Press Release -- Artist Reception for Internationally Known Artist, Lillian Pitt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Artist Reception for Internationally Known Oregon Artist, Lillian Pitt.

High Desert Gallery of Central Oregon is honored to host an artist reception for Native American Oregon Artist, Lillian Pitt on Saturday, May 24th at High Desert Gallery's Sisters Oregon Art Gallery.  The event is free and open to the public.

Press Release File: Download PR-HDG-LillianPitt-Recp-04152008.pdf (166.3K)

Bend, Oregon – April 15, 2008.    High Desert Gallery of Central Oregon is pleased to announce an artist reception with Oregon Native American artist Lillian Pitt.  The Artist-In-Attendance Reception at High Desert Gallery in Sisters Oregon on Saturday, May 24, 2008 from 4pm to 7:30pm will include an extensive collection of new work including work with images from Lillian's "Crow Takes Leave of the Family"; original anagama masks and sculptures; limited edition bronzes, images and forms of "She Who Watches," raku masks, sterling silver jewelry and more.    High Desert Gallery is located in downtown Sisters, Oregon at 281 W Cascade Avenue at Oak Street.  The event is free and  open to the public.  The artist reception is a rare opportunity to meet Internationally known Artist, Lillian Pitt while enjoying great art, lively conversation, refreshments, live music and more! 

The special exhibition and sale will be featured in the gallery from May 1 through May 31, 2008.  For more information on the artist visit:  www.highdesertgallery.com or call toll free 1-866-549-6250.  High Desert Gallery is honored to represent Lillian Pitt in Central Oregon.

About Lillian Pitt:  Lillian Pitt is an accomplished artist who has been exhibiting her contemporary sculpture, carvings, masks, wearable art, and works on paper for over twenty years. One of the indigenous people of the Columbia River Gorge, she is called by her Indian name, Wak'amu (Strongly Rooted), by elders of the Warm Springs/Wasco and Yakama tribes. The term might also describe her art, for although her approach to form and materials is eclectic and contemporary, her intriguing metaphors are always rooted in her Native American tradition.

She says this about her work: “I use the ancient stories of my ancestors as a basis for the imagery I create. By doing this I maintain the memory of an ancient culture and keep the beliefs of my people alive. We have forgotten how to live in harmony with nature. Accessing this vast reservoir of traditional information and translating it into contemporary terms jogs our memories and provides points of reference to achieving balance within ourselves, our community and the world. My ancestors have a 10,000-year history in the Columbia River Gorge. Much of my work has to do with the preservation and care of the environment along this ancient waterway.”

2007 Earle A. Chiles Award recipient and recipient of the Governor's Award for the Arts, Oregon, in 1990, which declared that she had made, "significant contributions to the growth and development of the cultural life of Oregon.”  She is known nationally and internationally for her Raku and Anagama fired ceramic and bronze masks and "Shadow Spirit" totem images based on traditional symbols and spirits of her Columbia River ancestors. Her repertoire has expanded to include monumental bronze sculpture, sometimes reflecting the theme of Salmon migration. One recurring image, "She Who Watches," is based on a Columbia River petroglyph which represents the last of the Woman Chiefs.

Her art has been exhibited and reviewed in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. Her work has been commissioned by numerous museums and organizations and is in several collections, including the University of Washington's Burke Museum, the Sapporo City Hall, Sapporo, Japan and the prestigious Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. A traveling retrospective of her work, "Spirits Keep Whistling Me Home," was launched in 1999 at the Museum at Warm Springs on her native reservation in Oregon and has been exhibited at other museums nationwide.

With the turn of the millennium, Lillian's art took on an even larger dimension, as she and a team of Native American artists were commissioned by the city of Portland, OR, the Oregon Convention Center, Portland State University, and a variety of other municipalities, cultural institutions, and corporations to create public art projects. She welcomes these opportunities to share her Native American heritage and her ecological commitment with an expanded audience.

High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing of Central Oregon is honored to represent Lillian Pitt in Central Oregon.

About High Desert Gallery: High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing, The Art & Soul of Central Oregon™ is an award winning fine art and custom picture framing gallery with retail locations in Bend, Oregon (Opening December 2008), Redmond and Sisters Oregon specializing in Central Oregon Artists & Beyond™ and Stellar Custom Framing. High Desert Gallery honored in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by Decor Magazine as a “Top 100 Art and Frame Gallery in America” and voted "Best Art Gallery" in Redmond, Oregon (2006 & 2007) and Sisters, Oregon (2005, 2006).  In February 2008, High Desert Gallery was awarded Top Honors in the Professional Picture Framing Association 2007-2008 International Open Framing Competition. For more information please visit: www.highdesertgallery.com or call toll free 1-866-549-6250.  The Art & Soul of Central Oregon™ and Central Oregon Artists & Beyond™ are trademarks of High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing of Central Oregon.

Press Release Contact: T Dow
High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing of Central Oregon
PO BOX 519 Bend, OR 97709-0519   Phone: 541-388-8964.
Web Site:  www.highdesertgallery.com

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