Our operating hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. We are also open by appointment.

Featured Artists

Our featured artists for the month of May are Koka Filipovic and Bill Marshall. Their show is on display now through May 24, with the First Friday reception from 6:00-8:00 pm on Fri May 2. *Please note* that this reception coincides with the Downtown Albany Wine Walk event, which runs from 4:00-8:00 pm, so expect a lively, full reception! 

More from Koka- 

“Art has the power to inspire joy—a feeling that is a natural part of being human. In these fast-changing times, it can offer much-needed relief and a sense of calm. I find joy in sharing this experience through nature-inspired pieces designed to create a sense of sanctuary. My respect for the natural world has led me to create a collection of contemporary and arts-and-crafts designs that complement a variety of interior spaces.

In 2019, my husband and I moved from just outside Portland to the Albany area. Our home is surrounded by oak trees and borders beautiful farmland, providing a peaceful setting that inspires my work. I take time each day to pause, listen, and connect with nature, which has deepened my appreciation for life. My passion is to bring that connection into my daily life and reflect it through my art. I’m especially drawn to the beauty of leaves—fascinated by their variety in shape, color, and detail—and I try to capture that essence in my mixed-media work.

Before this, I spent 25 years as an interior designer in Portland and Eugene. In 2009, with my husband’s encouragement as a fellow artisan, I founded Sanctuary Designs. My creative process is meditative and intuitive rather than structured. I let ideas develop naturally while working with watercolors, acrylics, and pen-and-ink. My 3D collages, greeting cards, and journals often incorporate objects I collect during nature walks. I’ll go through hundreds of leaves just to find the few that truly speak to me.”

More from Bill:

“I can’t sit still when it comes to choices in traditional art media. So painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture will be in my May display with an emphasis on some new (for me) explorations in printmaking and combining media.

After a few years of creating linocut prints, I have ventured into the practice of making woodcuts. Linoleum is soft, even textured, and carves relatively easily with sharp tools especially when warmed up a bit.. Wood is, well, wood. It has grains to cross, various hardnesses and thicknesses, solid or ply. The tools, and carving techniques are the same for wood as linoleum, but I’m learning that they are two very different approaches to relief carving and printing.

I started with carving designs in 3/8” birch plywood purchased at the local lumber yard. Frustrating! It was brittle while carving, and difficult to achieve accuracy of line, or sharp edges. However, one of my first prints using this material, ‘A Sanctuary Track’, was accepted into, Art About Agriculture, a juried exhibit opening this month at OSU. So I guess all my slips, chips, and splinters added some uniqueness to the image after all.

Then I upgraded to planks of woods that are milled and finished especially for woodcut printmaking. (I’m still finding out where to get this stuff, and wish there was a local source instead of online). I discovered that these planks are much more easily carved, and retain a fine line better than either linoleum, or the plywood I was using. So far I’ve tried katsura, and magnolia, and have planks of basswood, and Baltic birch on the shelf ready to carve. And it seems the list can go on depending on the desired expression of the finished print. Using the grain in the image, and combining blocks are just a couple of variables that wood can offer.

I’ve continued the technique of adding color by hand to the prints, especially to those of botanical subjects. This combines two very different disciplines, and allows a lot of freedom to try subtle color variations with each print. The Fawn Lily may have a faint, almost white, yellow with green accents in one print, or a brighter, more saturated color in another. (Interestingly, these variations are similar to what happens with this species in nature). I have some magnolia prints that have warm magenta added, and others on the cooler side of red. All are printed and painted with watercolor on Japanese mulberry paper, a very thin, absorbent, but tough printmaking paper.

Nancy Anderson will have a selection of her vibrant artwork on display for the month of May at Sybaris.

An eclectic Pacific Northwest Bistro, Sybaris is dedicated to bringing the best of Oregon to the table. Located at 442 W 1st Ave in downtown Albany, across from the historic Carousel. 
(541) 928-8157 for reservations (recommended)

Galleries from Salem to Eugene

Take a look at the Art Map of galleries in the Mid-Willamette Valley along the I-5 corridor. You can get a great new paper version of the map at Gallery Calapooia.

Gallery Calapooia Inc. receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission,
a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts.