Tagged: Portland Art Museum

John Yeon’s Quest for Beauty

Between May 13 and September 3, 2017 the Portland Art Museum hosts Quest for Beauty, a retrospective of Oregon architect, designer, and conservationist John Yeon’s work.  The exhibition features photographs, art, and historic materials lent by Richard Louis Brown, as well as original drawings from University of Oregon Special Collections and Archives.

Our John Yeon collection consists of architectural drawings for projects, both built and unrealized, including plans, sections, elevations, details, tracings, and blueprints, as well as a number of Northwest maps, aerial photographs, and surveys for both architectural and preservation projects managed by the architect. The recently published book John Yeon: Modern Architecture and Conservation in the Pacific Northwest by Marc Treib utilized our collection as well.

Randy Gragg, executive director of the University of Oregon’s John Yeon Center for Architecture and the Landscape, organized the show in collaboration with Portland Art Museum curators Maribeth Graybill and Dawson W. Carr.

Quest for Beauty installation photo. Japan, unknown artist, Pair of Bird-and-Flower Screens, 16th/early 17th century, ink and color on paper, Collection of Richard Louis Brown via PortlandArtMuseum.org
Quest for Beauty installation photo. Japan, unknown artist, Pair of Bird-and-Flower Screens, 16th/early 17th century, ink and color on paper, Collection of Richard Louis Brown via PortlandArtMuseum.org

In addition to the exhibition itself, the UO John Yeon Center for Architecture and the Landscape will present a series of lectures, tours, and other events throughout the summer.  Landscape architect Laurie Olin will speak about Yeon’s 75-acre signature work of landscape design, The Shire, on July 30.  The POD Initiative will use Yeon’s interest in plywood design to inform an exploration of affordable architecture and houses for the homeless, through an exhibition of micro-housing units in August.  And a series of gallery talks at the Portland Art Museum will address Yeon’s role in defining Northwest regional modernism, as well as his role as an art collector and his private personality.

Save the date for any or all of these events to learn more about one of Oregon’s most passionate, visionary, and independent designers.

By Karen Munro, Head, UO Portland Library & Learning Commons