Visual Arts at First Presbyterian Church
Our Visual Arts Committee maintains a full calendar of curated art installations from local and regional artists across the Pacific Northwest. The installations are located in the church’s Chapel Gallery. Visitor hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, and Sundays from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. Kindly head to the church office entrance on 13th Street (between Morrison & Alder) for gallery access.
Mary (Mimi) Cernyar Fox Exhibition:
Painting from the Holy Well
Through October 27
Exhibit Contact Information:
Mary (Mimi) Cernyar Fox
www.marycernyarfoxart.com
“My paintings are a direct result of the pressure I feel from governing societies whose suppression of truth and lack of spiritual commitment are destroying our culture. They are inspired by the parables of Jesus and the sacred places I visit in nature,” said Mary (Mimi) Cernyar Fox.
Trained in the traditional sense, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon, and holds a master’s in art from Washington State University. She taught studio courses at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Eastern Oregon State University. After graduate school, she studied with the Benedictine priests of St. Benedict in Oregon and the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel. She also taught drawing and painting to the seminarians at Mount Angel Seminary and the Benedictine Sisters.
In her paintings inspired by the parables of Jesus, Mary noted: “I use my expressive style to bring the mystery of Jesus and His parables into a tangible form. In my painting, The Last Supper and Church, we witness the spirit of the original event.”
Discussing other works such as Blue Lamb, she explained, “We see into the spectacular story of the parable of the Lost Sheep, where Jesus tells us ‘even those who have gone astray from God’s path, the Kingdom is still accessible.’ Here, the moonlight illuminates the scene before you; we see the lighted candles of prayer, faith, and hope held by people walking in procession. A happy child carries his lost but found lamb in his arms with his parents beside him.”
In another piece, The Church in the Woods, she depicts families gathered in prayer under the trees at a church in the early evening.
Mary now resides near the sea with her husband in Raymond, Washington, where they have a small farm. “On the farm, I work separately from the house in my 1,100 square foot studio built exclusively for making art. It is my favorite place to be,” she shared.
From their garden, she incorporates a variety of traditional and non-traditional media to encompass formal means of physiological content, subject matter, and excitement. Her experiences living and working with the land on the couple’s farm and being part of a large family continue to inspire her.
From late April through June 2024, she held an exhibition at the Coos Art Museum, Spiritual Paintings of Faith and Hope. In September 2023, she held an exhibition of paintings, Painting in the Field of the Lord, at Mount Angel Abbey Library. Other shows include Gallery 110, Seattle, WA; Blackfish Gallery, Portland, OR; the 8th Annual Icon Show at Lynn Hanson Gallery, Rowboat Gallery, Lincoln City, OR; Gallerie Etienne De Causans, Paris, France (2007- 2009); the Hatfield Marine Science Center, which displays a collection of her work. Her art is also in many university and private collections across the USA.
