Betty LaDuke: Celebrating Life

Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is honored to host artist Betty LaDuke in this one woman retrospective exhibition, Celebrating Life. LaDuke is a well-traveled and prolific artist who shares her appreciation for world cultures through her artwork. Her wood panels are routed into interesting shapes that complement each work and are painted with colorful acrylic paints. They will be up over the course of five months in three separate galleries and offer a comprehensive look at LaDuke’s work that spans over six decades. LaDuke’s exhibition is sponsored by A Healthy Horizon in Great Falls, Montana

Betty LaDuke is the child of immigrant parents and began creating art at the age of 8. Over the decades she has continued to paint, draw and print make while seeking to bring awareness to social justice, female artists in Third World and the culture of agriculture. She has traveled the globe and produced work that features individuals from Malaysia, Africa, Vietnam, California and Mexico, to name just a few. This retrospective exhibition allows relatively isolated Montanans a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the world around them through the eyes of this artist. One her website, she shares the following summary: "At the journey’s end, the challenge is to convert the essence of monetary events into archetypal images. Between myth and reality, my large acrylic paintings evolve slowly to reflect local traditions as well as common emotions and aspirations. My celebration is of life and our universal need for peace.".

Whether or not you go, Bountiful Harvest: From Land to Table gathers paintings and stories from the fields of Oregon. In 2010 painter Betty LaDuke was invited to spend time with the men and women who harvest the orchards, vineyards, and farms in southern Oregon. Betty took to the field with her sketch pads and captured the spirit of each worker in her brilliant and vibrant wood painted panels. She also listened to their stories and the stories of small, organic farmers. Bountiful Harvest: From Land to Table brings together the stories and paintings from the vibrant local food movement taking place in southern Oregon.

Bountiful Harvest: From Land to Table