OCCA, the Regional Arts Council for the coastal counties of Oregon, welcomes Curry County artist Horst Wolf to the Coastal Oregon Visual Artist Showcase and Video Archive at the Visual Arts Center from March 1 through March 30 with an Opening Reception on March 1 from 5 to 7pm.
Clock with Bird by Horst Wolf
Born in 1930 in Munich, Germany, Wolf studied engineering at the Technical University of Munich and graduated in 1955 with a MSEE degree. In 1957, he immigrated to the United States and became a citizen. After 40 years of working on communication satellites in Silicon Valley, he retired from engineering in 1995 and took his first watercolor painting class from Sonja Hamilton of Redwood City, CA.
While living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Wolf participated in many local and regional exhibits, had six one-man shows in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and won numerous awards. Largely self-taught, he took another class from Liz James of Brookings soon after moving there in 2001. He has been juried into exhibits of the Watercolor Society of Oregon, the California Watercolor Association and the Coos Art Museum (Regional Juried Art Exhibits, Expressions West and National Maritime Exhibit), has participated in local art exhibits on the South Coast and has had numerous one-man shows.
Horst’s slowly changing style spans the gamut from realistic landscapes, still lifes and portraits executed with transparent watercolors, to surreal and nonrepresentational work in mixed media, to humorous depictions of life on Mars with accompanying poetry, to mixed media assemblage art from found objects. He likes to pick a topic and then generate a series of paintings that culminate in a one-man show. Sometimes he writes accompanying text and publishes a booklet for the exhibit. Published titles include Twenty-one Watercolors, A Trip through the Greek Islands, Goddesses, Nymphs and their Pets, My Bluff House, Art Walk Musicians and Similar Low Life, The Martians, Martian Professions, My last Trip to Mars, Martians for Adults and The Martian IRS.
Horst is a member of the Pelican Bay Arts Association in Brookings, the Watercolor Society of Oregon and the California Watercolor Association. He is presently represented by a half dozen galleries in Southern Oregon. Four years ago he took over the Brian Scott Gallery in Brookings which is now his main exhibit space. His studio is at his home on the Oregon coast just 15 miles north of the Oregon-California border where he welcomes visitors. To make an appointment call 541-412-8707 or email [email protected].
The Coastal Oregon Visual Artists Showcase on the second floor of the Newport Visual Arts Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4pm. Featuring mid career artists from the seven coastal counties of Oregon, each exhibit is accompanied with a video of the artist.
For more information about exhibiting in the showcase, contact Sally Houck, the OCCA Director, Newport Visual Arts Center, at 541-265-6569.
