NORTHWEST IMPRESSIONS: LILLI MATHEWS AND ART FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION

Exhibition Date:  July 2, 2016 to September 11, 2016
Reception Date: Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 2:00pm

After completing her training at the Art Students League in New York, Lilli Mathews (1923-2011) moved to the Northwest in 1958. Mathews’ style suggests the source of her inspiration, which were the Impressionist painters. Her widower, Cal Mathews, writes about her artwork and process eloquently:

“The thoughtful viewer might well observe the subtle influences of both objective-abstraction and impressionism in her works. Whether the subject matter was as simple as a stick or a rock, or as complex as a broad landscape vista, and regardless of the media chose, she wanted to convey through her art a sense of wonder and appreciation of the natural world; helping the viewer see more clearly, and feel more deeply, about the balance, tranquility, serenity, and compelling beauty which surrounds us, and is ours to experience.”

While Mathews sought inspiration from the Impressionists, there is a wide range of artistic styles in the broad genre of landscape painting. The group of artists received their name because they aimed to capture both the movement of light and the “impression” that a scene can make on an individual. But light and nature differs drastically throughout the Pacific Northwest, so it is not a surprise that landscape painting does as well. Viewers will be able to observe artworks from the Permanent Collection that depict both realistic and abstract impressions from natural surroundings.