Choosing colors for a presidential palette

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Artist and Senior Instructor Anna Fidler working with students in 2-D Core Studio (ART 115)

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - December 5, 2025

Color possesses a transformative power, capable of altering not only the physical environment but also the emotional atmosphere within it, even in more unconventional spaces.

For the fourth consecutive year, Anna Fidler, senior instructor in the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts (SVPDA), has curated artwork placed in the 6th floor of the Kerr Administration building, as well as OSU President Jayathi Murthy’s residence. Fidler, a contemporary painter based in Corvallis, works with both local and regional galleries to source, and populate the walls of each space.

As a collaboration between SVPDA and the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAX), Fidler was invited in 2021 by Peter Swendsen and Peter Betjemann, the directors of SVPDA and PRAx respectively, to begin to annually source both 2-D and 3-D art to elevate both presidential spaces, each unique in their structure and style. The rotating of artwork, which occurs annually, is based on a theme that Fidler crafts herself, in partnership with President Murthy.

“It’s an honor and a challenge to activate both of these institutional spaces with art from a variety of mediums and by a variety of artists,” said Fidler. “Even in spaces such as a traditional office setting, artwork can influence the mood of people and affect the tone of the surrounding environment. It’s always a fun challenge to develop a theme and, then, assemble these related pieces together to display.”

President’s residence

A focal point and event space for the entire OSU community, the residence where past presidents of Oregon State (and Oregon Agricultural College) lived has moved several times over the past 100 years. Starting in 1921, a grand home stood behind Shepard Hall off of Monroe Avenue, which was eventually demolished in 1957. Presidents took residence in-and-out of several Corvallis homes until 2019, when a traditional 1930s, craftsman-style home south of campus was purchased by the university for future leaders of OSU. 

Fidler’s job is to activate the historical rooms that are used both for residential and entertaining purposes, with art that complements and uplifts the inviting natural elements of the home. Starting with initial brainstorming, “just like anyone developing a lesson plan,” Fidler considers the lighting, color, and flow of each room to reflect the nature of each space. “The questions I’m asking myself are: what is the vision that I’m projecting here? What do I want people to remember upon first noticing the artwork and how will it impact them?”

After consultations with President Murthy, Fidler settled on the theme of “Color Forms” for this year’s cycle of artwork. 

Inspired by the French writer Anaïs Nin, who wrote about the color-coded emotional landscape within her home, where each room was painted a different hue to reflect its intended mood, Fidler’s choices explore the dynamic relationship between color and form of each room in the President’s residence. 

“Nin’s words reflect how color can influence our emotions and guide the energetic atmosphere of our personal spaces,” said Fidler. “With drawings, paintings, and sculptures from artists around the Portland metro, their work not only reflects the nature of the space but elevates it both physically and emotionally.”

The dining room features works by Kristen Diederich, Tia Factor, and Petra Sairanen, whose bold red tones energize and invigorate the space. The living room includes wall mounted pieces by David Schell, suffused with various shades of blue-green, evoking a connection to the natural world albeit via geometric minimalism. In contrast, the foyer is enveloped in a welcoming warm yellow-orange palette including prints by Ka’ila Farrell-Smith. Two minimalist, yet colorful, sculpted pieces by Iván Carmona were added to the sunken living room and entryway. 

“We’re so fortunate to have such a talented artist and curator to share her expertise with the OSU community. Here in Oregon, beauty from the natural world, especially color — from earthy reds to calming blues and, of course, vivid oranges — infuses our everyday experience with seasonal character,” said Murthy, OSU’s 16th president. “Working across a living space, Anna engineered an experience with similar variations, drawing upon specific pieces and their hues to set moods and evoke feelings. The result is an intentional feel in each space.”  

Kerr Administration Building

Traditionally, the art placed in the President’s office and on the sixth floor of the Kerr Administration emphasizes works by artists with connections to Oregon State, including current and emeritus faculty, alumni, and students. This year, two arts educators from SVPDA share the platform: Andrew Myers, senior instructor of art, and Kirsi Peltomäki, professor of art history. Selected artwork for the sixth-floor pairs experiments with color and the geography of the Pacific Northwest with animal forms and shapes that live within it. 

“The Kerr Administration Building is a classic 1970s office construction, with a focus on an open floor plan and constructed cubicles,” said Fidler. “I love seeing how art can transform a space such as this.”

Peltomäki draws inspiration from the landscape of Oregon, including the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve in Cave Junction from her series, Holes, the creek-side vegetation in her series, Thicket, as well as the landscape she observed near Eastern Oregon’s Summer Lake. Myers has long studied the wildlife of the Pacific Northwest with special dedication to wolves. In his monotypes, he explores the formal qualities of shape and color with the mysterious silhouette of the wolf.

“As curator, it’s my hope that both workers and visitors to the sixth floor of Kerr will observe and ask questions pertaining to color, abstraction, and the natural world and how it relates to both our imaginations and the reality of our existence within it.”