LUIZA LUKOVA

Nationale is honored to present a new suite of textile work by gallery artist Francesca Capone. “A Mother’s Discourse” opens April 13, 2024 and combines Capone’s trademark use of fabric, language, and research to expand on the complicated topic of motherhood. The weavings displayed in the front gallery and the bookshop favor soft gradients, hints of domestic patterns, and sharp truisms that together brave a poignant dialogue. A first-time mother observing a post Roe v. Wade reality, Capone became concerned by the rapidly devolving lack of social resources available to new families in the United States. A linguist at heart, her focus turned toward books in search of comfort. As she read, she found a kindred community in literature narrating deeply personal experiences of child-rearing.

This exhibition presents as an abstracted metaphor for the maternal in four sections: a range of colormap weavings; gridded composites of heirloom fabric; a cento poem; and an archive library, now spanning 35 books. Each framed textile piece reveals a quote embroidered on its surface and sourced from one of the longform written works Capone has collected over the past few years. Luminous, pulsing, strange (Cusk) and The picture is not all rosy (Suleiman) are two examples of earlier weavings. Here, the tonal gradients appearing with each pass of the shuttle could be interpreted as a soft parallel to the transitions Capone experienced as her child passed through early infancy. The inclusion of a penned phrase outside of its original context invites an immediate interaction from the viewer to decipher its unique intention.

As her son became more mobile, Capone too expanded more fully into her practice. She began by hand-weaving strips of maternal fabric scraps to form new canvases addressing her pressing concerns. These textiles were passed down from her multigenerational family of Sicilian American fashion industry workers. Pieces such as A moment of quiet (Clayton) and To love and protect (Emecheta) are smaller records of a similar intention, akin to promises whispered to a loved one. These embroidered lines span across the gallery walls in quiet reverence for the weight of the written word. Mantras such as “a visitation from angels” and “the future for you” read as gentle stitches in time that capture the varied nuances of early motherhood. Twined together they make up the complete poem A Mother’s Discourse: Cento, which hangs printed on translucent, silk chiffon in the Project Room. For viewers eager to engage the texts in full, the archive of books accompanies this collection, spines dusted in gradual hues of pink.

In its entirety, “A Mother’s Discourse” intimately enmeshes text and textile to give voice to an emotionally complex and shared experience. Capone has capably created a soft protest to the current landscape for mothers and new families, imbuing every stage with a warm familiarity for maker and viewer alike.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Winston Wächter Fine Art Seattle is pleased to announce our second solo exhibition with Seattle-based artist Barry Johnson. Continuing Johnson’s yearlong series’ which explores portraiture through strikingly different contexts, the paintings in never leave without saying goodbye examine the weight of grief. Following a series of hardships and death over the last year, these works build on the artist’s existing themes of personal discovery, healing, and creative expression. They commemorate deeply introspective moments in time, while simultaneously serving as intimate reminders to confront the pain and push toward growth.

“never leave without saying goodbye” is a devotion to creating autobiographical landscape works. In exploring life and loss, these paintings express vulnerability and help process repressed emotion. Johnson celebrates both joy and sorrow, and those moments when both run parallel. In this series he reveals a capacity to unapologetically engage with more grand and complicated topics in new, understated manners.

Full release on Winston Wachter; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to welcome painter Jeremy Okai Davis as guest curator for the upcoming group exhibition Mélange, opening February 24 in the Project Room. Aptly titled for its array of voices and creative expressions, Mélange features the medley work of artists Rebecca Boraz (Portland, OR), Maria Britton (Carrboro, NC), Anthony R. Grant (Bay Area), and Chris Lael Larson (Portland, OR). Davis describes his curatorial process as a similar mixture of influences, finding thoughtful connections among cherished artistic friendships and new inspired acquaintances.

Thoughts of Britton’s tactile, breathing draperies bleed into a consideration for works that overlap, collage that mixes media to cement contemporary references. Grant’s dynamic use of text and imagery mirrors Larson’s hidden figuration, an intersection of painting, design, photography, and installation that build to an energetic depth. And in turn, Boraz’s intaglio and woodcut prints advance this familiar tangle between foreground and back, building to an illusion of shapes, lines, and figures—an undercurrent theme shared by each of these artists. As such, Mélange serves as a collective ode to the diligent practice of Davis’s contemporaries, one that he hopes sparks in viewers as inspiring and fulfilling of an experience as it does for him.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to present “Before the Doors Open”, Pace Taylor’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. As like often calls to like, the series finds its heart in literature, film, and their ever-evolving characters. Authors such as Joan Didion and Shirley Jackson serve as an unexpected homecoming and inspiration for this new collection of emotive portraiture in Taylor’s unmistakable hand. The paintings center figures moving through worlds, reconciling deeply rooted fears with intrinsic desires. Under lush layers of bright pastel, smooth pencil, and signature strokes the exhibition aims to confront one’s innermost monologues. In ten framed paintings and a suite of smaller watercolors, Taylor tackles their personal experiences with self-imposed isolation, agoraphobia, and their cyclical impact on the creative process.

