M. V. Moran Current Exhibitions

Salon des Refusés

8/5/2026

Salon des Refusés - Selected Works
August 7, 2026-March 5, 2027
City Hall, 500 E. 4th Ave.
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

This exhibition presents selected works from the 2026 “Salon des Refusés,” highlighting 15 artists whose practices span watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, photography, drawing and sculpture. Together, these works explore themes of reflection, connection and vibrancy within Eugene’s arts community. The full Salon exhibit featured more than 100 locally-created pieces and was sponsored by the City of Eugene’s Cultural Services division and produced by multimedia artist Steve La Riccia of the Museum of Techno Art and the Venue on Broadway.

Featured artists: Kris Hurwit, Tara Niemann Van Velen, Lisa Michelle Miyake, Dani Renes, Rick Gross, Denise Brittain, Alyssa McFarland, M. V. Moran, Katsuyuki Shibata, Mikalina Kirkpatrick, Jennifer Marie Collier, Aubrey Bechler, Linda Devenow and Wendy Longnight.

Opening Reception
Friday, August 7 • 3:30-5 p.m.
Join us at a free reception to celebrate the artists,
their work and the spirit of creativity that enriches our community.

A note regarding this work:
Over the last few years (due to a hand surgery and a spine surgery) I have been working on smaller pieces, specifically pen and ink drawings. Most are drawn on Bristol Board or watercolor paper and a ton of these drawings are in my many sketchbooks. After having spine surgery in 2024, I had to draw smaller, which was sad and challenging for me. But out of that struggle, I believe I have found a new way to create, communicate and approach a new body of work. Most of these pieces are 12"Hx9"W and display nicely in frames. Heart & Soul is a diptych and exhibiting at the City Hall Gallery in Eugene, Oregon.

Photo by Hans Ogren Photography

Ongoing

4/8/2026

Keep On Keepin' On

I am currently working on several new pieces and apply for various opportunities, including solo and group shows. If you are interested in purchasing any of my pieces, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. I'm happy to deliver work, for free, to most locations in the PNW. Go Art!

Palm Springs

10/24/2025

New Work
Palm Springs
Solo Exhibition
PRN Gallery
Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
Springfield, Oregon
November 1, 2025 - January 21, 2026

The warm, golden palette of the Palm Springs paintings are now exhibited at PRN Gallery in Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, Oregon. The Palm Springs series consists of fifteen paintings. The pieces are full of color and fat shapes, fat with love.

I am from the Pacific Northwest, specifically, Eugene, Oregon. Where I live, nearly five feet of rain falls each year. This amount of rainfall leaves the Willamette Valley lush, but the damp air and constantly overcast skies can leave a person with a sense of perpetual despondency. When I visited the Coachella Valley for the first time in 2022, I, for a lack of a better word, fell in love. I have been to the city of Palm Springs, twice now, the little city is nestled in the valley. That dry desert town with its golden sand and blue pools contains the ongoing vibe of the crooner. You can’t help but listen to Frank Sinatra. I love the dry air and ease of the small city. The downtown of Palm Springs is walkable. On your way to the Palm Springs Art Museum, a gargantuan Marily Monroe with a flirty smile and upturned dress invites you to stop and say, “Hello.” Everyone does. She is the muse and the mistress of that pedestrian block (Since writing this statement, I read that Marilyn Monroe has been moved in light of all the controversy. Big Girls seem to always be controversial).

In the dry air and golden sand all my irritation and irritability of the past Covid years seemed to dissipate. The heat killed the annoyance of past grudges and replaced it with something that felt like forgiveness. I’m not sure who I forgave when I walked in the desert or where all that anger went. Maybe anger and grudges cannot live in the desert, and for me, that is good.

The writings of C. S. Lewis has also inspired much of my work. His writings regarding humans being like circles resonated with me because much of my work is based on the circle. The circle, as a whole, as completeness and as holiness fits perfectly with my understanding of being in relationships and the connectivity of belonging. Circles connect my abstract and figurative work into one narrative, my understanding, my process and story.

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. Moran currently works for PeaceHealth and facilitates the RiverBend Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group. Moran has exhibited prolifically throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, the Big Girls and Bad Air series exhibited in a solo exhibition at Coos Art Museum. Moran is also an Artist-in-Residence for the Lane Arts Council and has taught at Bushnell University and was a faculty member for Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. Moran is a lifelong Oregonian, raised in Sutherlin, educated in Eugene and Portland, and has lived in Eugene for the past thirty years.

M. V. Moran

If interested in purchasing pieces from this series, please contact the artist at [email protected]
A portion of proceeds will be donated to the RiverBend Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group.

