michael boonstra

Cleaned this time-lapse up a bit, quite pleased with how it turned out. “Old Barn Iteration”, 2014. Scrim, wood, mylar, water, light. . Time lapse of one afternoon in August. Created while in residence @djerassiprogram

“Willamette River Contours” Farmers Market Pavilion Eugene, Oregon 2022 This artwork began as a small drawing. Water from the Willamette River was mixed with pigments from crushed stones and earth sourced within the Willamette River basin. The drawing was expanded in scale and the course of the Willamette River was left flowing through the drawing from left to right. The design was translated into mirrored aluminum. A material that responds to light, movement, and change, similar to the river the artwork references and is created from. The goods offered at the Eugene Farmers Market all are the result of some combination of water, earth, and light. This artwork is created from the same elements. Thank you to @andrewrmyers for the install assistance, @k8ali for the the logistical help, @madelainecorbin for the digital file prep and attention to detail, and @discovermacgroup for the clean fabrication. #publicart #lightandspace #oregonartist #pnwartist #reflection #drawing #pigments #cncmachining #publicartwork

“44°37’19.668”N 124°2’43.86”W (for Charles)” . New work installed earlier this summer at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Water samples from creeks, estuaries, rivers, and ocean, were combined with ink and evaporated by wind and sun. The resulting patterns, which were photographed and magnified, are a site and time specific collaboration with the Oregon coast. This project was commissioned through Oregon’s Percent for Art in Public Places Program, and administered by the Oregon Arts Commission. . This work is dedicated to Charles Robinson who passed away this spring. Charles was a truly amazing colleague and friend who orchestrated numerous connections and collaborations between disciplines at OSU. His dedication to creativity, curiosity, and kindness will be greatly missed. . Thank you to @k8ali and @ryanburghard for the guidance, to @evanbaden for the camera expertise, to @calderaarts for time and space when I needed it, @dmcceug and @trove_relics_oddities_finds for the space, @max.boonstra for the installation assistance, @danaboonstra and @devynboonstra for your support, and to everyone else that helped out along the way. 💙

⬜️ “Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths” @psu_museum_of_art Opening reception 1/29, 5-7pm “river segment / floodplain” 2025 aluminum composite, white oak, stainless steel, hardware Honored to be taking part in this exhibition with such an amazing group of artists curated by Alexandra Terry, Head of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Contemporary Art at the New Mexico Museum of Art. Featured Artists: Michael Boonstra, Enrique Chagoya, Epiphany Couch, Karen Hampton, Colin Ives, Brenda Mallory, Nathalie Miebach, Tatiana Parcero, Rick Silva, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Clarissa Tossin A big thank you to @madelainecorbin at @omnibloom_studio who managed all of the fabrication and installation details for this project!

“When the Walls Disappear (High Desert, Coast Range, Cascades)”, Villard Hall, University of Oregon, 2025. Composite digital pinhole photographs on aluminum, recycled fir, stainless steel. When the Walls Disappear consists of three triptychs in Villard Hall at the University of Oregon, a building that was constructed in 1886 and is a national historic landmark. The three artworks depict images of forests in Oregon’s Coast Range, the Cascades, and in Oregon’s high desert. The trees pictured in each work are comparable in age or older than Villard Hall, providing a comparative timeline between the history of the building and the time that is embodied in the forests and landscapes around the state. All of the framing for this project is fabricated from wood used in the original construction of Villard Hall in the 19th century and removed during renovation. More information and context for this work is on my website if you are interested. Big thank you’s go out to @omnibloom_studio for the framing millwork, @andrewrmyers and @maxmademedia for the installation assistance, and @pegjbutler and @orartscomm for managing the project.

ART360: Creative Field Work - Desert Edition 2025 w/ @andrewrmyers , a fantastic crew of students, and visiting artist @nancyfloydartist at @playasummerlake Thank you to everyone who has supported and partnered with us in developing these experiential learning opportunities. We really appreciate it! #oregonoutback #highdesert #experientiallearning #gobeavs @liberalartsosu @oregonstate.art

The @oregonoriginsproject exhibition at @steloarts is on view through mid-July. I’m incredibly honored and grateful to have been a part of this ambitious project alongside such an amazing group of collaborators. If you’re unable to catch the live musical performances at The Reser in Beaverton this weekend, make sure to look out for the release of the recording. Matthew Packwood’s score, Ian Madin’s geological descriptions, and the amazing musicianship are absolutely worth the listen/watch.

