Bonnie Bronson in her studio

I am thrilled and honored to be named the 2012 Bonnie Bronson Fellow. The award was made at a wonderful, warm reception Wednesday night at Reed College, hosted by Douglas F. Cooley Gallery Curator and Director, Stephanie Snyder. Honors on top of honors, I was introduced by art historian and Art in America contributing editor, Dr. Sue Taylor. The Fellowship commemorates Pacific Northwest artist Bonnie Bronson, a powerful force in the art community, who died in a climbing accident in 1990. Family and friends established the Bonnie Bronson Fund in her memory to “advance and encourage intellectual and creative growth.” The Bronson Fund, through its confidential nomination and selection process, annually honors an artist from the Pacific Northwest with a fellowship and the purchase of his or her work for the Bonnie Bronson Collection, which is housed at Reed College and displayed throughout the campus.

George Baker at the Hammer Museum

In November I was one of the artists selected for a studio visit with UCLA art historian and critic, George Baker. The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts, in partnership with The Ford Family Foundation, organized the studio visits in conjunction with its Curator and Critic Tours and Lectures program,  Connective Conversations | Inside Oregon Art 2011-2012. George was incredibly generous with his time. We had a great conversation about my latest project-in-progress, Abstraction Machine, as well as codes, representation, photography and painting. Thanks to U of O AAA and the Ford Family Foundation for this uncommon gift.

Earlier this month I accompanied my PSU colleague, Julie Perini, on a very quick but incredibly fascinating trip to South Korea. We were invited by the Colleges of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Ulsan to attend the opening reception of, “Sending Signals,” a joint exhibition between our universities. Julie gave a lecture to design students and I visited a freshman painting class for a critique. Though the language barrier was a challenge, I had interesting discussions with students and faculty members about the role of craft traditions in contemporary art.

Abstraction Machine (radar), 2001, graphite, gouache, colored pencil, pigment prints

galleryHOMELAND, 2505 SE 11th, Portland, OR

The latest in the Abstraction Machine series (above) was included in Reading. Writing., a group show curated by Lisa Radon. Reading.Writing. focuses on “the intersections between the practices of reading and writing and art making. It is the möbius strip where writing is a kind of reading is a kind of writing ∞.” The exhibition includes work by 18 artists from Portland, San Francisco, Calgary, Belgrade, and Montreal working in video, print, paint, sculpture, embroidery, photography, and publication, and is accompanied by a catalogue with an essay from Anne Marie Oliver and a poem by David Abel.

On August 13, I participated in a panel discussion, “Reading Art, Writing Art” with Abra Ancliffe and Patrick Collier, moderated by Lisa Radon.