Schneider Museum of Art

Join us tonight, Thursday, April 30, from 5 to 7 pm for the opening reception of our newest exhibition, "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art." We’ll have hors d'oeuvres and complimentary wine generously provided by Foris Wine to enjoy as you explore the museum. What’s on View: Treehaven and Heiter Galleries: "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art." Explore paintings, sculpture, and furniture from the group’s most iconic members, including Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Fernand Léger. Born in opposition to surrealism, this group promoted "structure and construction," featuring works rarely seen together since 1930. This touring exhibition was organized by the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. Entry and Main Galleries: Masterworks on Loan and Highlights from the Permanent Collection. A curated look at some of the most significant pieces in our care alongside special guest works. Event Details 📅 Thursday, April 30 🕔 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM 📍 Schneider Museum of Art The "Cercle et Carré" exhibition is supported by the Daura Foundation. This exhibition will be on view through August 8, 2026.

Join us on Tuesday, April 21 at 3 pm in the SOU Meese Auditorium (Art Building) for a Creative Industries Discussion with our 2026 SOU VAST (Visiting Artist & Scholar in Teaching) resident Omer Wasim. ABOUT THE ARTIST Omer Wasim @owasim (b. 1988, Karachi, Pakistan) is an intermedial artist whose work bears witness to the relentless erasure, violence, and destruction of our times by engaging with disappeared and emergent ecologies, the spectres of postmemory, and the minutiae of daily life. Weaving in and out of the personal, as caught in the crosshairs of social and political upheavals, he gathers and transforms ephemeral, sonic, and more-than-human traces into works that resist state amnesia, historical erasure, and un-belonging in territories across South Asia. Wasim’s solo and collaborative projects have been shown at the National Museum of Qatar, the Yokohama Triennale, Sonsbeek 20→24, and the Dhaka Art Summit; at Jameel Arts Centre, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, and Centre A; and in artist-led and regional platforms, including Colomboscope, Khoj, the Cairo Video Festival, and the Karachi Biennale, among others. Wasim graduated from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in Sculpture in 2025. ABOUT THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES DISCUSSION SERIES The Creative Industries Discussion Series is a forum centered on distinguished artist lectures. Designed to bridge the gap between studio practice and professional reality, these sessions offer a rare, first-person look at the voices defining today’s visual landscape. Each event is more than a presentation; it is an invitation to engage. Every artist lecture concludes with a moderated Q&A, fostering direct dialogue between the speakers and the community. These sessions are free and open to the public, serving as a vital link between the Southern Oregon University campus and the professional creative industry. DETAILS: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 3-4 pm SOU Meese Auditorium – Art Building (next to the SMA) 555 Indiana Street | Ashland OR 97520 FREE, and open to the public | FREE Parking

Though its founders were male, Cercle et Carré’s egalitarian nature welcomed multiple female artists. Despite this approach, abstract artist Franciska Clausen later stated that the group suffered from “some latent misogyny” and that “women were not taken seriously” within the collective. Though historically they were underappreciated, in our upcoming exhibition "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art", these women's work is highlighted and recognized. We hope to see you at the opening reception on April 30th! Pictured: Sophie Taeuber-Arp, "Composition à rectangles, cercles, carré et carré de cercles", 1933, Serigraph on paper, Courtesy of the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by Martha Randolph Daura.

Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square) was a group of artists in Paris, founded in 1929 by Joaquín Torres García, Michel Seuphor, and Pierre Daura, who brought artists together to create and highlight abstract art in a world of art criticism. Our upcoming exhibition, "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art", is a traveling show organized by the Georgia Museum of Art that features the same works that exhibited together in 1930. See this historical reconnection for yourself at our opening on April 30th, from 5-7pm! Pictured: Pierre Daura, "Designs for Cercle et Carré logo", 1929, pen and ink on paper. Courtesy of the Georgia Museum of Art, gift of Martha Randolph Daura.

