“From the Land: Animals and Places” exhibition: Ingrid Lustig, May 5 - May 31 at High Desert Gallery. May 5, 2011

Come celebrate with us as we host “From the Land: Animals and Places,” an exhibition of paintings and monotypes by Central Oregon artist, Ingrid Lustig. The exhibition runs from May 5 through May 31, at High Desert Gallery's downtown Bend Oregon art gallery located at 10 NW Minnesota Avenue at The Oxford. Custom framing is provided by High Desert Frameworks!, an award-winning custom framing studio located at 61 NW Oregon Avenue and only one-half block from High Desert Gallery.

Lustig is best known for her use of strong color and her unique interpretation of animals, primarily raptors and predators, which is expressed in her work in a loose and abstract style. In addition to acrylic and mixed media paintings, her exhibit will include monotypes, one-of-a-kind handmade prints, which she created at Atelier 6000, a Bend printmaking studio. Lustig says, “Making images of wild animals is my way of honoring them and thanking them for being part of our landscape. It’s also a way of bringing them into our world.” 

Lustig’s landscapes are clearly influenced by the High Desert’s colors"Spotted Owl" Monotype - Ingrid Lustig and shapes, combining representational and abstract forms to create a unique vision. She often incorporates her own photographic images into the landscapes, constructing an unusual contrast with the heavily painted image. She says, “I believe the land where we live becomes a part of who we are on a deep visceral level. With my work, I invite the viewer to experience an alternative, highly personal view of this place we call the High Desert.” 

A professional artist for 25 years, Lustig was the education director of Arts Central for 10 years until last May when she decided to leave and devote more time to her art career. She moved to Bend in 2000 from Pendleton, where she was director of Crow's Shadow Institute for the Arts on the Umatilla Indian Reservation for three years. Her love and passion for wildlife and land was nurtured through working for several wildlife conservation groups, including three years as director of a wolf pet rescue group in the California Sierras near Reno and being a member of the 1977 Greenpeace campaign to save harp seal pups off Newfoundland.

About High Desert Gallery and High Desert Frameworks! High Desert Gallery, The Art & Soul of Central Oregon™ is an award-winning fine art gallery located at 10 NW Minnesota Avenue at The Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend, Oregon. High Desert Frameworks!, the award-winning framing studio is located at 61 NW Oregon Avenue at Lava in downtown Bend, Oregon. The gallery specializes in Central Oregon Artists & Beyond™ and Stellar Custom Framing. For more information please visit: http://www.highdesertgallery.com or call toll free 1-866-549-6250