About the artwork
Rae Mahaffey
Khan, 2015
Dimensions(h x w x d): 60" x 54"
Oil on wood panel
Located in Lincoln Hall, first floor floor south hallway
Through her work, Rae Mahaffy seeks to encourage contemplation and gradual comprehension in a world that can be visually overstimulating. From an interview with the artist on Geoform: “I find that we tend to organize our ideas and behaviors into systems that I interpret as patterns. I explore these systems visually by working out patterns meant to reflect them, though I don’t attempt to illustrate these ideas or create a narrative around them. The patterns I use in my art reflect my perceptions of the course of my own life as well as universals of human behavior.”
About the artist
Originally from Colorado, Rae Mahaffey studied art at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the University of Washington. In the 1980s she worked as a curator for Gemini G.E.L. and as a consultant for David Hockney’s studio. She moved to Portland in 1992 to start Mahaffey Fine Art print studio with her husband, Mark. Her work as a painter, printmaker and glass artist explores color, pattern and perspective drawn from the world around us. Mahaffey has exhibited her work at the Portland Art Museum, the Art Gym, Marylhurst College, OR, Maryhill Museum, WA, and the Schomburg Gallery in Santa Monica. Mahaffey has completed several commissions including the Oregon Convention Center and Tigard Public Library, OR, and for Fire Station #11 in Aurora, CO. Her work is also represented in the collections of the New York Public Library, the Tacoma Art Museum, King County Arts Commission, Swedish Hospital, Seattle, Microsoft, the Portland Art Museum, and Oregon Health Sciences University, among others.
See more of Rae Mahaffey's work on her website.
Banner image courtesy of the artist.