"En plein air" refers to the act of creating art outdoors, and painting or drawing your surroundings. This term is credited to Neoclassic painter Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, who suggested it as a way to improve landscape painting. Plein air painting allows the artist to better observe light patterns and natural forms in their environment, rather than painting them from memory. It led to the creation of the French box easel or field easel, a briefcase-style painters' box that allows artists to make their materials portable for outdoor use. SOU VAST artist Bix Archer often uses the plein air method, such as in the piece shown here. This piece was painted at Fort Tilden Recreational Area in New York. Using the oil paint and natural influence, Archer creates a fluid landscape portrait here that captures the beauty of the mundane. It is a part of the exhibition "Pursuit of Happiness", which will only be on display for a little while longer. If you want to learn more about Bix Archer and the plein air process, she will be leading a workshop on plein air drawing this Saturday, March 14th. There are still spots available, so if you are interested, sign up now! It is free and open to SOU students and museum members, and materials will be provided. https://sma.sou.edu/exhibitions/workshop-plein-air-drawing-with-bix-archer/ Pictured: Bix Archer, "Fort Tilden Cattails", 2025, Oil on panel, Courtesy of the artist.

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and get creative! We are thrilled to invite you to a day of hands-on art and exploration at the Schneider Museum of Art. This event is completely free and open to all ages, so bring the whole family for a day of art and inspiration. �Event Details When: Saturday, March 7 Time: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Where: Schneider Museum of Art & Marion Ady Building (Rooms 101 & 104) Cost: Free! What’s Happening? Hands-on Art (Marion Ady 101 & 104) Dive into collage and monoprinting using a mix of natural and recycled materials. You’ll have the chance to: 🎨 Craft a one-of-a-kind multimedia self-portrait. 🌿 Customize your own tote bag using leaf prints. Museum Scavenger Hunt Head over to the museum to grab a Scavenger Hunt. There are nine specific pieces hidden throughout the museum. Do you have what it takes to find them all? Quick Tips for Your Visit What to Bring: We provide all the supplies! However, feel free to bring a personal photo or a specific image to incorporate into your self-portrait and any natural items that can be painted and printed, such as leaves and feathers. Dress Code: Wear clothes you don’t mind getting "artfully dirty." We’ll have a limited number of aprons on hand, but it’s best to come prepared for paint and ink. �Parking: Free event parking is available in our designated lots.

NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! 🥂✨ We are thrilled to announce that tickets for the Schneider Museum of Art’s 40th Anniversary Celebration are now available to everyone! Join us on Saturday, March 21 (4–7 PM) at the beautiful @HearsayAshland for an intimate evening dedicated to the past, present, and future of SMA. Why you don’t want to miss this: 🍽️ A curated 3-course gourmet dinner 🍷 Fine wine and cockails 🎶 Live music by Shelly Cox-Thornhill and Jodi French How to Join Us: 🎟️ Individual Ticket ($150): Dinner, drinks, and entertainment included. 🌟 Legacy ($500) & Visionary ($1,000) Sponsorships: Secure your seats and be recognized as a champion of the arts. Deadline to Reserve: March 10 (or until sold out!) Reserve now at sma.sou.edu Let’s raise a glass to 40 years of inspiration in Ashland. See you there! P.S. Looking for an even bigger adventure? Scroll our site for details on our upcoming NYC Art Trip led by Executive Director Scott Malbaurn!

SOU Emeritus professor and visual artist Cody Bustamante is a first-generation Mexican American, an identity that has been a crucial influence over his artwork throughout the years. After receiving his MFA from UC Irvine, Bustamante relocated to Oregon and joined the art department faculty at Southern Oregon University. He has been exhibiting his artwork professionally since 1979, and his work is found in numerous collections on the West Coast, including the University of Oregon. Cody Bustamante's art explores how common mythologies and archetypes influence us and our understanding of the world. He does this using symbols such as birds, fish, mermen, puppets, ghosts, rocket ships, and submarines, to name a few. When his work is not symbolic, it is fully abstract, and he explores different shades and tones. Currently in the Entry Gallery, a piece by Bustamante is on view. It is an untitled work that was created as a part of a collaborative printmaking calendar project that was headed by Pinkham Press in Phoenix, OR. It depicts a bird in flight, its wings outstretched as though it were being studied by a 19th-century naturalist. These were a group of biologists who were focused on studying the natural world in order to define biology as a theory-based science. The simple form of the bird is still evocative, being a strong focal point in the sea of abstract black ink that surrounds it. Since the artist is local, he was able to provide information about this piece, which is a part of the Schneiders' permanent collection. He stated that the bird acts as a sort of character, emerging through the murky space that, for him, seems poetically charged. This print was gifted to former Printmaking professor Lyle Matoush, who was a friend and contemporary of Bustamante. This is made clear by the note, "For my pal Lyle", which is found towards the bottom of the paper. Since the artwork in the Entry Gallery is always rotating, this work will only be on view for a limited time. Come check out "Untitled" by Cody Bustamante in the Entry Gallery. Pictured: Cody Bustamante, "Untitled", 1990, Lithograph, Courtesy of the permanent collection.

