Indy Art Galley Showcases Spring Show

The Spring show at River Gallery is in full swing. 

For the rest of April, visitors to the gallery in downtown Independence can enjoy Focus Artist Becki Hesedahl’s watercolor landscape paintings. The project is called “Spirit of The Forest” and looks to examine the landscape of nature in a close-up view. 

“My goal as an artist is to show the beauty in ordinary subjects – to engage the senses while conveying a mood,” Hesedahl said. 

In March, the gallery also featured a window show that explored furniture as its own art form. If you passed by the large picture window on Main Street in the last few weeks, you likely noticed the colorful pieces of furniture in the window: The stool with its polka-dot legs, a bright striped pillow atop it, or the side table with a turquoise base. Artist Dena Lynn Brehm was the mastermind behind those distinctive pieces.

“I thought that was a fun idea,” said Pam Serra-Wenz, Gallery Marketing Director. “It was unique and kind of quirky.” 

River Gallery, situated across from Riverview Park, has been in operation for 28 years, and represents artists all across the Willamette Valley, from Eugene to Portland and everything in between. 

Interested artists can approach the River Gallery and are selected through a jury process, where the core partners examine their work and decide to move forward with it or not. The artwork ranges from fine art, which examines the emotional impact of a piece, to folk art, which often includes decorative items, bright colors and/or cultural motifs. 

“The artists have the latitude to bring in what they want to bring in,” Serra-Wenz said. “Once they get the freedom to do so, they usually bring in about three pieces. Carving and ceramic artists might bring in a few more, but in general, there's an average of three pieces at a time. And then every two months, we want new pieces. And so it builds that way and they take their work back and then fill us in again with more pieces.”

Shows occur throughout the year, usually in the form of a monthly window show and a Focus Artist exhibit, where the artist’s work hangs on a wall for up to two months at a time. Visitors can come in with a coffee and peruse the selection of art on the walls, wooden carvings, textile art, and more. All art pieces are for sale. 

“We found that this two-month timeframe gives people more of an opportunity to learn about the artists that we have up,” said Serra-Wenz. “And it gives the visitors more of an opportunity to really view the art, and a much longer duration to be able to do that.”

The city of Independence might be small compared to other cities around the valley, but Serra-Wenz said that the gallery gets visitors from Portland, the coast, even some from the Midwest and the East Coast. 

“When people come in, you get to talk with them, and it’s really nice to see that they come here from all over and enjoy the local art.”

Occasionally, the gallery will put on a special show, such as the annual Wild Women exhibit, which has been occurring every June for twenty years now. 

“This is our premier show,” Serra-Wenz said. “It’s always a real hit, and is very successful.”

Open to everyone across the Willamette Valley, the gallery will begin calling for artists in May to submit their artwork to showcase the female spirit through all types of artistic mediums. 

There is also a kid’s corner to help facilitate and encourage young artistic interest. 

“We have a fun art room where you can draw on the paper that’s been applied to the table,” Serra-Wenz said. “And sometimes, we’ll put some work up by the kids that have come in.”

She said that people come in with a coffee and sit at the table and doodle for hours. “So it’s kind of a fun thing.”

Serra-Wenz herself is an artist. An abstract artist, to be specific. She uses everything but a brush to create her pieces, and incorporates natural elements like rain into her processes. 

“I knew since I was five years old that it’s what I wanted to do,” Serra-Wenz said. “It took a long time, but eventually it happened.”

Serra-Wenz’s art was just featured in the gallery under the title “Painting my Dreams.” She said her inspirations often come from dreams, and the results are reflected within her paintings. 

The River Gallery is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.