The completed pieces embrace this undercurrent tension by way of soft gradients, tender touch, and evocative expressions. Rich hues of crimson, coral, amber and emerald populate the larger-scale paintings on display. The strategic employ of thresholds—windows, doors, lines—suggest a sense of safe interiority. With a nod to the coy title of the exhibition, this compositional element serves as an invitation, creating the illusion that the viewer is at once there with the subject and removed from them in silent communion. As in Taylor’s early works, the eyes, or lack thereof, serve as forceful focal points. Hand to Eyes (shadow shield) speaks as much intensity in its gaze, half obscured by a gentle forearm, as does the solemn, closed-off body language of In My Room. Fingers graze one another and shoulders touch their neighbors in laughter is possible laughter is possible laughter is possible, which receives its name from Jackson’s final journal entry, “I am the captain of my fate. Laughter is possible, laughter is possible, laughter is possible.” The three figures portrayed here huddle in close proximity, two intently observing the third as if in intimate revelation. In this soft quiet, anything feels possible.

“Before The Doors Open” is a graceful representation of the dance of decision. Capturing these familiar moments offers solace to viewers who feel a kinship with the weight of existence. It implies that, indeed, we are in good company as captains of our own fates.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

On the eve of a winter storm that ravaged most of Oregon, Ditch Projects, located in Springfield, OR, quietly opened a waggish and bright solo exhibition by New York-based artist, curator, and educator Sun You.

“Melodramatic Soul Crushing Saturday Morning” comprises 59 small, flat maquettes, sculpted of colorful polymer clay and finished in clear resin. For this presentation, and for the first time since their realization, these works hang upright on gallery walls as opposed to lying prone on a level plan. At Ditch, they span the entirety of the space’s expansive 2000 sq ft and present as an uninterrupted strand.

You affectionately refers to these works as “sculpeys,” a cheeky homage to the brand name oven-bake clay Sculpey that functions as her primary medium. She describes her process as intuitive and spontaneous. The forms take shape as a collection of gestures informed by her earlier paintings and installations, with large swaths of off white clay serving as the artist’s “canvas” and the interjections of vivid pinks, blues, and greens acting as foregrounded. There is a harmonious balance of contrasting forms in these pieces. In a single work, such as “Untitled,” sharper lines created by chunks of clay form rigid, bitten edges that sweep languidly into organic swirls of rolled clay.

Full release on Variable West; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Artists Irina Flore (Studio Flore) and Bilge Nur Saltik (Form&Seek) debut the joint exhibition “Entangled Dimensions: Shape of Connection”, presented through the end of the year in the Project Room. This suite of functional sculptures, textiles, and design objects embody a material exploration that occurs when physical form and emotional connection converge. The artists consider how shapes, structures, and objects can embody a communal resonance. What stories do these creations tell, and how do they invite us to join in their narrative?

In imagining new possibilities for traditional forms, Flore and Saltik craft a distinct poetic language. Saltik’s Entangled Rug Collection, a body of handwoven, textile pieces demonstrate innovation in creativity and craftsmanship. Directly mounting one such intricate piece to the gallery wall transforms the space in an unexpected and visually dramatic manner. Flore’s Nexus Mirror Collection—conceived in collaboration with her brother, Razvan, a motion graphic designer—takes a similar every-day-tool and, by way of 3D printing, enhances the untapped beauty in its utility. These reflective surfaces serve as both sites of personal contemplation and external reflection as they readily catch the various luminescent lights and forms of the adjacent works in the exhibition. Similarly, the RI Shelves—a collaborative project between Flore and Portland-based Merkled Studio—work in tandem with Joyful Glassware (winner of the 2021 Gray Awards) and Frosting Collection (winner of the 2022 Isola Design Awards), the dual-color, irregular shelves providing the display for Flore’s delicate yet formidable statement goblets and Saltik’s playful candle holders. This intentional harmony abounds as a result of the careful collaboration and natural kinship of the artists. Just as these forms entwine and coalesce, Entangled Dimensions: Shape of Connection reminds viewers that humans too are bound by invisible threads of emotion, empathy, and shared experiences.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to present “Water Witch Moon Mother”, Anya Roberts-Toney’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. This new series builds upon the artist’s existing repertoire, delving deeper into the subjects of motherhood and the natural world. The paintings highlight imagined landscapes populated with female figures, bodies of water, and imagery that further codes as feminine—all saturated in the artist’s signature hues of rich purples, blues, and greens. Roberts-Toney constructs new realms of possibility in dialogue with historical depictions of the female body in nature. The painted figures are often blurred, willowy beings that elude interpretation and thus limit our access to them. They could embody a witch, a mother, a mermaid, or all three concurrent truths at once. In turn, the landscapes are activated by way of bold marks and sharp tonalities and exist as independent energetic presences. In this manner, each canvas becomes an arena for otherworldly possibility and each figural silhouette takes on a complexity such that they cannot be fully known.

