Lake Oswego community selects winner of Gallery Without Walls program

The people have spoken.

Among a field of five nominees, “LandDance 1” by artists Jennifer Kapnek and Mike Suri was named the Arts Council of Lake Oswego Gallery Without Walls People’s Choice award winner after it received the most votes in a community poll. In turn, the sculpture, which is located at the corner of 3rd Street and A Avenue near City Hall, will be added to the city’s permanent collection.

For the piece, Suri performed the metalworking while Kapnek painted it.

“The form he (Suri) created was really interesting, a little bit abstract and the collaboration with Jennifer was really unique. It’s not often you see painting and sculpture mixed together in the way it is with LandDance 1. We are really impressed with this piece and excited to have it in the collection,” said arts council public art and collection manager Norah Creek.

Both Suri and Kapnek have been a part of the Gallery Without Walls public art program previously and decided to work together on this collaborative piece. Kapnek said that they had an idea what they wanted going in but that the creative process was fluid; also, the piece itself is meant to represent “the idea that there is the fluidity around us and the changing around us and the enjoyment and celebration of that for all of us.”

Suri crafted an abstract metal structure that holds a painting of a tree, which has two contrasting sides to it.

“In that painting on one side the tree is strongly rooted in the landscape and on the other side the tree is perched on top of the landscape and yielding. You get the chance to see the same thing from two perspectives. It becomes a story,” Kapnek said.

Suri tried to create little crevices of shifting metal to give the viewer an array of nuances to discover.

“We wanted to have the painted element meet the metal in a way that was seamless and I think that is one of the most successful elements about the piece is the transition is pretty seamless,” Kapnek said.

The duo are working on a new piece now and were elated to have received this recognition for their first collaboration.

“What a great feeling of validation. I have a lot of gratitude for the Lake Oswego program,” Suri said.

Suri and Kapnek will be honored during the annual Gallery Without Walls celebration Sept. 21.

The Gallery Without Walls program has over 50 pieces in its permanent collection and has been running for 24 years. The other four nominated pieces for the People’s Choice Award, which are part of the city’s rotating sculpture assortment, include: “The Watcher” by Scott Foster, “Walkabout” by Joel Heidel, “Puro Corde” by Ben Dye and “In the Mystery” by Sharon Warman Agnor.

For more information, visit https://artscouncillo.org/.