Willamette Valley PhotoArts Guild, Quartets

June 4 – September 4, 2021
Moreland Gallery, Benton County Historical Museum
1101 Main St.
Philomath, Oregon 97370
541-929-6230
HOURS: Wednesday through Saturday, 10 – 4:30
Masks and social distancing required

Seventeen members of the Willamette Valley PhotoArts Guild are exhibiting four-image portfolios of their work in an exhibit called “Quartets” this summer in the Moreland Gallery at the Benton County Historical Museum in Philomath.

The exhibit stems from a project undertaken during the pandemic shutdown in 2020, when the photographers were asked to create portfolios of four related images to share on the group’s website. “It was a way to keep the creative juices flowing during a time of restricted travel,” explained Rich Bergeman, who helped organize the show.

The creative exercise caught the eye of Benton County Museum Curator Mark Tolenon, who led a juried review of the 88 portfolios submitted for the brick-and-mortar show. The work on view reflects a wide range of subject matter–from colorful cactus closeups to a black-and-white documentary of Portland’s social protests–and demonstrate a variety of photographic techniques, including infrared, intentional camera movement and abstraction.