Intertwined in these depictions of feminine spirituality are elements of danger. Stormy skies, choppy waves, and portals to the unknown are layers of risk that threaten the powerful presence of the subjects. Yet, in the artist’s own words, “to inhabit a mother-body is to be always precarious,” and Roberts-Toney has unwaveringly crafted her works such that they eschew any attempt at passivity. Rather than having one straightforward narrative, she seeks to evoke a sense of multiple possibilities: a spirit will also be a mother, a portal will also be a mirror, a wave of water will also be a claw.

This is the underlying complexity of “Water Witch Moon Mother”. Mother Earth operates by a simple rule of balance. That which enriches can also sting the sharpest. The paintings in this exhibition place the role of the mother at the center of this dichotomy, situating motherhood as a source of beauty, fluidity, and ultimately, power.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Malcolm Peacock’s “next in line at the peak of the valley, his spine bent forward as he surrendered to his choices” (2023), is part auditory immersion and part tactile installation. The experiential setting presented for the occasion of Converge 45’s Portland biennial weaves a serpentine narrative of travel, loss, and kinship.

Visitors enter SE Cooper Contemporary in pairs to experience a location “where all individuals of the public can exist without the physical presence of surveillance,” according to the exhibition announcement. Surveillance here became a recurring adversary to contend with both in spirit and body.

Inside the gallery, Louisiana-based Peacock has constructed a circular, cushioned bed that fills the breadth of the room. Hand-braided coils of kanekalon synthetic hair fibers dyed in hues of forest green, olive, and gold are affixed to its surface in a spiral. The chosen color palette thus mimics a recognizable natural landscape — the golden disc in the center as the sun, the verdant greens perhaps its surrounding flora.

The sides of the bed are similarly interwoven, thicker braids tucked amid unstrung strands of the same fibers. Two pillows rest invitingly atop the constructed bed. When I laid upon it, his voice swelled and his recollection unfolded from a miniature speaker beneath my head. He encouraged a willingness to be at rest.

Full release on Variable West; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

“Innerbloom” is a self portrait of a painter in transition. Portland-based Ty Ennis returns to Nationale after a five year hiatus and discovery period. The works debuted here are reflective and revelatory, inviting the artist back home both into his practice and into himself. Multiple windows, doors, and thresholds are realized in these canvases. These recurring representations stand as starting points, end points, and the wavering, difficult, and beautiful transitions that take place in between. For this reason, some portals may feel premature or less considered, executed by a quicker stroke of the brush. Less developed. In turn others may feel overworked, obfuscated by the layers of several lives on the canvas. However, works that may seem incomplete to an outside eye—like the monochromatic, abstract painting, Rachel—feel perfect to the artist. They tell their story exactly as he would like it to be told, shortcomings and all, while preserving the raw memory from which it was conceived.

