A night filled with art
The Lincoln City Cultural Center will celebrate a double gallery opening this Friday, March 13, with new exhibits in both the Chessman Gallery and the Fiber Arts Gallery.
Friday’s opening reception, running from 5 to 7 pm, offers a chance to meet the artists and enjoy wine and appetizers. A virtual gallery tour will be posted Saturday on the cultural center’s Facebook page.
Both exhibits will remain on display through May 10.
“Oregon Coast After Dark”
In the Chessman Gallery, astrophotographer Jeremy Likness presents a collection exploring the dramatic transformation of the coastline at night, when the full moon casts long shadows and reflections, the Milky Way rises overhead, meteors streak across the sky and, on rare nights, the northern lights glow along the horizon. Through this perspective, the coastline appears as few people ever see it – vast, quiet and filled with the awe of the night sky.
Likness is an astrophotographer and filmmaker whose work centers on the faint glow of the night sky — light that has traveled across vast distances in space before reaching Earth. Using long exposures, accumulated images and careful calibration, he captures nebulae and star fields in ways that reveal motion, formation and stillness within deep space.
His work also explores how darkness transforms familiar landscapes, placing coastal landmarks beneath the Milky Way, alongside passing comets or illuminated by the soft glow of aurora.
Likness refers to the complex techniques behind many of his images as “Deep Sky Workflows,” reflecting the long and intricate processes required to photograph distant celestial objects. He is passionate about making the farthest reaches of the universe accessible to the public. In addition to exhibiting his work, he donates pieces to charitable auctions, gives guest lectures on astrophotography and hosts public star parties where visitors can view the rings of Saturn, the craters of the moon and distant galaxies through his telescope.
“Eco-Play”
Meanwhile, the Fiber Arts Gallery hosts a collaborative exhibition by Oregon artists Sal Strom and Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich. The show imagines a world grounded in environmental restoration and curiosity, bringing together installations and mixed-media works that explore the relationship between human culture and the natural world.
Caprario-Ulrich’s work reflects decades of artistic practice influenced by her move from New Jersey to Oregon in the late 1970s. Drawing on her background in textile design, she uses pattern, historical references and layered imagery to examine the connections between identity, landscape and environmental resilience. Her works in “Eco-Play” include mixed-media paintings on paper created with acrylic, aerosol stencils and powdered graphite, presented as installations accompanied by mirrors that invite viewers to reflect on humanity’s relationship with the environment. Caprario-Ulrich has received fellowships and grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Ford Family Foundation and other organizations and has participated in artist residencies across the United States and internationally.
Strom’s work celebrates the resilience of forests and the surprising innovations found in nature. Her installation includes sculptural forms inspired by mycelium and fungal networks, with materials extending from the wall and flowing fabrics that cast shifting shadows. Additional works include translucent silk pieces and cold-wax textured paintings. Strom’s art often blends vivid color, unexpected textures and environmental themes, encouraging viewers to reconsider the possibilities of ecological change. Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Frye Museum, Provincetown Museum and Blackfish Gallery. In addition to her studio work, Strom founded an art therapy program in Romanian orphanages. She describes herself as a “residency rat,” having participated in more than a dozen artist residencies, including the Virginia Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center and PLAYA. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and says her work is driven by the hope of leaving a healthier world for future generations.
The Lincoln City Cultural Center is located at 540 NE Hwy. 101 and is open from 10 am to 5 pm Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.