In addition to a variety of paintings, photography is also on display as a part of the “Reflections on Mirror Pond: Past, Present and Future” exhibit, which is currently showing at City Hall.

With the community debating the future of Mirror Pond, the city’s arts commission asked local artists to share their reflections on the water feature in downtown Bend.

Their efforts are featured in an art exhibit, scheduled to open Friday night, at Bend City Hall.

Artist Linda Gillard heard many people describe Mirror Pond as “iconic.” Gillard wanted to find out how that section of the river looked during the last century.

She reviewed 105 years of photographs, then painted the Deschutes River as it appeared before the dam created the pond.

Unlike the black-and-white photographs from the early 1900s, however, Gillard’s painting is alive with color: blue mountains and water, green trees and terra cotta-colored desert soil.

“In 1905, the Deschutes River was the iconic view, and for that reason I chose to go back to that era using the earliest photograph available,” Gillard wrote in an artist statement.

The painting and statement are part of the latest City Walls at City Hall art show, Reflections on Mirror Pond. It features work from nine artists, and some of the others focused on people enjoying Mirror Pond and Drake Park and reflections in the pond.

Members of the Arts, Beautification and Culture Commission installed the art Monday.

The public may view the art any time City Hall is open, generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Twice a year, the Arts, Beautification and Culture Commission asks local artists to create work on important community issues.

Linda Cohen, the commission’s co-chairwoman, said the goal is to highlight the influence of art on the community and vice versa.

“This is more controversial just because it’s been in the news a lot, and there are so many ideas on what we should do with it,” Cohen said. “I’m not even sure myself … We’re not taking a stand one way or the other about anything.”

Fellow Co-chairwoman Liz Rink said the panel invited local artists to reflect upon the past, present and future of Mirror Pond.

“I think we chose (the Mirror Pond theme) mostly because it’s a big topic, and we were hoping artists would enjoy Mirror Pond as it is now, because it might change,” Rink said.

The artists receive any proceeds from the sale of their art.

The commission created the City Walls at City Hall art shows in 2011, to encourage more residents to stop by City Hall. The commission will probably issue its next call to artists, with a new theme, in early February, Rink said.

Cohen said Mirror Pond is probably the most timely theme the show has tackled, but the commission regularly chooses serious topics.

The previous show featured artwork by children who experienced a variety of crises, and the young artists illustrated their perceptions of Bend.

Some of the artwork is very abstract, Rink said, referring to Reflections on Mirror Pond, “but you can tell (it’s Mirror Pond) because of the feel of the river.”