🔥 Featured Artist: @michael.boonstra Part of Wildfire + Water, now on view at The Arts Center, May 15 – July 5, 2025 Artist Statement: “The burn series was instigated and informed by landscapes that have been radically altered by fire. It is a series that began in 2005 and continues to evolve in parallel to the way I think about fire, land, and transformation. It wasn’t initially intended to be a series, but as fire has returned as a regular visitor to our region, the drawings keep needing to be made. It’s a perpetual process that reflects my interest in the phenomenon of fire, both the environmental/scientific aspects and the cultural impacts and responses. The field work aspect of my creative practice is critical to the way I think and make work. Some experiences have been during active fires, others years after. The drawings are my way of thinking about these places when I’m in the studio; dwelling on questions and the seen and unseen. The burn series is about fragility, loss, memory, resilience, and gradual regrowth. The things the landscape can teach us about ourselves. The things that remain and the things that continually evolve and change.” Experience Wildfire + Water through July 5, 2025, at The Arts Center. Learn more: theartscenter.net/wildfire-water #WildfireAndWater #TheArtsCenter #MichaelBoonstra #ArtistStatement #EnvironmentalArt #ContemporaryArt #CorvallisArts #playasummerlake #OSUartfaculty

burn (...nube/cloud...) This drawing has been recreated in many different ways over the past twenty years, but this is the first truly collaborative iteration. A variety of marks by a variety of people with a vast array of lived experience, all overlapping, layering, and blending into one wall drawing. It was a very interesting experience to see this drawing evolve over five days and it was a pleasure to work with Professor Luis Prato’s UC Santiago students in such a beautiful space. I also exhibited a series of drawings that were made at Playa Center for Art and Science that are meditations on the geometry of the PLSS in the Western United States. Also pictured is the amazing wall drawing by my friend and colleague Andy Myers as well as the site-based experimental drawings created by students throughout the week. A big thank you to @orartscomm and @fordfamilyfound for supporting this project and exhibition. @andrewrmyers @espaciovilches @facultadartesuc

A big thank you to Cristián Salineros for the generous hospitality and the incredible introduction to this amazing place! Many thanks as well to Luis Prato for the invitation to come to Chile and meet such wonderful people! @estudio_salineros_f @andrewrmyers @lucho_prato @mamchiloe @liberalartsosu @escuelaarteuc @cecrea_castro

Inauguración | El viernes 21 de marzo se realizó la apertura del Taller “Drawing Place / Lugar de Dibujo” de los artistas estadounidenses Michael Boonstra, Andrew Myers y estudiantes de Taller de Permanencia del profesor Luis Prato en Espacio Vilches. Los reconocidos artistas y académicos Boonstra y Myers, del College of Liberal Arts de la Oregon State University, estuvieron presentes en la Escuela de Arte UC del lunes 17 al viernes 21 de marzo, realizando un taller (workshop) y un estudio abierto en Espacio Vilches. Esta actividad contó con la participación de los estudiantes del profesor Luis Prato, quienes están iniciando su taller de permanencia.   Drawing Place / Lugar de Dibujo El workshop se centró en el concepto de “Lugar/Site”, que es el tema principal de su trabajo conjunto. Los artistas desarrollaron dibujos tanto sobre papel como directamente sobre las paredes de la galería, invitando a los estudiantes a colaborar con pequeños dibujos experimentales en papel que forman parte de una instalación más grande. Los participantes tuvieron la oportunidad de explorar cómo diferentes aspectos del lugar pueden influir en el proceso de creación del dibujo, además de contribuir a los murales creados por los artistas. Esta actividad se enmarca dentro del Programa Internacional de Artistas (PIA) de la Escuela de Arte UC, cuyo objetivo es fomentar el intercambio académico y artístico entre instituciones y artistas internacionales.  @michael.boonstra @andrewrmyers @escuelaarteuc @espaciovilches @facultadartesuc La exposición puede visitarse hasta hoy a las 17:00 horas. Espacio Vilches está ubicado en el primer piso del edifico de la Facultad de Artes, Campus Oriente UC. 📸 @fugalde #EspacioVilches #CampusOrienteUC #ArteUC #ArtesUC @escuelaarteuc @facultadartesuc @ucatolicaoficial

Meet the 𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗩𝗜: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮 creative team! 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 @michael.boonstra is a visual artist based in Eugene, Oregon. For the last 20 years his creative practice has focused on how we see and experience landscape. He is interested in our immediate experience of sites as well as the way in which we perceive places over time. This can be as fleeting as a cloud breaking apart in a desert sky, as drawn out as spring snowmelt in the mountains, and as long as the geologic shifting of our planet. This broad perceptual gradient allows the use of varying materials, marks, and environmental ephemera; asking questions about our relationship to specific sites, our world, and each other. Recent awards include an Individual Visual Artist Fellowship and a Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission with project funding from the Ford Family Foundation. He has been an artist in residence at Playa, Djerassi, Caldera, Pine Meadow Ranch, and the Kesey Farm. Boonstra's work 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘺 was commissioned by Oregon Origins Project in partnership with Stelo for 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮 music performance on June 21-22 and exhibition between June 5-July 12. Join us! Details and tickets at oregonorigins.org. Michael Boonstra: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘺, 2025 [detail]