Mary Josephson
Portland artist Mary Josephson is known for her expressive imagery of people and animals in the urban and natural world. For this exhibition, Interior View, she explores ideas related to "the world of perception and experience: ideas, dreams, secrets...hidden away within our body and our being." Many of her images use shadow, filtered light, screens, a far away glance, and other methods by which people conceal themselves in an increasingly exposed society. Through bold paintings, glass tile mosaics, and embroidery, Josephson delights in a range of people and experience that evoke the rich fabric of human life. The contrasting visual and tactile qualities that emerge from the variety of materials Josephson uses encourage close study and exploration of each piece, together with flights of imagination to expand on the stories she starts.
Portland artist Mary Josephson studied in Paris, France, at the École National Superior des Beaux Arts before receiving a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She has been exhibiting her work since 1983 including shows at the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Health Sciences University, the University of Austin in Texas, and the Bellevue Art Museum, WA. Prominent collections include Safeco, Microsoft, Oregon State University, Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital, Tacoma Art Museum, and the Portland Art Museum. Commissions include work for Southern Oregon University, the Tigard Public Library, OR, Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Portland Fire and Rescue in conjunction with RACC, OR, Oregon Food Bank, Multnomah County’s Juvenile Justice Center in Portland, OR, and the Arnold Rue Community Center, in Stockton, CA. Currently her work is part of The Sculpted Fiber an invitational exhibition at the Art Museum of Sonoma County in California.