September 2026 - Mayer Reed

Mayer/Reed Gallery: Charles “Chuck” Hayden

The latest exhibition in the Mayer/Reed Gallery features the work of Charles “Chuck” Hayden (1927–2024), an advertising illustrator, educator and artist—and relative and early inspiration to Mayer/Reed Associate Debbie Shaw.

A page from Chuck Hayden's sketchbook of a cowboy in a blue shirt on a horse with a lasso. Three horses run beside him.

“I knew him as my mom’s crazy cousin from New York, but we called him Uncle Chuck,” says Shaw. “Always the unconformist, stepping out of line, testing the boundaries, trying to squeeze a tasty bit of life out of every moment, Chuck wrote his own story and inspired us to do the same.”

A collage of sketches from Chuck's ad biz days hung on the wall. Four images show people at drafting tables in various office environments.

The three-part series presents selections from the countless sketchbooks Chuck filled throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The pages were not intended as finished works, but as quick studies of composition, light, color and figures that could later inform paintings and illustrations. The exhibition explores three recurring themes in his life and work: his Western roots and love of cowboys and horses, his career in the New York advertising industry and his lifelong practice of figure drawing.

Debbie Shaw holds up a book illustrated by Chuck Hayden, standing in front of his sketches hung on the M/R Gallery wall.

Through these sketchbook pages, the series offers a glimpse into the curiosity, creativity and unconventional spirit that defined Chuck’s life and work.

Community Helps Shape New Vancouver Park

A Mayer/Reed landscape architect stands with an east Vancouver community member, pointing at the large multilingual display boards at a community engagement event. The boards feature images different types of programming and park uses. Participants marked images they are drawn to with red dots.

Mayer/Reed is designing a new 14-acre community park within the Vancouver Innovation Center mixed-use development. The large, wooded parcel was privately owned and fenced off from the public for decades, and now neighbors are helping shape its future. Together with our partner JLA Public Involvement, we hosted a series of multilingual in-person and virtual open houses that have garnered ideas from across the community. We asked participants: What do you want to see at the new park? How do you want to play and exercise? How do you want to experience and connect with nature?

An image of the undeveloped wooded parcel within the Vancouver Innovation Center. Large fir trees filter dappled sunlight onto a small, grassy meadow.

The input shared so far is informing design options that will be presented to the community in October, with a master plan anticipated in December. We look forward to transforming this long-inaccessible landscape into a welcoming public park for east Vancouver.

Jumping for Joy at Frog Pond Neighborhood Park

Beneath a bright blue sky on August 27, families and community members celebrated the grand opening of Frog Pond Neighborhood Park in Wilsonville, Oregon. Children enthusiastically explored the new playground, winding trails and cast their votes to name the park’s signature green frog.

Beneath a swatch of mature evergreen trees, children play on the new, bright green playground equipment at Frog Pond Park. A concrete frog sits proudly amongst the play equipment, both as the park's mascot and a place to play and climb.

Mayer/Reed designed Frog Pond Neighborhood Park to reflect the personality and desires of the neighborhood. Shaped by community engagement, the 2.8-acre park features places to gather and play, and the meandering pathway system creates an important connection to the adjacent primary school.

An aerial photo of the lily-pad inspired playground of Frog Pond Primary School — Frog Pond Primary School

The neighborhood has another reason to celebrate this week. Just a short walk from the newly opened park, Frog Pond Primary School (designed by Arcadis with landscape architecture by Mayer/Reed) welcomes students for the first time on September 1. Although the park and school are two distinct projects, they were designed with a shared vision for a connected community open space. Together, with their nature- and water-inspired landscapes, Frog Pond Park and Frog Pond Primary School establish a welcoming new destination for play, discovery and gathering in the growing Frog Pond neighborhood.