What is a Complete painting? And what is Cohesion? These queries permeate this body of work and evidence the artist’s inner dialogues. In various states of consciousness—drunk, sober, grieving, heart-broken, anxious, in love—the rules of creation become malleable in Ennis’ hands. 22nd and Nowhere is the incomplete still life whose very state of transience questions the futility of the future. Bananas serve as another ready motif, nodding to gender and sexuality as well as to markers of time and opportunity. Here the green, unripe fruit is nestled amidst a produce bowl in front of a window with blooming flowers. Borrowing from Roberto Bolaño’s Savage Detectives, the work asks What’s outside the window? and beyond the yellow buds viewers can imagine a new narrative surfacing. This work and its story remain to be imagined and “nowhere,” while perhaps daunting, presents the very occasion.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale welcomes the return of Laura Camila Medina for her debut solo with the gallery, “Mi Reflejo”. Presciently titled, this phrase translates from the artist’s native Spanish to “my reflection” and, in her signature dream-like and world-building spirit, serves as a careful foil to a deeply introspective personal narrative. The works on display intertwine the artist’s childhood memories with her lived experiences in what she considers the in-between—the tangible limbo state between a cultural and national identity and its implied hurdles. Through painting, sculpture, textile, and video Medina creates imagined worlds that exist as an archive addressing the real complexities of immigrant culture, “the American Dream”, gender, and familial lineage. She explores the possibilities of recontextualizing that which felt fragmented into something new, something magical and empowering.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale welcomes Los Angeles-based painter Dennis Foster for his first solo exhibition with the gallery. “Wake Up New” debuts a series of flashe and acrylic paintings that feel particularly Californian, though perhaps subconsciously. Flashes of fire orange, cobalt blue, and verdant green offer bold recollections of shimmering pools, expansive rolling hills, and the bright freneticism of the southern California sun. Their arrangement in rhythmic and recurring geometric patterns stills their energy into a restrained feeling of light and introspection. Moving through the Project Room gallery, where the work is presented, is meant as a full sensory immersion, a simulation of what it feels to be present in a visual landscape that forever reinvigorates the soul. Here Foster recreates for his audience the sensation of driving along the coastal regions of Ventura and Northern Malibu outside of Los Angeles, where the southern edges of the Santa Monica Mountains graciously descend into the Pacific around each corner. If traveling in the evening time, in the right direction, one can follow the sun falling until it finally rests behind a calming curtain of blue.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Portland-based artist Salomée Souag. In “Fruit of My Past”, Souag channels the Âme, or soul, as the spiritual link present in each of her works. She pulls from a deeply personal part of her selfhood as the site of all emotion and power, willing these paintings to both express a current state of healing and a future existence as totems to this act. At their core, these paintings stand as symbols for shedding shame, of a guttural erotic liberation, and of Souag’s re-embrace of intimacy.

In rebuilding avenues of trust, the softness of human connection is reflected in the neutral pastels employed on the canvases—browns, pinks, blues, and red tones evoke a return to the earth, a return to simplicity. The fluidity of lines and shapes mimic the natural curvature of place and body at times guiding the artist as she marks their presence. Alongside the canvas pieces are soft sculptural works interspersed in the main gallery. These textile variations on form and femininity regard the same difficult themes in a tangible manner, with the interior forms serving as stand-ins for one's inner “guts” and beliefs. Vulnerable to time and external pressures, these sculptures may bend and shift over time yet ultimately retain their forceful stature.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All images courtesy of the gallery.

Opening at The Cleaners in collaboration with Ace Hotel Portland, What do you see, what do I see brought together artists from Portland to NYC in an ephemeral, interactive showing that highlighted the many ways that art can be both experienced and interpeted.

What do you see, what do I see also launched the soft re-opening for the iconic Portland bar Pepe Le Moko.

Participating Artists: Lena Vasilenko, Emma Strgar, Benjamin Ewing, Taylor Loutsis, Qu Metcalf, and Austin Fields.

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Through our own eyes, everything is a mirror by which we understand ourselves.

In turn, how we understand our surroundings is how we come to navigate the world around us.

Ethereal Reflections is an immersive, multi-artist concept gallery and event space that begs the question - What do you see and what do I see? The communal theme at the heart of each work is grounded in unity while also allowing visitors to apply their own, unique perspective. Large-scale paintings and a walking projection orbit around the interactive wishing well, flower mannequin installations, light sculptures and an AI image reflector. Each of these pieces were designed with specific intention for this gallery space, allowing for a wide range of movement and introspection.

At its crux, Ethereal Reflections centers the divine act of deep meditation. Simultaneously, the suite of works allow for enough direct interaction allowing each guest to create their own understanding. Visitors can place themselves within the context of the artwork by applying their own, internal context on such publicly vocal pieces. This act considers how, despite our ingrained commonalities, we come to have such diverse interpretations. Like a mirror, what is refracted can quickly shift its image at the slightest shift in view.

Ethereal Reflections is meant to spread ideas, build community, and inspire deep imagination.

Ethereal Reflections goes beyond an appreciation of beauty - the moments of reflection activated within the gallery encourage conversation on the beautiful disparities that make us individuals.

