Toledo’s First Weekend art show returns on Saturday

By OREGON COAST TODAY

Toledo’s First Weekend art tour returns after a two-month hiatus this Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8, with galleries and studios throughout town displaying a range of work for the public.

At its new location at the Vicarage House Museum, the Yaquina River Museum of Art will exhibit pieces from its permanent collection and select works on loan from the Michael and Judith Gibbons Trust, including “Wall Woman,” a bronze cast by renowned sculptor Nano Lopez. 

Born in Colombia, Lopez began his career as a 23-year-old apprentice in Madrid, Spain, carving marble and fabricating steel under the direction of Francisco Baron. Lopez relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 1983, honing his skills in Washington foundries before starting his own business in 1987. 

Nano is known for his incorporation of the organic and industrial in his sculptural works. “Wall Woman” is a cast of an early work from the artist showing his skill in sculpting a classical form and seamlessly incorporating the rigidity of walls, brick and machinery. 

The collected works of Michael Gibbons, a founder of the Yaquina River Museum of Art, will also be on display this weekend. Gibbons is known for his oil works painted on location. Those featured this weekend will include “Pink Forest Hills,” a painting showing the emergence of spring in the Northwest, with the red new growth of deciduous trees against the hills of the coastal range and skunk cabbage beginning to bloom in the foreground.

For more information on Michael Gibbons, go to michaelgibbons.net.

The exhibition at the museum will also include sculptural pieces by Paddi Moyer, Martin Eichinger and Mark deGraffenreid.

The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 140 N.E. Alder St. and will be open from noon to 4 p.m. during First Weekend. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.com.

Besides paintings and sculptures, other works will be featured this weekend. 

They include candlecraft work by Holli McRae at the Posh & Polished Salon at the top of Alder Street. Her handcrafted candles from Shining Light Candle Co. represent the artisanship of small batch production and feature wood wicks, emitting fragrances of coffee, baked banana bread and vanilla.

Posh & Polished Salon is located at 207 E. Highway 20.

And finally, Bruster’s Whimsy Game Cafe on Main Street will display dioramas, miniature scenes that recreate historical events, natural settings or fictional stories.

“From cavemen to spacemen, every figure carries a story,” Bruster said. “The style shifts with the character. Some demand flash and color. Others call for grit, weathering and the quiet scars of experience. Through layering, detail and atmosphere, paint becomes personality.”

Bruster’s Whimsy is located at 139 S. Main St. and will be open from 1 to 5 pm on Saturday and from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

For more arts and entertainment news, go to Oregon Coast TODAY.