Hood River BIG ART Outdoor Gallery Sculptures
In its fifth exhibit, the Hood River BIG ART Outdoor Gallery consists of 16 sculptures on loan from artists, and nine permanent sculptures. Through a competitive process, artists are selected to exhibit their sculptures around the downtown Hood River area for a period of about two (2) years.
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2022-2024 Sculptures
1. Silver Crackle Fossil
Lin McJunkin & Milo White
Conway, WA
Seattle-born metal sculptor Milo White and San Francisco-native glass artist Lin McJunkin formed a collaborative team 8 years ago to create work that integrates their aesthetic and technical strengths. The intricate cut-outs in Milo’s layered metal structures, filled with Lin’s colorful cast glass, invite interplay with natural and artificial light. The effect of human behavior on our environment is often a focus of their work.
Sponsor: Columbia River Insurance
Site: 606 State Street
$18,000
2. Young Voices, Eva Jones and Young Voices
MacRae Wylde
Hood River, OR
Hailing from Boston, MacRae Wylde attended Colorado College, School at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, College of Santa Fe, International School of Art in Umbria, Italy and the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building. Fascinated by architecture, engineering and construction, MacRae has been building sculptures since a child. With recycled steel from locale structures, he develops bold statements reflecting community and the environment.
Sponsor: Hood River Taqueria
Site: 502 State Street
Young Voices, Eva Jones $6,500
Young Voices $3,500
3. Walking Warrior
Sharon Agnor
Vancouver, WA
Sharon Agnor explores the effect of life's unpredictable events on the human form and spirit. Our ability to sustain loss and heal is both amazing and central to our existence. The stories of these events, both joyous and tragic, are carried within our forms. She has chosen to use materials that are affected dramatically when they are subjected to extreme heat and intelligent design. With steel, bronze, and glass, Sharon enjoys the undeniable parallel between real life and the process these materials undergo as they are transformed from basic elements into an instrument of meaning.
Sponsor: Double Mountain Brewery
Site: 400 Columbia Street
$12,000
4. Porcupine
Ed McCarthy
Renton, WA
Ed McCarthy is a sculptor living and working in Washington state. His abstract metal sculptures are influenced by built and natural environments, as well as the human figure. Often colorful and whimsical, many of his works emanate from simple geometric forms. His sculptures can be seen in several public installations around the Puget Sound.
Sponsor: Doppio Coffee and Henry & Nan Fischer
Site: 310 Oak Street
$5,500
Remembering Lee
Mark Nilsson & MacRae Wylde
Hood River, OR
Mark is a native Oregonian and a master of realistic, whimsical, and abstract art. His work, which ranges from large scale murals to intimate paintings, reflect his extensive travels, passion for nature as well as the Northwest's urban vibrancy. Mark's artwork can be found throughout the Gorge and in public and private collections throughout the world.
Hailing from Boston, MacRae Wylde attended Colorado College, School at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, College of Santa Fe, International School of Art in Umbria, Italy and the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building. Fascinated by architecture, engineering and construction, MacRae has been building sculptures since a child. With recycled steel from locale structures, he develops bold statements reflecting community and the environment.
Sponsor:
Site: 301 Oak St - Gallery
$16,000
5. Dew Drops
CJ Rench
Hood River, OR
Originally from Illinois, CJ Rench is a self-taught industrial engineer and designer. He creates large scale abstract metal sculpture for both public and private collections. His work has been exhibited in Palo Alto, Colorado Springs, Napa, Orlando, Denver and Aspen to name only a few. CJ recently completed a skate park installation jointly commissioned by the Seattle Parks and Recreation and Red Bull that explores the intersection of art, athleticism and imagination.
Sponsor: Thread
Site: 212 2nd Street
$16,500
6. Inside Out Walnut
MacRae Wylde
Hood River, OR
Hailing from Boston, MacRae Wylde attended Colorado College, School at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, College of Santa Fe, International School of Art in Umbria, Italy and the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building. Fascinated by architecture, engineering and construction, MacRae has been building sculptures since a child. With recycled steel from locale structures, he develops bold statements reflecting community and the environment.
Sponsor: Solstice Woodfire Pizza
Site: 650 Portway Avenue
$21,000
7. Circle Bench
CJ Rench
Hood River, OR
Originally from Illinois, CJ Rench is a self-taught industrial engineer and designer. He creates large scale abstract metal sculpture for both public and private collections. His work has been exhibited in Palo Alto, Colorado Springs, Napa, Orlando, Denver and Aspen to name only a few. CJ recently completed a skate park installation jointly commissioned by the Seattle Parks and Recreation and Red Bull that explores the intersection of art, athleticism and imagination.
Sponsors: Dickinson & Pickhardt Families and
Reed & Reed
Site: 400 Portway Avenue - West
$16,500
8. Perch
Mike Suri
Portland, OR
Mike Suri was born and raised in the California Bay Area and began sculpting directly in metal and other materials at the age of 16. Since moving to Portland, Oregon, in the late 1990’s Mike has established a design and fabrication business focused on executing commissions and speculative works large and small, public and private. His works can be found throughout the region.