The 2023 Mexico City Art Week kicked off its return last week, the entire city humming with visiting creatives eager to take in all that fairs, galleries, museums and performance spaces had to offer. Zona Maco, running February 8-12th, returned to Centro Citibanamex for its 19th installment of the contemporary fair, while Feria Material, February 9-12th, launched its 9th edition at the Expo Reforma for the first time. Simultaneously, ancillary fairs such as Salon ACMÉ and residency studios such as FÁBRICA hosted independent programming further contributing to the rich, vibrancy of the week.

Presenting an impressively robust roster of evocative gallerists and artists, right at the pulse of high art market buzz, the largest section of Zona Maco favors leading international and local offerings. The sprawling selection of work spanned three main halls at Citibanamex, with the addition of satellite sections of Zona Maco Foto (photography), Salón (antiquities and decorative arts) and Diseño (everyday and design objects).

Full feature on Artillery Magazine; read here.

Nationale is pleased to welcome back painter John Vitale for his first solo exhibition with the gallery. “What Has Gone Wrong Becomes an Opening” documents Vitale’s ongoing search for new beginnings and moments of exploration. In these abstract works viewers witness a turn towards a canvas at capacity, demonstrating the fullness of Vitale’s range. A desire to paint more intuitively, and to shed established comforts, reveals a frenetic tone previously only hinted at in the artist's work. The paintings on display are reactions to his immediate sensory stimuli - surroundings, moods, music. The subsequent responses present a spectrum of visual impulses and are what Vitale has aptly dubbed “the artform of life.” The works embrace the unpredictable ability to take what has fallen apart, what still feels fresh, and redirect it towards a new channel.

In Wave of Mutilation, large, bold swaths of color flood the picture plane. The vibrant reds and blues and greens are not unfamiliar to Vitale, yet presenting them in such a tight formation, with little of the painter’s signature use of negative space, imbues the painting with a new sense of urgency. Displayed in tandem with more subdued works such as Apparition No. 4, we can see the extent to which the artist is in a process to push beyond his established practice and cultivate new openings. The subtle whites and creams in Apparition create an ethereal aura around the singular pop of cobalt blue, which acts as a focal point. This calming energy feels evocative of a deep and conscious introspection. In turn, the forceful line work and intense pigment in other works are derived from the artist’s attempt at channeling raw, unprocessed emotions of the moment. Both are central to Vitale’s creative method. This dichotomy of visceral forces creates a powerful conversation in the space of the gallery. From initial thought to final execution, this evolution magnifies Vitale’s careful consideration of each element at play in the practice of building a painting.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

The exhibition i gently place my brain in cold rice is homeschool founders manuel arturo abreu and Victoria Anne Reis’ first installation of their year-long curatorial residency at Oregon Contemporary. In operation since 2015, homeschool aims to generate creative nourishment for unfettered contemplation around contemporary art. This takes various forms including an art school, a distance learning platform, a pop-up space, crafts curriculum and other opportunities. In all iterations, the emphasis is on slow-learning, individual relationships, and diversity of thought.

Reis and abreu describe their professional synergy, non-deterministic approach to curation, and homeschool’s existence as a “space of sacred duty.” I understand that phrase to be a necessary cultivation of an educational culture that exists beyond the traditional tired, non-inclusionary, and for-profit learning environments. i gently place my brain in cold rice features work by eight national and local artists in a range of disciplines. As a whole, it reads as the visual embodiment of homeschool’s pedagogy, emphasizing the transmission of communal care and healing, through the lens of contemporary art.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Mario Gallucci Photo and Oregon Contemporary.

Will Rawls’ solo exhibition, “Amphigory,” at Adams & Ollman in Portland, OR binds a weightless density to a lexicon of its own creation. Multi-panel installations of black & white abstract prints on paper line the three walls of the gallery space, as well as the smaller exhibition space in the back. The word amphigory itself implies a discordant tone, a nonsense verse that might seem to have a deeper, latent meaning but ultimately is revealed to be meaningless. Given this fixed precept, the intentionally blurred and glitching letters within each frame – a scattered “CA” or “IV” or “IFE” – bear little grammatical context. Yet, the subtle semantics of the visual pieces become apparent as a common narrative is deciphered as the works are observed not individually but instead assembled as a collective whole.

The phrases “Woops! Game Over”, “The Thing About Life” and “You Can’t Escape Alive” take shape upon a more concentrated consideration of the temporal logistics of each hanging print. What at first appears to be nonchalance, a disavowal of rationality, flows more eloquently when read traditionally left to right, top to bottom. Borrowed from the artist’s father’s vocabulary, the sentences formed evoke a more personal resonance. “Amphigory“ serves as a natural extension of Rawls’ creative practice spanning performance, video, text and installation, wherein the artist’s mark is visibly traced into each pixelated and distorted letter. A mark is extended, scraped across the paper, or, in other instances, incomplete, leaving the moment of signification in flux. Each of those sites of expression are imbued with the artist’s fascination with language as a locus for discourse, allowing words to morph, become muddled, and open new avenues of translation.