The opening reception for our winter exhibition, “Pursuit of Happiness” was a great success! Here are some moments of happiness with our creative faculty and staff, as well as snapshots of curiosity and discovery captured by the wonderful @ezramarcosii

UPDATE: The museum will remain closed on Wednesday, February 18 due to ongoing weather conditions. Due to snow and unsafe conditions, the museum and the SOU Ashland campus are closed today, Tuesday, February 17. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back when it is safe to do so.

Marion Ady was a professor of art at SOU and an artist local to the Rogue Valley. She was hired as the first female faculty member in the art department in the 1930s and started work as a professor before the women’s rights movement had taken off. She was given a lot of pressure and responsibility, having to teach 5 classes a day, daily, in a variety of subjects. It is important to note that this was not the treatment that her male colleagues received. Despite this, she was known to be very responsible and devoted to all of her students during her time at SOU. She respected and cared for her students greatly, regardless of their artistic skill. She retired as a professor in 1964, after serving as the head of the art department. Currently in the Entry Gallery, Marion Ady's watercolor painting "Cactus" (1953) is on display. "Cactus" is a part of the Schneiders' permanent collection, which is truly a gift, because Ady was not known to display her artwork publicly very often. According to those who knew her, she had a lot of self-criticism about her artwork, which led her to destroy most of her work. "Cactus" is a beautiful naturalist image of the titular plant, its green body highlighted by pink, yellow, and red from the light of the desert. It shows the artist's reverence for nature well, as she was said to have a love for all things alive. Visit the Entry Gallery to see this special piece by an artist whose memory lives on through the Marion Ady Art Building, right next to our museum location, where students in the art department show their work. Slide 1: Marion Ady, "Cactus", 1953, Watercolor on paper, Courtesy of the permanent collection. Slide 2: Photo of Emeritus SOU Art Professor, Marion Ady, from the SOC Alumni Magazine.

In our current exhibition, "Pursuit of Happiness", there are multiple artists whose work is focused on the female form. SOU's VAST resident, Bix Archer, includes a piece in the exhibition that depicts her partner asleep in bed. "My Life Before Dawn" (2025) has a glowing quality, with light mostly emanating from the curled-up form of Archer's partner. They are seemingly mostly nude, wearing underwear and socks, but it has a domestic nature rather than a sexual one. Alongside Archer's work in Heiter Gallery, SOU professor Michele Allen Fulkerson includes multiple self-portraits. Namely, the classical-inspired "Self-Portrait as Venus" (2025), which depicts the artist as the famous Venus statue. Venus, sometimes called Aphrodite, is the goddess of love and fertility. Aptly, she has been associated with women for thousands of years, so Fulkerson taking on her form in this portrait is incredibly symbolic and meaningful. Printmaker Samantha Mendoza features a triptych of woodblock prints in the Main Gallery, depicting three women who represent the seasons of Summer, Autumn, and Spring. These women have an animalistic quality about them. They are naked, and two of them, "Emergence of Spring" (2025) and "Preparations of Autumn" (2025), are crouched in positions of the hunt. The third, "Strength of Summer" (2025), appears to be breastfeeding a baby animal, while other forest creatures watch on. All of these women are different, yet the bodies that connect them are similar. It is a unique thing to be a woman, yet there is much connection to be found in it. Check out "Pursuit of Happiness", on exhibition until March 14th, to see the work of these amazing women on display! Pictured: Michele Fulkerson, "Self-Portrait as Venus", 2025, Acrylic and photographs on canvas, Courtesy of the artist.