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PRN Art Gallery
Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
Springfield, Oregon
April 27, 2025 - June 27, 2025
Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
Springfield, Oregon
April 27, 2025 - June 27, 2025
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Paragon Gallery PCC Cascades 815 N Killingsworth Street Portland, Oregon Exhibition Friday, December 2, 2022 - Saturday, January 28, 2023 Artist Reception Thursday, December 8, 2022 5 pm - 7 pm Artist Talk 6 pm Gallery Hours Wednesday - Friday Noon - 7 pm Saturday Noon - 5 pm Gallery Closed December 23, 2022 - January 2, 2023 The Bad Air series consists of nine large charcoal drawings and is a continuation of the triptych, Big Girls. Just like Big Girls, each piece portrays a female figure and the contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests confinement and isolation. These nine large women show the effects of negative space with their facial expressions and their awkward posture. They are isolated, quarantined and frustrated. My body, again, was used as a model for this work. However, for these drawings, I availed myself as surrogate, stand-in and muse. These women are the exploration of annoyance, restlessness and frustration. These women were created during the time of Covid, Oregon WildFires and political turmoil. This work was made for the Coos Art Museum, specifically for the Vaughn Gallery. I enjoy creating site specific work. The space in which my work dwells is part of the process. Location is an important part of my research. I visited the museum, the City of Coos Bay and Sunset Beach. I modeled on the beach, in the ocean and the surrounding areas. I was exhausted when I arrived. At first I was disappointed with the images and then I began to understand that my body, my mind, my soul were bone tired. Covid, the political unrest had affected me in ways I had not known before. It took me seeing images of myself, so unbelievably spent, to truly understand how to move forward with these nine women. When I returned to my studio, I knew I wanted the work to be about this tiredness and loneliness. At the same time, I knew the work had to be a continuation of Big Girls in order for all the work to share space in the Coos Art Museum. The Oregon fires had begun and the valley where I live was filled with smoke. Apocalyptic smoke. It was hard to think, let alone create. And all over the news were warnings of hazardous air quality, in other words, bad air. And, then I realized I have been breathing bad air for a long time. I have been breathing the bad air of hypocrisy, the bad air of hatred, the bad air of harassment, neglect, abandonment, prejudice and lies. So this work is about facing the bad air, and moving forward to peace, justice and truth. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Three major influences for this work are Lisa Yuskavage, John Currin and Fernando Botera. The cartoonish quality of each woman is the inspiration of Lisa Yuskavage and John Currin. Fernando Botera’s work, especially his large sculptures, inspired the thickness of the bodies and the curvature of the line. M. V. Moran
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Bad Air in Roseburg The Bad Air series consists of nine large charcoal drawings and is a continuation of the triptych, Big Girls. Just like Big Girls, each piece portrays a female figure and the contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests confinement and isolation. These nine large women show the effects of negative space with their facial expressions and their awkward posture. They are isolated, quarantined and frustrated. My body, again, was used as a model for this work. However, for these drawings, I availed myself as surrogate, stand-in and muse. These women are the exploration of annoyance, restlessness and frustration. These women were created during the time of Covid, Oregon WildFires and political turmoil. This work was made for the Coos Art Museum, specifically for the Vaughn Gallery. I enjoy creating site specific work. The space in which my work dwells is part of the process. Location is an important part of my research. I visited the museum, the City of Coos Bay and Sunset Beach. I modeled on the beach, in the ocean and the surrounding areas. I was exhausted when I arrived. At first I was disappointed with the images and then I began to understand that my body, my mind, my soul were bone tired. Covid, the political unrest had affected me in ways I had not known before. It took me seeing images of myself, so unbelievably spent, to truly understand how to move forward with these nine women. When I returned to my studio, I knew I wanted the work to be about this tiredness and loneliness. At the same time, I knew the work had to be a continuation of Big Girls in order for all the work to share space in the Coos Art Museum. The Oregon fires had begun and the valley where I live was filled with smoke. Apocalyptic smoke. It was hard to think, let alone create. And all over the news were warnings of hazardous air quality, in other words, bad air. And, then I realized I have been breathing bad air for a long time. I have been breathing the bad air of hypocrisy, the bad air of hatred, the bad air of harassment, neglect, abandonment, prejudice and lies. So this work is about facing the bad air, and moving forward to peace, justice and truth. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Three major influences for this work are Lisa Yuskavage, John Currin and Fernando Botera. The cartoonish quality of each woman is the inspiration of Lisa Yuskavage and John Currin. Fernando Botera’s work, especially his large sculptures, inspired the thickness of the bodies and the curvature of the line. M. V. Moran
Vessel Group Exhibition John Holdway, M. V. Moran, Alanna Risse, Rhonda Vanover, Brenda Whitehill Schlenker The Arts Center Corvallis, Oregon January 4, 2022 - February 9, 2022 Artists Talk Noon Thursday, January 13, 2022 Video Discussion See The Arts Center website for viewing details Reception By Invitation Only Please contact the artists for this private viewing Third Thursday Art Walk 4 pm - 8 pm Thursday, January 20, 2022 The exhibition, Vessel, includes the works of John Holdway, M. V. Moran, Alanna Risse, Rhonda Vanover and Brenda Whitehill Schlenker. The exhibition explores the wonders of the human body, while contending with its fragility. Experiences of illness, injury and healing, birth and aging, pleasure and suffering are examined through a range of media, including paintings, large scaled figurative drawings, photography and soft sculpture. The human body is the focus of each artist’s work through direct research and metaphor. The work is an interpretation of the complex system and structure of the human body. Varying materials and media are used to explain the relationships to the body, through both traditional and contemporary methods. Cloister Solo Exhibition Bennett Vineyards on Fifth Eugene, Oregon November 18, 2021 - December 23, 2021 First Friday Art Walk Friday, December 3, 2021 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm This