Exhibiting the chosen ones - and the rest, too.

Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard

Eugene's two big civic art events of the season are upon us: The Mayor's Art Show and the Salon des Refuses both hold openings Friday night, at the Jacobs Gallery and at DIVA, respectively.

In a departure from past years, the openings will not coincide with the Eugene Celebration but will precede it by several weeks; the celebration changed its dates after the galleries had locked in their schedules.

And in another new development, both shows will be open one night early for a VIP viewing, accessible to people who pony up $25 a head for the chance to see the shows early. The evening, with talks by exhibition jurors, begins at 5:30 p.m. at DIVA and heads for the Jacobs about 6:30 p.m.

The preview will give people a better chance to question jurors about their decisions, Tina Rinaldi, director of the Jacobs Gallery, said.

``The No. 1 question people have is, `How do the jurors decide?' You might see a couple of the jurors at the opening reception, and maybe one of them will say two or three words at the reception, but people don't get any real behind-the-scenes insight.''

The Mayor's Art Show is a juried show open to all Lane County artists. Its most unusual feature is that, rather than being judged on the basis of photographic slides - as most such competitions are - this one requires artists to bring their actual work to the gallery for the jury to view.

While that's good for the jury, it's also hard on the artists and their egos, as the hundreds of would-be exhibitors who aren't selected have to show up at the Jacobs and retrieve the art that didn't make it.

For them - and for us - there is the Salon des Refuses. Named, a bit wryly, after the 19th century Paris salon that exhibited impressionist painters when the official academy wouldn't show them, Eugene's salon has just one requirement to get in: The work must have been rejected by this year's Mayor's Art Show.

The dual shows have been popular, as artists and art lovers alike enjoy the opportunity to see who made it and who didn't, and to spin elaborate and sometimes conspiratorial theories about what on Earth the jury could have been thinking.

This year's jury includes Jocelyn McAuley, a ceramic artist who is also a research assistant at the University of Oregon's Institute of Neuroscience; Dom Vetri, a law professor at the UO and an arts advocate; and Mike E. Walsh, a Eugene installation artist who has exhibited around the world.

For two of the jurors, McAuley and Vetri, this will be their first experience selecting an art show.

McAuley, whose ceramic work has been accepted twice and rejected four times by previous mayor's show juries, says she hopes to find "some of Lane County's unrealized gems." She vows to be transparent and has even started a blog on her experiences as a juror (http:// mayorsartshow/blogspot.com).

This year will mark the 15th time the Salon des Refuses has given us the chance to see the rest of the story. The salon is always a better party than the official mayor's show, and usually more crowded. As usual, live music, food and drink will accent the salon's opening.

EXHIBITS PREVIEW

Mayor's Art Show;

Salon Des Refuses

What: Juried show of work by Lane County artists, and a separate show of art rejected by the jury

Where: Mayor's Show is at Jacobs Gallery at the Hult Center, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street; Salon des Refuses is at DIVA, 110 W. Broadway

When: Friday through Oct. 20 (Mayor's Show) and through Oct. 14 (Salon)

Admission: Free

Hours: For Mayor's Show, noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and one hour before and during Hult Center performances. For the Salon, noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Sneak preview: Both shows open Thursday evening for a sneak preview, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at DIVA. Tickets are $25 ($15 for Jacobs Gallery and DIVA members) through Lane Arts Council, 485-2278.