ARTIST STATEMENT
I am interested in capturing my emotional attachment to a place, whether it is driven by personal connection or the unique beauty of the area. I welcome serendipity into my creative process and work to find a balance between luck and intention. Although my paintings are most often grounded in landscape, I work intuitively, taking advantage of unexpected color combinations and chance meetings of gesture and form. In each new painting is a discovery - and a bridge to the next.
ABOUT LISA
Over the past thirty years Lisa Onstad has worked as an art therapist, managed a letterpress print shop, and taught painting and book arts workshops in Oregon and California. These days, when she’s not teaching or making art in her North Portland studio, she enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Lisa has shown her work nationally, and her paintings and artist’s books can be found in private and public collections in the U.S. and abroad, including the Yale University Special Collections, University of Washington, Seattle and the Atelier Vis-à-Vis, Marseille, France. She is represented by Waterstone Gallery in Portland, and RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, Oregon.
CV
Education
Certificate in Craft, Book Arts, 2001, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland, OR
Master of Arts, Art Therapy, 1991, College of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA
Bachelor of Arts, Fine Arts, 1986, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR
Exhibitions, selected
Solo
Becoming Herself, Becoming a River, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2023
A Luminous Gap, RiverSea Gallery, Astoria, OR, 2022
Bliss and Other Stories, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2021
Low Tide, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2019
Earthquake Weather, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2018
Blue Fires, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2016
Introductions, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2015
A Near Perfect Place, West Linn Library, West Linn, OR, 2014
Tales of the Alhambra, Centrum Gallery, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland, OR, 2011
Recurrence, Blue Gallery, Gearhart, OR, 2004
The Pleasure Garden, Blue Gallery, Gearhart, OR, 2003
Group
Sitka Art Invitational, Oregon Contemporary, Portland, OR, 2022
Sitka Art Invitational, Miller Hall, Portland, OR, 2018
Looking Forward, Giving Back, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2017
Wish You Were Here; The Lure of the Exotic, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2017
Wanderlust, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2016
Move, Change, Grow, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2015
Hello Hedi, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2015
The Contained Narrative, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN 2015
Book Power Redux, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2014
Binding Desire, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA, 2014
EcoEditions, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2013
Art Around Oregon, Corvallis Art Center, Corvallis, OR 2013
Feast! Celebrating Food and Book Art, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2013
Artist’s Vision, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR, 2013
Rebound, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA, 2011
Bookends: The Book as Art, Torpedo Art Factory, Alexandra, VA, 2009
Metaphor Taking Shape, Sterling Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 2008
Book Arts Road Trip, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN, 2007
An Artist Collects: Artist-Made Books from the Collection of Barbara Tetenbaum, Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland, OR, 2006
The Art of the Book: Bay Area Treasures, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA, 2006
Book Works 2006, San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, 2006
A Year in Berkeley, Hunt and Gather, Santa Fe, NM, 2005
Jupiter Hotel, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR, 2005
Living Routes and Roots, Interstate Firehouse, Portland, OR, 2004
Book Arts Invitational, Arrowmont School of Art & Craft, Gattenburg, TN, 2003
15th Annual Miniature Show, Cannon Beach Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR, 2002
Northwest Bookfest Book Arts Exhibition, Stadium Exhibition Center, Seattle, WA, 2001
2001 Craft Biennial, Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland, OR, 2001
The Persistence of Memory, Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR, 2001
The Inquisitive Object, Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland, OR, 1999
Collections, selected
Atelier Vis-à-Vis, Marseille, France
The Jack Ginsberg Collection, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Harvard University Special Collections, Cambridge, MA
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
Yale University Special Collections, New Haven, CT
University of Washington Special Collections, Seattle, WA
University of Oregon Architecture and Allied Arts Library, Eugene, OR
Multnomah County Library Special Collections, Portland, OR
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge, WA
Amaterra Winery, Portland, OR
Sales Force, San Francisco, CA
Touchmark, Beaverton, OR
Pacific Source, Portland, OR
Awards/Honors, selected
Purchase Award, EcoEditions, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2013
Blue Ribbon Award, Artist’s Vision, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR, 2013
Honorable Mention, Turpedo Art Factory, Alexandria, VA, 2009
Bibliography
David Jury, Book Art Object: Codex International Book Fair. Oak Knoll Press, 2008, Aggregate Memory, collaboration with Macy Chadwick
Steve Miller, Juror. 500 Handmade Books. Lark Books, 2008, Aggregate Memory, collaboration with Macy Chadwick
Representation
Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR 2015
RiverSea Gallery, Astoria, OR 2021
23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR 2015