newest body of work, Cloister, focuses on community. Each piece searches for the sanctuary of being connected to each other and our obligation to one another. My work began with the concepts of how community brings protection to the individual. I wanted to process what it meant to be part of a community. For my research, I once again returned to C. S. Lewis’, A Grief Observed, and focused on his illustration, “they appear as two circles...two circles that touched.” The protection of the community reminded me of the Cloister. I have been to Cloisters, the atmosphere of sanctuary fills every corner. But with this sanctuary there is an obligation to the whole. I understand why people want to live cloistered away. In that isolation there is safety and commonality. The isolation of the pandemic has brought about the opposite of the Cloister. Instead of the protection for the community or the individual, our collective trauma has led into a commonality of divisiveness. Cloister was created during the pandemic. I noticed a divide in this country and especially in the Body of Christ. I saw the Church become us versus them. Christ instructed us to love others as ourselves. But, instead of the open arms of the community, I saw a fist shaking in anger. This work was not created to be divisive. This work was created for me to process my own concepts of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. The circle represents many concepts from completeness, to wholeness, to Holiness. The circles in Cloister represent the individual, floating about, connecting with others. There is searching in each circle. They are searching for love and belonging. The white that surrounds the cloistered circles covers the noise of the outside influences. Under the veil of white paint, shapes once existed but were covered, representing isolating self from difference. The white protects, yet isolates the group. The cloister should be the embrace of loving arms, not turned backs. The series of paintings was influenced by the tapestries in The Met Cloisters in New York City, the Russian Icons of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon and the many circular works of Sonia Delauney. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. After several years of working at the UO in Student Services, she resigned from her position and began her dream of becoming a professional artist. She exhibits extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest. Moran has taught at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon and is currently a Lane Arts Council Artist-in-Residence. M. V. Moran Image:
Cluster acrylic on canvas 36"x48" $829 Big Girls and Bad Air Coos Art Museum Vaughn Gallery Coos Bay Oregon December 11, 2020 - January 30, 2021 The Bad Air series consists of nine large charcoal drawings and is continuation of the triptych, Big Girls. Each piece portrays a solitary female figure. Each woman is isolated in her own space. This work is about the trials of 2020. This work is also an examination of all the bad stuff we have all been breathing for years. These nine large women show the effects of negativity with their facial expression and awkward posture. They are isolated and frustrated. My body, again, was used as the model for this work. This work was created during the time of Covid, the Oregon wildfires and social unrest. This work was made for the Coos Art Museum, specifically for the Vaughn Gallery. Location is an important part of my research. The space in which my work dwells is part of the process. I visited the museum, the City of Coos Bay, and Sunset Beach. I modeled on the beach and the surrounding areas. I was exhausted when I arrived. The photoshoot felt like an encapsulation of the trials of 2020. At first, I was disappointed with the images. However, I began to understand that my exhaustion had to be part of the work. Covid and other chaos of 2020 had affected me in ways I had not fully processed. It took me seeing images of myself, so unbelievably spent, to truly understand how to move forward with these nine women. When I returned to my studio, I knew I wanted the work to be about the year we have all experienced. At the same time, I knew the work had to be a continuation of Big Girls in order for the work to share space in the Coos Art Museum. The Oregon fires were raging, filling the valley where I live with smoke. Apocalyptic smoke. It was hard to think, let alone create. All over the news were warnings about breathing the toxic air. The bad air felt like a metaphor for the toxic atmosphere of our culture. I have been breathing the bad air of hypocrisy and lies. Sexism and racism hang over our country like a toxic cloud. This work confronts the bad air of societal injustices. Each piece illustrates an immediate reaction to the negativity of long term hardships and faulty constructs. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Three major influences for this work are Lisa Yuskavage, John Currin and Fernando Botera. The work takes on the abstraction and absurdity of Lisa Yuskavage and John Currin, while embracing the bigness of Botera. Big Girls consists of three larger-than-life charcoal drawings. Each piece portrays a monumental female figure. The contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests both sanctuary and confinement. Each figure presses up against the edges of the picture plane contemplating their conformity. I am both the artist and the model in these drawings, which adds to the diaristic approach in each piece. Each panel features a foregrounded female figure. Her physical mass touches every side of the rectangle. These drawings are not a rebuke of thick thighs or large breasts; nor are they about sexualizing the body. Rather, this work investigates how women dwell in space. The women, with their doll-like hands, stable their mass, as they touch the Earth. The triptych is about confrontation, contemplation, and confinement. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Two major influences are Michelangelo's Sibyls and the Madonna of the Doni Tondo. Both the Madonna and Sibyls are large, muscular women who occupy the space they dwell with confidence and knowledge of their self-worth. Another influence was Henrik Ibsen's play, The Doll's House. The play centers around the transformation of one woman from a doll to a real woman. The women in Big Girls are in a state of transformation as well. They are in a place of waiting as they contemplate their worthiness and how they are allowed to dwell in their allocated spaces. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. After several years of working at the UO in Student Services, she resigned from her position and began her dream of becoming a professional artist. Moran is also an Adjunct Professor of Art at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon and is an Artist-in-Residence for the Lane Arts Council. M. V. Moran  The transportation costs for this exhibition was made possible by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. Image: Bad Air: Passive, charcoal on paper on panel, 24"x80", 2020. $1090
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