In the Alcove, Julie Ann Smith exhibits small, exquisitely rendered paintings inspired by optical illusion, subconscious memories, and dreams. The show’s title, Fata Morgana, is taken from a phenomenon in which a mirage appears just above the horizon, disorienting the viewer by juxtaposing fantastical objects with reality. Smith creates her own illusory magic, pairing still-life compositions with backgrounds of the Columbia River and the Pacific coast. 

Smith is a longtime resident of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, and has family roots stretching back into the history of the region. Her grandfather worked on sternwheelers that plied the Columbia River, her father was a lifelong fisherman, and she spent childhood summers living on the coast. She draws on this history and gleaned memories to create the paintings in this body of work. With a painting style steeped in classical realism, Smith turns to her imagination to give a twist of surrealism to her delicately precise small paintings. After attaining a degree in Art Education from the University of Oregon, she taught for 20 years and for the past 25 years has exhibited throughout the Pacific Northwest.