Spring20_Mag_Combined_WEB_single_pages

SPRING 2020 // 27 years, when graduating BFA and MFA students exhibited at galleries across campus because of space limitations. “It has always been challenging to demonstrate the impact and talent of our students’ work with these limitations,” said Lisa Jarrett, art faculty. “The new museum changes this. Now we can showcase their work to the campus and metro com- munities in one stunning location with greater visibility and accessibility. The professional impact on their work will be significant.” Unlike previous gallery spaces, the museum can also accommodate larger, more ambitious work, said Lis Charman, director of the School of Art + Design, which means student artists can dream—and build—bigger. Sharing with the community The museum’s grand opening exhibit included nearly 50 paintings, sculptures and prints from the Jordan D. Schnitzer Family Foundation collection, curated by Tesner. This spring, the museum features exhibitions from local artists Arvie Smith and Daniel Duford, on display through May 16. (Tour the exhibits virtually and see artist talks on the museum website during coronavirus closures.) On the main floor, “Arvie Smith: 2 Up 2 Back II” retrospective highlights earlier works from this elder states- man of Oregon’s art community. Smith is a professor emeritus at Pacific Northwest College of Art and a Governor’s Art Award recipient for lifetime achievement as a painter. On the lower level, “Daniel Duford: John Brown’s Vision on the Scaffold,” explores the mythology and storytelling of narrative figure painting, taking radical abolitionist John Brown as its central figure. Duford is an instructor at Pacific Northwest College of Arts and a 2019 Guggenheim fellow—an accomplishment shared by only one other Oregon visual artist. Tesner hopes that the museum has an impact not only on the campus, but on the city at large. “I really feel like not only is the art for all—this is a museum for all,” she said. “PSU is doing something very important for the city of Portland and I’m honored to be a part of it.” SCHOLLE McFARLAND is the editor of Portland State Magazine. Arvie Smith: A retrospective of local artist Arvie Smith’s work appears through May 16. It includes paintings created between 1988 and 2015, including this untitled portrait. “My paintings present historical inequities in ambiguous ways,” Smith says, “preparing the viewer to examine their own frame of reference and ideologies.” Daniel Duford: The exhibit “Daniel Duford: John Brown’s Vision on the Scaffold,” explores narrative figure painting. Works on display include the General and the Supermax (shown here). Duford conceived this project after visiting Harpers Ferry, the site of Brown’s raid on the federal armory. Families visited for art and activities on Family Fun Day during opening weekend at the new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU. NOW AT JSMA ANDIE PETKUS