NEWBERG, Ore. — An exhibit featuring geometric artwork made from insects, vertebrates, flowers, and oceanic invertebrates is on display at the Chehalem Cultural Center through Sept. 3.
“Exquisite Creatures,” the work of artist and naturalist Christopher Marley, features vertebrates, flowers, insects, and oceanic invertebrates that have been reclaimed or sustainably culled from around the world. Some pieces on display play with light and the way “lighting affects how we perceive color,” according to an informational plaque in the exhibit.
Community-supported journalism
This article was made possible by the generous support of Newsberg readers and advertisers. Independent local news takes real resources to produce. If Newsberg is valuable to you, please consider joining us — for as little as $1 a month, or with a one-time gift in any amount.
Marley’s arrangements — whether artwork made from butterflies and beetles or a single taxidermied lizard — are a “celebration of the natural world,” and exhibitions curator Katie Spain said she “knew it was something folks from all walks of life could enjoy.”
“Whether or not we consider ourselves nature enthusiasts, the love of life affects us all,” Marley said in a statement. “We are instinctively inclined to care for it, to understand it, and to be good stewards of it.”
Marley, also a New York Times best-selling author, opened his own gallery in Seattle last October. The exhibit was previously featured at OMSI, where ART Elements gallery owner Loni Parrish and her daughter Jessica Wolfer first saw it.
“We were absolutely blown away with the art, the presentation, and the engagement of the viewers with the work — both children and adults,” Parrish said. “The sheer beauty of nature is captured in such an artistic and captivating way in these pieces.”
Parrish, a CCC board member emeritus, said she and Wolfer “were particularly interested in making it free and accessible to school-aged children.”
“I think people should come and see the show because there are incredible creatures on display that are rarely seen, preserved thoughtfully and displayed artfully,” Spain told Newsberg. “I’ve spent many hours with this exhibition, and every time I’m in, I learn something new. A creature I didn’t know existed, the decorator crab, is on display and has completely charmed me. They take odds and ends from their environment and attach them to their carapace to assist in their camouflage, but in this exhibition, they look like colorful walking bits of moss. It’s this kind of niche discovery and delight that we want to share.”
The exhibit runs through Sept. 3 in the Parrish gallery and upstairs in the lobby outside the LaJoie Theatre. The public is invited to a Gallery Open House on June 6 from noon to 4 p.m. to view the exhibition, along with hands-on activities, animal art talks, an ice cream bar, a balloon twister, and a visit from Reptile Man.
“I’m thrilled to share ‘Exquisite Creatures’ with the Newberg community because I believe visual enjoyment of the natural world is one of the most effective tools for motivating learning and understanding,” Marley said.More information is available at christophermarley.com and chehalemculturalcenter.org.