Sponsor: Jane Duncombe & Jay Sherrerd
Site: 400 Portway Avenue - East
$28,000
9. Inspiration
Joseph Rastovich
White Salmon, WA
Building and creating things is in Joseph's blood and on his mind at all times. He was raised by two professional artists and has been immersed in the art world his entire life. Being unschooled, Joseph was allowed to escape conventional curriculum and delve into philosophy, physics, nature, health, spirituality, aesthetics, and creativity among many other things. All of which are the basis of his artwork. He is heavily influenced by the environment, simplicity, balance, and symbolism.
Sponsor: Port of Hood River
Site: 2nd & Riverside Drive
$5,000
10. Trillium
Matt Cartwright
Portland, OR
Matt Cartwright is a designer and fabricator who has worked within many different communities. Much of his work is created with an organic geometry in mind. With development of structural, sculptural or mechanical elements, Matt is guided by mathematical and scientific axioms that appear in nature. He is most prolific with steel but also likes to work with found or reclaimed materials, wood or concrete. Matt is interested in seeing how things can be rearranged and combined to enhance or evoke emotion.
Sponsor: Columbia Area Transit
Site: 1st & Riverside Drive
$15,000
11. Egg Timer
Rodger Squirrell
Lake Forest Park, WA
Rodger has honed his skill as a metal craftsman and evolved his artistic vision for over 40 years. He’s also a beloved teacher in the Northwest. He is intrigued by how metal can be organic or very geometric depending on how it emerges from the scrap yard. "Sometimes the life you give a sculpture is not the life you intended. You’re working in a kind of unknown realm. You have to work slowly and hope that something great emerges. You can only predict things to a certain level. That’s the whole mystery.”
Sponsor: Port of Hood River
Site: 101 North First Street
$5,500
12. Rotating Art Installation
An opportunity for sculptors: space available for temporary rotating installations. Contact CJ Rench at cjrdesign@gorge.net
13. Columbia Gorge Morning
Cathleen Rehfeld
Hood River, OR
Cathleen Rehfeld is one of the premiere landscape, figurative and still-life painters of the region and sells her work internationally. She completed her BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and attended Gage Academy. Cathleen has studied with several well-known masters and now instructs throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cathleen is the founder of the annual Pacific Northwest Plein Air Event, Columbia Gorge Arts & Culture Alliance and a former long-time board member of the Columbia Center for the Arts. Her work is shown locally at the 301 Gallery.
Sponsor: The Griffin House on the Columbia River Gorge
Site: 300 E. Port Marina Drive
NFS
14. Millefolium
Catherine Daley
Windsor, CA
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Catherine Daley is an interdisciplinary artist who enjoys combining non-traditional materials into her artworks. Nature is a source of inspiration for Catherine while her deep background in photography as a former photojournalist informs her artwork in capturing the effects of light. She is a board member for the Pacific Rim Sculptors Group, a chapter for the International Sculpture Center.
Sponsor: Best Western Plus - Hood River Inn
Site: 1108 E. Marine Drive
$28,500
15. La Vida
Carlos Cobos
Hood River, OR
Originally from Southern New Mexico, Carlos Cobos has an eye for the unique and somewhat unusual. Creating metal sculpture, jewelry, and oil paintings are only a few of his creative talents. His passion for art has led him to explore the opportunities in most mediums, including from an early age, the endless possibilities in found recycled materials…of any form! His diverse background and life experiences are the inspiration of his installations.
Sponsors: Novedades El Potrillo & Hood River Chicken Teriyaki
Site: 1316 12th Street
Frame: Jim Wilson, Roughcuts, Mosier
$1,800
16. Two Sides to Every Story
Ed McCarthy
Renton, WA
Ed McCarthy is a sculptor living and working in Washington state. His abstract metal sculptures are influenced by built and natural environments, as well as the human figure. Often colorful and whimsical, many of his works emanate from simple geometric forms. His sculptures can be seen in several public installations around the Puget Sound.
Sponsor: Infinite Graphix
Site: 1103 12th Street
$7,500
17. Relic
Toma Villa, Yakama Nation
Suquamish, WA
I was born in Oklahoma, raised in Portland, and am a registered member of Yakama Nation. I am continually sharpening my artistic talent that began at a young age, but feel that I can learn from anyone who wants to teach me, even young kids. Drawing inspiration from my culture and heritage, art has transformed my sense of identity. With a passion for mediums in airbrushing, printmaking, sculpture and iron casting, I truly feel connected with each piece produced.
The roots of my art have always been graffiti art. I get a lot of my inspiration from various places, from cities I have traveled to and paintings I have seen such as Salvador Dali’s work in a museum or Saber’s murals on the streets. A lot of my work is inspired by my passion for the river and my time fishing the Columbia River with my family out of Cooks Landing. I use my experiences as a fisherman and have encapsulated them in my work. I feel that one can never dream too big and I always look forward to the future. Some things may seem impossible, but if one makes a plan you will succeed at what you want out of life. I believe the world is so big yet so small and I wish to see it all.
Sponsor: Pacific Power and Hood River Cultural Trust
Site: 12th & June Street
NFS
Permanent Sculptures
