Whitney E. Nye
Opening Reception March 2, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Russo Lee Gallery is pleased to present Ramble by Whitney Nye. In this exhibition, the artist’s creativity thrives through changes in landscapes that she’s traversed and through the use of diverse materials and methods. As a painter, sculptor, and mixed media artist, Nye works in various mediums and sizes. Pieces for this show include collages the artist describes as two-lane blacktop views. Touching on the idea of movement, these ‘road trip’ works capture moments of thought and being in landscapes experienced largely without people. In contrast, the large-scale wall hangings were made during a stint spent at a studio in the bustling garment district of New York City, and channeled the energy of humanity in the city. Created from smaller canvas works that Nye painted from above using textile dyes, the aggregated patterns find order in disorder.
Whitney Nye graduated from the University of Oregon with a BA, Studio Art. Nye has shown her work extensively throughout the Northwest, as well as in Wyoming, Tennessee, and Utah. Her work is in numerous collections including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR; Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation, Portland, OR; Salem Hospital, Salem, OR; and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. In 2019 she received a Fellowship Award and was in residence at the Vermont Studio Center, and in 2020 she was the recipient of a Ford Family Foundation career opportunity grant.
When I spoke to Whitney E. Nye in December, she’d spent the previous 18 months working in a sublet studio in New York City’s Garment District. Without an immediate deadline, she explored new materials and mediums, and, in the unfettered time, she completed three series of work for her upcoming solo show at Russo Lee Gallery.
Whitney Nye’s work follows what she’s drawn to at the time. Over the past 18 months, she has worked in a sublet studio in New York City’s garment district. The long stretch of unfettered time allowed her to develop three different bodies of work.