkis is currently Professor and Area Head of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at the University of Oregon in Eugene. She received a BFA in Jewelry & Metalsmithing from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1999, and an MFA in Metal from the State University of New York in New Paltz in 2004. Recent exhibitions include ‘Site Effects’ at the Bavarian Association of Arts and Crafts (Germany), ‘Time and the Other’ with Mike Bray at Sienna Patti at The Firehouse at Fort Mason Center for Art and Culture (San Francisco), and ‘What Needs to be Said,’ an exhibition of Hallie Ford Fellows that traveled throughout Oregon. Kivarkis was a recipient of a Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts (2016), a University of Oregon, Presidential Fellowship in Humanistic Studies (2020) and Faculty Excellence Award (2014), a Sienna Gallery Emerging Artist Award (2007), and multiple Individual Artists Fellowships and Career Opportunity Grants supported by the Oregon Arts Commission and the Hallie Ford Foundation.
She has been a visiting artist and lectured at institutions including SUNY, New Paltz, Cranbrook Academy of Art, University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Madison, Rhode Island School of Design, and University of Georgia in Athens. She has been included in publications such as Metalsmith, American Craft, and Italian Elle Magazines. Her work has been included in collections such as the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Tacoma Art Museum, The Rotasa Foundation, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland. She is represented by Sienna Patti in Lenox, Massachusettes and Galerie Rob Koudijs in the Netherlands.
Habi Ali
Hiba Ali is a digital artist, educator, scholar, DJ, experimental music producer and curator based across Chicago, IL, Austin, TX, and Toronto, ON. Their performances and videos concern surveillance, womxn/ womyn of colour, and labour. She studies the geographies of Afro-descent and Indo-Arab communities across the Indian Ocean through music, cloth and ritual. They conduct reading groups addressing digital media and workshops with open-source technology. She is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at Queens University, Kingston, Canada. They are an Assistant Professor of Art, New Media Artist/Feminist Art Discourse, College of Design, Art & Technology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. She has presented their work in Chicago, Stockholm, Toronto, New York, Istanbul, São Paulo, Detroit, Windsor, Dubai, Austin, Vancouver, and Portland. They have written for C Magazine, THE SEEN Magazine, Newcity Chicago, Art Dubai, The State, VAM Magazine, ZORA: Medium, RTV Magazine, and Topical Cream Magazine.