Full review on Artillery Magazine; read here.

All images courtesy of the artist and Adams & Ollman.

In “Field Studies”, gallery artist Emily Counts brings to Nationale a series of new sculptures, presented in the Project Room, that offer curious musings on nature, life cycles, and the fragility of bodies. This exhibition begs the question - what can we observe of the natural world, and our own impermanence in it, when captured at its most delicate and detailed? This collection of ceramic objects serve as meditations on growth, decomposition, and transformation in nature, while simultaneously exploring the beauty and magic within this inevitable process of aging. Field Studies unearths the fated cycle of birth, rebirth, and decomposition at its most fascinating and jarring minutiae: rotting and bitten fruits, eccentric insects, and withered flowers. One figurative work, Grandmother Witch, presents as a lighted bust dressed in a relief wilting daisy sweater. Part of the artist’s ongoing self-portrait and matriarch series, this piece brings to the viewers’ attention the ways in which nature can envelop human anatomy as well - this figure is part of the past, yet strangely futuristic in her facial assemblage and dripping, bodily oddities. Luring in our attention with shining gold, and pops of neon, the image becomes almost psychedelically distorted upon closer inspection. In this manner, we come to ask ourselves, how can we better perceive and ultimately memorialize our own selves?

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to present the last installment of its three-part group show, Straight from the Studio, featuring figural painter barry johnson, printmaker and painter Shiela Laufer, and abstract painter Tanner Lind. The impetus for this series was born of intimate conversations with each of the artists surrounding their studio life and the raw inspirations that take place there, away from the public eye. These exhibitions put on display the varied stages of time spent in the studio, calling gallery goers to take part in this communion. As the harbinger of all work, that studio space holds the utmost significance in the artist’s career allowing room for makers to develop methods, experiment with styles and take risks. Straight From the Studio is an invitation to support artists at all stages of their career, focusing on process over form, growth over formal execution. Nationale offers this exhibition as a way of making avenues to sustain artists at all stages of their career.

With Riff, Tanner Lind approaches his painting in a manner similar to the way a musician might pursue the perfect, culminating melody. To riff is to meander and bring together repeated chord progressions or sets of notes towards a unified whole. These reiterations form the rhythm of the work, honoring change and sameness at once. In his paintings, change as a result of this exploration is celebrated. Deviating from a static interpretation of this musical practice, Lind’s riffs on lines, stains, and movement appear dynamically layered, building upon each other on the raw surfaces to create work that is breathing and active. Thick and swooping brushstrokes overlap gridded elements and punches of color that resemble sporadic airbrushed bursts on the canvases. Different shades of familiar grays and blacks in the painting Gravity Assist create a stunning depth in both style and execution, precisely demonstrating a repetitive technique that is far from stagnant.

These decisions make up Lind’s ever-expanding lexicon of marks and thoughts surrounding a belief that experimentation is innately built into the creative process. As such, the paintings on view in this series each exhibit an individual evolution as much as a communal progress. They become remnants of an artist’s infinitely shifting discovery of change.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to welcome back artists Christian Rogers and Shohei Takasaki for their first exhibition together, “Curly Hair / Hot Metal”, opening July 15 in the gallery. These two bodies of work build off of one another, blending together exploratory colorways and figural juxtapositions to extend to the audience an uninhibited expression of creative sensuality.

Existing in joyous synchronicity, the pieces in “Curly Hair / Hot Metal” stand as brazen digressions from formal, stiff categorization. Here, above all, the details of a lover’s curl, the human form, and one’s unencumbered right to expression are revered.

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Curated by Yaelle S. Amir, the photographs in the artist's debut exhibition explore masculinity, domestic space, and Asian identity.

Portland-based artist and photographer Ricardo Nagaoka’s debut solo exhibition at Melanie Flood Projects, “at last, I see you,” features new work that challenges notions of the domestic and the masculine. Drawing from his own Asian male identity and heritage, Nagaoka confronts a narrative of existing within a set of American ideals that predominantly favor a white, heteronormative version of culture. “At last, I see you” stands as an ode to reclamation – to be seen is to be held and by way of these images, Nagaoka holds space for himself and his subjects alike.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Melanie Flood Projects.

