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Jan Zach’s “Lady” is the Newest Piece of Public Art on the University of Oregon Campus

EUGENE, Ore. -- (August 13, 2015) – Visitors to the University of Oregon campus will be greeted by a new piece of public art, Jan Zach’s sculpture “Lady.” Donated to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in 2014, the 14-foot-tall, painted steel sculpture is located on the lawn between Prince Lucien Campbell and Condon Halls.

 

“Lady” was Zach’s final project. The sculpture originated as a commission from his friend Inacio Peixoto (in memory of his wife, Amelinha), and was a work in progress at the time of his death in 1986. Ten years later, Zach’s former student Jerry Harpster fabricated the sculpture as his late mentor had envisioned it.

 

“Its monolithic presence,” says Danielle Knapp, McCosh Associate Curator, “harkens back to Zach’s earlier steel flower sculptures of the 1960s, and it is the culmination of his interest in larger-than-life variations on the female form.”

 

Zach is highly regarded as a contributor to the development of modernism in the Pacific Northwest and served on the faculty of the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts from 1958 to 1979. He sculpted in a variety of media, including wood, cast aluminum, and stainless steel. His works were experimental yet grounded in modern aesthetics and forms. Freedom and the human condition were constant sources of inspiration.

 

This new installation is a short-walk from Zach’s cast iron and concrete compound sculpture “Prometheus” (1958) on the JSMA’s northwest lawn.

 

                                                       

About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public.  The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Korea, Japan, America, Europe and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries.  The JSMA is one of six museums in the state of Oregon—and the only university museum--accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

 

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.

 

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

 

Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

 

Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu