Clatsop Community College
1653 Jerome, Astoria OR 97103
For immediate release
Contact: Teri Sund (503) 338-2478

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 1, 2006
PHOTOS ATTACHED

Michael Spafford and Elizabeth Sandvig Prints and Paintings at the CCC Art Center Gallery

The Art Center Gallery at Clatsop Community College in Astoria will be exhibiting the work of artists Michael Spafford and Elizabeth Sandvig November 13th – December 14th, 2006. There will be an opening reception for the artists Tuesday, November 14th, at 6:30 pm at the Art Center Gallery. The artists will be present.

Images © Michael Spafford

Michael Spafford, a prominent Northwest artist, known for his powerful and dramatic portrayal of Greek mythology, will be exhibiting oil paintings and print work.

Spafford who is a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, School of Art, Seattle, Washington, became interested in ancient Greek and Roman mythology after a two-year fellowship to the American Academy in Rome in the 1960’s. His paintings, woodcuts and prints reflect his own interpretations of the known stories of struggle between gods, man, monster and animal.

Spafford’s work is about story telling. Through the use of negative space and saturated color, Spafford reminds the viewer that the work is not only about the story, but how the story is told. His work also illustrates the importance of art in history. Utilizing deliberate line and shape, Spafford creates epic and brutal conflicts, that also maintain an essence of sensuality and passion. Spafford states, “Dualism, metamorphosis, the confrontation of opposites, the struggle for achievement, the ultimate failure of an heroic effort – each of these gestures is expressed in the myths I use. My effort is to translate these gestures into abstract visual terms and pass their energy on to the viewer.”

Spafford’s work is included in numerous private and public collections throughout the Northwest. He has been a recipient of The Neddy Artist Fellowship of the Behnke Foundation, Seattle, Washington; the Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the Corporate Council for the Arts, Seattle, Washington and most recently awarded the prestigious Flintridge Foundation Award for 2005/06. The Francine Seders Gallery of Seattle, Washington has represented Spafford since 1969.


"Symbiosis: Imapala and Oxpeckers" monoprint by Elizabeth Sandvig

Elizabeth Sandvig has been working as a professional artist since 1960 when she had her first one-person exhibition in Mexico City, later after residing in Rome, Italy she worked primarily as a sculptor. It was in the early 1980’s that she focused on painting and printmaking as a chosen medium.

Sandvig, whose work has been described with such words as “perseverance, passion, dedication and generosity”, focuses on animal imagery in her paintings and print work. Her work, vibrant in color, explores the relationship between content and concept. “I am stimulated by the struggle to make images and idea come together by seeking the right combination of my hand and my mind in arriving at an energetic resolution, which is primarily visual, and secondarily pictorial”, she states.

Sandvig’s work can be found in many private and public collections. She has been the recipient of the John H. Hauberg Fellowship, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington as well as the Mayor’s Arts Award, Family of NW Artists: Spike Mafford, Elizabeth Sandvig and Michael Spafford, Seattle, Washington. The Francine Seders Gallery of Seattle, Washington has represented Sandvig since 1975.

© Elizabeth Sandvig

Michael Spafford and Elizabeth Sandvig will have their work on display at the Clatsop Community College Art Center Gallery November 13th – December 14th, with an opening reception for the artists being held Tuesday, November 14th at 6:30 pm. The reception is open to the public. For further information please contact Teri Sund at (503) 338-2478.