“In Zenith” opens virtually at Grey State Gallery on June 17th, 2022. For the second exhibition at the online gallery, Portland-based artist Misha Davydov (they/them) presents a compelling suite of images from a larger body of work. The show's unique hosting territory via an online platform allows for a multi-sensory experience. As gallery “visitors” make their way around the rendered space, they experience autonomy in choosing how to navigate the gallery and experience each piece. The work on view is almost purely photographic – while thematically the images displayed here are outliers in terms of the artist’s conceptual and sculptural background, the root explorations of time, belonging, and identity span across their multiple disciplines.

Simplified, the word “zenith” can be described as the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer. However, here, it is recontextualized as an all-encompassing state of being. The addition of the preposition “In” to the title of the exhibition has the power of locating both artist and viewer in positions of grandeur and voyeurism. This body of work, in its multitude of dimensions, emphasizes the act of observation within the constructed reality of Grey State. Clicking backwards and forwards, left and right, the audience is, for a moment, suspended in another world and dissociated from their own self. Just as we the viewers experience this phenomenon within the synthetic space, so too does the body of the photographer – their viewpoint within the photographs comes to be obsolete. As a result of their framing, the subjects in the photographs are given the breadth of space to be on their own.

Full release on Grey State; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Under this mask, another mask. I will never be finished removing all these faces. —Claude Cahun

Nationale is pleased to announce its second solo exhibition with Portland-based and represented artist Pace Taylor. This series of new works began as the artist’s earnest attempt at a conversation with the Surrealist gender-nonconforming artist Claude Cahun, about self-presentation and self-preservation. Where Cahun consistently wove the image of a mask through their work, Taylor here further channels the concept of masking as a multi-dimensional term that relates to their creative process, to autism, and to gender identity. Breathe when you need to presents an intimate look at the domestic space as a site of unmasking. Taylor’s stylized portraits, done in their characteristically warm hues of oranges, pinks, and reds, work towards depicting masks, in their multitude forms, as intentional tools in an attempt to lay bare one’s authentic core. The self-portraits on display act as proxies, promising a way of controlling their narrative and offering a means to expand beyond their confinement.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale is pleased to introduce the second installment of the group show “Straight From the Studio”, presented in three parts and featuring figural painter barry johnson, abstract artist Tanner Lind and printmaker and painter Shiela Laufer. The impetus for this series was born of intimate conversations with each of the artists surrounding their studio life and the raw inspirations that take place there, away from the public eye. Tbarry johnsonhese exhibitions will put on display the varied stages of time spent in the studio, calling gallery goers to take part in this communion. As the harbinger of all work, that studio space holds the utmost significance in the artist’s career allowing room for makers to develop methods, experiment with styles and take risks. Straight From the Studio is an invitation to support artists at all stages of their career, focusing on process over form, growth over formal execution. Nationale offers this exhibition as a way of making avenues to sustain artists at all stages of their career.

In Hedgerow, Portland-based painter Shiela Laufer presents new and previously unveiled works from her practice over the last year and a half. This sharp and bright series is evocative of Laufer’s ongoing exploration with subject and technique. Most experimental is the artist’s shift towards focused and densely populated canvases in her characteristic washed hues and simplified patterns. Toggling the ambiguous demarcation between interiority and exteriority, these pieces feature a new range of visual depth.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Nationale introduces its newest exhibition series, “Straight from the Studio”, presented in three parts and featuring figural painter barry johnson, abstract painter Tanner Lind, and printmaker and painter Sheila Laufer. The impetus for this series was born of intimate conversations with each of the artists surrounding their studio life and the raw inspirations that take place there, away from the public eye. These exhibitions will put on display the varied stages of time spent in the studio, calling gallery goers to take part in this communion. As the harbinger of all work, that studio space holds the utmost significance in the artist’s career allowing room for makers to develop methods, experiment with styles, and take risks. Straight from the Studio is an invitation to support artists at all stages of their career, focusing on process over form, growth over formal execution. Nationale offers this series as a way of making avenues to sustain artists at all stages of their career.

Debuting with barry johnson, his It’s Me series delivers an inward reflection into his studied technique. All of the new works are true documentations from the studio of the artist in various styles sitting amongst his own work. These images are, quite literally, his most personal yet. They recall the multitudes of past artistic selves that shaped him, positioned in tandem with the most recent iteration.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

What might a burning house, a jack-o-lantern-ed figure and a hypnotic spiral have as common ground in a gallery setting? These jocular elements find root not just as occult curios but as seminal tropes in twelve new paintings by Portland-based painter Olivia Faith Harwood. On view at Fuller Rosen Gallery through March 13, 2022, “Possessions, Possessions” entertains the secular as well as the spiritual. Harwood weaves together chimerical forms, childhood memories, and mundane items pulled from everyday life to create emotionally resonant compositions. This new series of works, while grounded in the artist’s personal world, is meant to subvert our understanding and appreciation of the limits of perception.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and Mario Gallucci Photo.

