This exhibition explores the extraordinary career of sculptor Jere Grimm, a pillar of the Pacific Northwest arts community who has been making work for over seventy years. Her artistic journey is inseparable from her life partnership with husband and collaborator Ray Grimm. While making art and raising six children in northwest Portland, they also pioneered new arts programs and produced collaborative works that remain cultural landmarks to this day. Examples of their public artwork include the Weather Machine in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square and large-scale commissions at Skamania Lodge and Salishan Lodge. Their travels throughout the Mediterranean and British Isles left an indelible imprint on Jere’s artistic vision. Central to her past and present arts practice is an exploration of the sacred feminine, matrilineality, and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Jere has exhibited both regionally and nationally, garnering critical recognition and numerous awards.

From Afra to Iris: A Journey into the Third Age gives visitors a rare opportunity to trace Grimm’s evolving vision over decades of practice, from her earliest pieces to her most recent works as an artist entering what she calls her “third age.” In addition to her ceramic works, viewers will also have the opportunity to see her work in textiles, as well as pen and ink drawings. This exhibition reflects not only a singular artist’s voice, but also a lifetime of inquiry, activism, and devotion to art’s ability “to connect the personal with the ancient and the universal.”