Visual Arts at First Presbyterian Church
Our Visual Arts Committee maintains a full calendar of curated art installations from local and regional artists across the Pacific Northwest. The installations are located in the church’s Chapel Gallery. Visitor hours are Tuesday – Thursday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, and Sunday from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. Kindly head to the church office entrance on 13th Street (between Morrison & Alder) for gallery access.
Inga Dubay: With Singleness of Heart – Calligraphic & Asemic Writing
Oct 4 – Nov 29, 2026
Opening Reception | Chapel Art Gallery | Sun, Oct 4, 11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Inga Dubay is a Portland artist known for her paintings, serigraphs, monotypes and calligraphy as well as co-author of eleven italic calligraphy and handwriting books for adults & children. She taught at the Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland State University, Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, numerous International Calligraphy Conferences, and as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Oregon. She studied Painting & Drawing at Mills College and the University of Oregon, with graduate work at Kunstakademiet (Art Academy) in Oslo, Norway, the University of Oregon and the University of California, Berkeley. Lloyd Reynolds and Lois McClelland were her calligraphy mentors—also artists from the USA, Europe and Asia.
From the artist: “My interest lies in both calligraphic writing and asemic writing which is a wordless form of writing that can look like text or script but carries no traditional literal meaning. I like to bridge text and abstract art, leaving the interpretation entirely up to the viewer’s imagination. Think of the Greek word ‘graphos’; it means both ‘to write’ and ‘to draw’. The gestural marks I make are bearers of content whether they contain text or not. As we know, meditation does not require words. I am often amazed where ideas for my work come from and how one partakes in the mysterious creativity abounding in the world. I am intrigued by the patterns in nature as they refer to balance and harmony, such as the Golden Ratio inherent in the nautilus shell, the sunflower, the pine cone as well as the human body. Art-making to me brings a realization of the wondrous nature of creation and how we interact with that creation. In the words of Mary Oliver, ‘Pay attention. Be astounded. Tell about it.'”
[above] Pearly Everlasting’s Song by Inga Dubay, charcoal
Next exhibit: Paintings by Scott Anthony Erwert scotterwert.wix.com/arts
(Exhibit: Dec 6, 2026 – Jan 31, 2027; Opening Reception: Dec 13, 2026)