PORTLAND, OR.- Richard Serra (1938-2024) is best known for his monumental, rolled steel sculptures and architectural interventions. However, he maintained a vigorous drawing practice alongside the sculptural. Serra considered the drawings their own entities and not lesser companions to the sculptures. Serra’s prints similarly push the boundaries between two and three dimensions, creating a powerful interplay of form and space. This exhibition features 18 prints spanning his extensive career, showcasing his innovative use of black as a medium and a material that evokes a physical presence. The Only Way to Hold a Weight: Richard Serra Prints, is guest curated by Daniel Duford from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.

“All of us at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education are so grateful to Jordan Schnitzer and his family foundation for the opportunity to share these powerful works,” said OJMCHE Executive Director Rebekah Sobel. “Jordan Schnitzer’s lifelong dedication to collecting contemporary prints has benefitted not just OJMCHE and the Portland community, but museums across the country. Now with The Only Way to Hold a Weight: Richard Serra Prints, there is the opportunity to better understand one of the pivotal artists of a generation.”

Serra’s prints, much like his sculptures, challenge and engage viewers, inviting them to experience the tension, weight, and mass that define his work. Through this compelling collection, viewers witness the profound impact of Serra’s artistic vision and delve into the creative process of one of contemporary art’s most influential figures.

“The late Richard Serra was the greatest sculptor of our time! Who hasn’t experienced his massive COR-TEN steel creations? His works on paper are equally amazing. With the thick, sculpture-like surface of his prints and multiples, Serra is able to transform each image to defy time and space,” said ARTnews Top 200 Art Collector Jordan Schnitzer. “For over 25 years, Serra worked with print publisher Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles. Working with master printers James Reid and Xavier Fumat, they produced over 200 editions. We are fortunate to have over 150 of those Richard Serra editions in our collection.”

The Only Way to Hold a Weight: Richard Serra Prints, reflects what Serra once said: “I consider space to be a material." With this he would begin to transform void into volume to create site-specific sculptures, drawings, and prints that would put artwork, environment, and viewer in active dialogue.

Black is the primary color of printmaking. And Serra uses only black, in part, because it alludes to nature less than other colors. Serra sees black more as a “property” than a “color”—as a material that absorbs, rather than reflects, light, and which “manifests itself as weight.” And he understands that weight is emotion.

Collecting Forward: New Works By Oregon Jewish Artists

Collecting Forward: New Works By Oregon Jewish Artists celebrates the creative contributions of Oregon Jewish artists, both through a diverse array of contemporary artworks and a dynamic new acquisitions initiative for OJMCHE. This initiative allows the museum to actively support Oregon Jewish artists by acquiring their work, adding new voices and perspectives to our collection. From works on paper to three-dimensional pieces, the Collecting Forward initiative ensures a dynamic and ever-evolving museum experience that engages our community in ongoing artistic dialogues.

This exhibition showcases the inaugural acquisitions made under this initiative, featuring prints, drawings, photographs, and paintings. We are proud to introduce artworks by Oregon Jewish artists Emily Ginsburg, Roger Kukes, Stu Levy, Dana Lynn Louis, and Daniela Naomi Molnar into our esteemed permanent collection.