When the Mayor’s Art Show wrapped up this spring, the Maurie Jacobs Community Room at Eugene’s public‑owned Hult Center was left with blank walls. Managing Director Laura Lee felt the empty space was a missed opportunity for the community.

“It was like some spirit had left the building, and I didn’t like that,” Lee said. Determined to restore the room’s artistic energy, she reached out to downtown Eugene gallerist Karin Clarke. Together with Clarke’s friend and gallery associate Carla Zimmerman, they organized a rapid‑turnaround exhibition of figurative paintings titled “Beyond the Figure.”

Local artists and quick collaboration

The show features works by a range of regional artists, including Margaret Coe, Mark Clarke (Karin’s parents), Rick Bartow, Adam Grosowsky, George Johansen, and Robert Schlegel. Clarke recalled that the idea moved from a coffee meeting on July 31 to an opening reception on September 18, a testament to the collaborative spirit of Eugene’s art community.

“What’s been also kind of thrilling is just how we could decide to do it, and then like boom, it’s happening,” Clarke said. Zimmerman, who helped pull the pieces from her studio, laughed at the “boom” phrasing but agreed the process was swift and purposeful.

Convenient location fuels a gallery district

Karin Clarke Gallery sits just two minutes down Willamette Street from the Hult Center, making it easy for Clarke and Zimmerman to shuttle between the gallery and the Maurie Jacobs Room. That proximity, Clarke noted, helps create a de‑facto gallery district where patrons can walk from one exhibition to another without a car.

“It makes it feel like we’ve got more of a gallery district, because people come and say, ‘Where else can we go that’s within walking distance?’” she explained. The exhibition offers a visual counterpoint to the stage productions that regularly fill the Hult’s performance spaces.

Connecting visual art to the stage

Clarke chose figurative paintings to echo the drama of the theater productions that occur on the Hult’s stages. The anchor piece, her father’s 2009 work “Studio Visitor,” suggests dancers in the background, linking the visual and performing arts.

Zimmerman added that the title “Beyond the Figure” reflects the venue’s mission: “When people are on stage, they’re creating something else. A lot of this artwork does that—figurative, but with something deeper you want to read into.”

Learning the flow of visual‑art crowds

Lee noted that welcoming a visual‑art audience required a shift in mindset compared to traditional theatergoers. Volunteers had to adapt to a slower, more contemplative flow, allowing visitors to linger and engage with each piece.

“Spending time with art is a little bit different than coming into a show where you’re like, ‘Come on in, get in the theater, do the thing, now it’s intermission,’” Lee said. “Learning that different mindset and flow, letting people enjoy and take time, it’s a different relationship with visual art than it can be with performance art.”

Exhibit details

• What: “Beyond the Figure” painting exhibition
• When: Open through Oct. 31; opening reception 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18; First Friday ArtWalk Oct. 2, 5:30 p.m.
• Where: Maurie Jacobs Community Room, Hult Center (lower‑level courtyard entrance between Hult Center and Graduate Hotel)
• Hours: Tues‑Fri noon‑5 p.m., Sat noon‑3 p.m.
• Cost: Free

The exhibition will be followed by the return of the Mayor’s Art Show and a subsequent show installed by Hue‑Ping Lin’s White Lotus Gallery, ensuring the Hult Center remains a vibrant hub for both performing and visual arts in Eugene.

Original reporting: Homepage – Lookout Eugene-Springfield — read the source article.