Around Oregon Biennial 2025

7/13/2025

Around Oregon Biennial
The Arts Center
Corvallis, Oregon
July 15th - September 6th

Opening Reception
Thursday, July 17th
5:30 pm - 7 pm

The warm, golden palette of the painting, Palm Springs: Went to the Desert is now on display at The Arts Center in Corvallis, Oregon in the Around Oregon Biennial. The Palm Springs series consists of twelve paintings full of color and fat shapes, fat with love that will be part of a solo exhibition in Fall 2025.

I am from the Pacific Northwest, specifically, Eugene, Oregon. Where I live, nearly five feet of rain falls each year. This amount of rainfall leaves the Willamette Valley lush, but the damp air and constantly overcast skies can leave a person with a sense of perpetual despondency. When I visited the Coachella Valley for the first time in 2022, I, for a lack of a better word, fell in love. I have been to the city of Palm Springs, twice now, the little city is nestled in the Coachella Valley. That dry desert town with its golden sand and blue pools contains the ongoing vibe of the crooner. You can’t help but listen to Frank Sinatra in your car. I love the dry air and ease of the small city. The town of Palm Springs is walkable. On your way to the Palm Springs Art Museum, a gargantuan Marily Monroe with a flirty smile and upturned dress invites you to stop and say, “Hello.” Everyone does. She is the muse and the mistress of that pedestrian block (Since writing this statement, I read that Marilyn Monroe has been removed in light of all the controversy. Big Girls seem to be always controversial, too bad).

In the dry air and golden sand all my irritation and irritability of the past Covid years seemed to dissipate in Palm Springs. The heat killed the annoyance of past grudges and replaced it with something that felt like forgiveness. I’m not sure who I forgave when I walked in the desert or where all that anger went. Maybe anger and grudges cannot live in the desert, and for me, that is good.

The writings of C. S. Lewis has also inspired much of my work. His writings regarding humans being similar to circles resonated with me because much of my work is based on the circle. The circle as a whole, as completeness and as holiness fits perfectly with my understanding of being in relationships and the connectivity of belonging. Circles connect my abstract and figurative work into one narrative, my understanding, my process and story.

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 has exhibited prolifically throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, the Big Girls and Bad Air series exhibited in a solo exhibition at Coos Art Museum. Moran is also an Artist-in-Residence for the Lane Arts Council and has taught at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. Moran is a lifelong Oregonian, raised in Sutherlin, educated in Eugene and Portland and has lived in Eugene for the past thirty years.

M. V. Moran

For more information about Around Oregon Biennial, go to The Arts Center website,
Around Oregon Biennial

Thrive

5/13/2025

The RiverBend Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group, in honor of Stroke Awareness Month, has created 25 paintings illustrating what it means to thrive after stroke.

PRN Art Gallery
Springfield, Oregon
May & June 2025

In honor of Stroke Awareness Month, the RiverBend Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group created a series of paintings that recognize the journey of stroke. This art exhibition was a year in the making and created out of the aftermath of individuals and families who have experience with stroke. Each piece is painted by either a stroke survivor, their personal caregiver (carer) or a member of the stroke team at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

My mom had a stroke in 2010, and I was one of her carers. My journey with stroke, as a daughter of a stroke survivor, is what led me to the Stroke Program in June 2020. When I joined the Stroke Program during the height of the Covid pandemic, I was still wallowing in the uncertainty of who I was as a carer. Did I do a good job? What could I have done differently? I was hired to facilitate the RiverBend Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group and the big catch; we couldn’t meet in person. We started meeting on Zoom and with a few technical hiccups and much patience and humor our group persevered. During those months of meeting via screens I realized I was meeting some of the strongest people I will ever meet. These are folks who have spent many days in confusion and fear and came out stronger. I didn’t know how to say this without sounding flippant. As an artist, I communicate visually with color, shape and composition. In that understanding an idea formed, inviting the group to create work. I wanted to share the excitement and power of a group art exhibition. I wanted to bring the power of art to them. And I wanted to thank each person in the group for making me see that even after something terrible has happened, they overcame unbelievable obstacles. I see them thriving, facing challenges and conquering fears. I hope these words do not sound like a sound bite or something people just say. I believe in the strength of these survivors. I believe in the love of their carers and I know they are conquering fears every single day. This art exhibition is dedicated to some of the strongest people I have ever met and most likely will ever meet.

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. Moran has exhibited prolifically throughout the Pacific Northwest. Moran works at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in the Stroke Program, an Artist-in-Residence for the Lane Arts Council, a faculty member at Lane Community College and has taught at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. Moran is a lifelong Oregonian and has been an Eugenian for the past thirty years.

The exhibition was organized by M. V. Moran, curated by Susan Detroy, supported by PeaceHealth and Art Heals at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.

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City Hall GalleryAugust 2026 - March 2027Eugene, Oregon