April Waters: Water-Ice-Sky, Antarctica
May 7 – August 13, 2022
Study Gallery and Print Study Center
In 2018, Salem, Oregon, artist April Waters — known for her works that focus on water and contemporary women leaders — turned her attention to Antarctica. As a grantee of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, Waters traveled to Palmer Station to observe, study, photograph, and sketch the ocean, icebergs, and Marr Glacier.
After witnessing firsthand the beauty and harsh realities of a landscape facing monumental change, coupled with profound implications for the entire globe, Waters returned to her studio to transform her sketches, photographs and experiences into paintings of the earth’s southernmost continent.
“As Antarctica is undergoing dramatic changes in response to climate change,” marine biologist Dr. Kim Bernard of Oregon State University says, “I hope that those who experience the paintings that April Waters has created from her Antarctic expedition feel awed and inspired to protect this place.”
The exhibition features a range of Antarctica paintings created over the past three years as well as text panels and ephemera that describe her journey and the science being done at Palmer Station, and includes a full-color brochure with an essay by art writer Bob Hicks.
Later this summer Waters will embark on the next part of her journey to further explore the story of melting ice and climate change by traveling to the opposite end of the globe to Ilulissat Art Museum in west Greenland. There she will travel by boat in Disko Bay and fly over the Jakobshavn and Equi Glaciers, to witness Greenland’s stunning and quickly melting ice.
Waters has a Bachelor of Fine Art from University of Colorado, in Boulder, and worked for many years as a registered nurse. Her paintings can be found in the collections of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Oregon State University, Mount Angel Library, as well as many places of healing. Her painting "Wizard Island, Crater Lake," was exhibited at the American Embassy in Kyrgyzstan through the United States Arts in Embassies Program. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions over the past thirty years, including a one person show in the office of Oregon’s Governor.
Exhibition Related Events
Members/VIP Opening Reception
Celebrating: April Waters: Water-Ice-Sky, Antarctica
Saturday, June 4, 2022, 10 am - Noon
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Members and museum invited guests only
New Members: are welcome to join at the event or online
Or by phone at 503-370-6855 or by email at museum-art@willamette.edu
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CANCELED | Tuesday Gallery Talk
It was scheduled for June 14, 2022 at 12:30 p.m.
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NEW EVENT: Tuesday Lecture
June 21, 2022 at 12:30 p.m.
Join artist April Waters for this complimentary lecture
Roger Hull Lecture Hall | Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Financial Support
Financial support for the exhibition and brochure have been provided by an anonymous gift; by funds from the HFMA Exhibition Fund and Maribeth Collins Art Exhibition Fund; by a Career Opportunity grant from the Oregon Arts Commission; by advertising support from The Oregonian/Oregon Live; and by general operating support grants from the City of Salem's Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.