With “Pretty Boy Barry” artist barry johnson presents to his audience a vision into his intimate creative practice. Currently on view at A-gallery in Seattle’s Occidental Park, this exhibition is host to three large-scale paintings and a ground installation displayed on a bed of red, pink and yellow rose petals. The self-portraits debuted in the space cast johnson in bright colors and stylized settings - his characteristic hyper-pop approach to figuration.

Full release here; documenation courtesy of the artist.

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Nationale welcomes “Proximity”, the first collaborative exhibition with Form&Seek Collective and the gallery. The Form&Seek Design Studio focuses on newly developed processes and contemporary craft techniques that prioritize creating unique products and experiences. Featuring work from artists Irina Flore, Ákos Huber, Karen Lee, Laura Papp, and Bilge Nur Saltik, these designers bring together form, function, play and materiality within the gallery space. Proximity seeks to decode the relationship and meaning between these larger themes and how they manifest themselves in the objects on view. The works seem to be asking if inanimate objects can present with emotive qualities - if so, how can those objects embody human characteristics like empathy, sensitivity, and warmth?

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

“Nobody’s Fool“, curated by art historian, cultural worker, and writer Ella Ray (she/they), opened at Carnation Contemporary on Saturday, October 23rd. The exhibition presents six contemporary artists whose work centers on each apex the imagination of Black alternative realities. These realities depend on artists being afforded the opportunity to operate outside of racially charged and capitalistic systems. Weaving together a multitude of media, the pieces on view coalesce to map out a framework for working beyond their present conditions.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

The pull of the wind, an errant ray of sun, what animates the works of John Gnorski and John Vitale are the very details these artists move to incorporate into their practices. As the natural elements shift and change, so do the characteristics under which we come to understand our personal existence in their space. For their first two person show at Nationale, Intangible Flights, Gnorski and Vitale echo off of one another to build a spirited, colorful and ultimately emotional exhibition.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Dancing shadows and a turquoise blue illusion of running water currently light up the top floor of the Yale Union (YU) building. Black-and-white archival photographs and enamelware bowls fill the gallery in between the cerulean reflections. First Nations artist Marianne Nicolson channels her personal connection to her Kwakwaka’wakw heritage and the tools, technologies, and space of the colonizer to weave a compelling narrative. A Feast of Light and Shadows reframes the artist’s Native tradition of potlatch into a modern context. The work is on view at Yale Union through August 29th and is the organization’s last exhibition in the space at 800 SE 10th Ave.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

Washington-based artist barry johnson joins Nationale for his first exhibition with the gallery, presenting a new body of work that explores a deep investment in his cultural heritage. “Becoming” was created with a heavy emphasis on stylistic portraiture meant to combat the overarching absence and erasure of Black figures throughout time. Noting how canonical Western history has obscured and annulled Black history, johnson’s work echoes this deletion only to reclaim that very same space. Initially drawn to johnson’s colossal series, Between the Sheets—where he painted one portrait a day for each day of quarantine—Nationale is pleased to present those studies with strength in numbers within the secure covers of johnson's notebooks. Additionally, johnson’s larger paintings harness a similar documentation of legacy within the walls of the gallery. Because they are best experienced as a singular unit, johnson displays six of these journals creating a documented archive of his quarantine practice. In tandem, he has created twelve small portraits that are presented gridded on one wall, as well as six larger figurative works. The dramatic mirroring between these hand-held portraits and johnson’s more macroscopic works comprises the collection envisioned for this exhibition.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of our lives over a year ago, the sudden upheaval and economic fissures left many individuals without employment, fearful, and struggling to make light of this new reality. Lockdown and mandated quarantine forced communities to look inward and into new methods of coming together and providing support.

“Capturing the Moment – Stories from a Pandemic” is the recent initiative by the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) to support artists in the Portland Metro area during this unprecedented time. The initiative’s open call invited artists of color to submit emerging work in all mediums that reflected their response to the crises unraveling and deepening in their communities. Eligible work needed to be created in the present moment and capture a creative response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The program was made possible by funding from the federal CARES (Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All images courtesy of RACC and the artists.

Portland-based creative Jess Ackerman is nothing short of a Jess-of-all-trades. A badass, powerhouse painter with a playful eye for film photography, Jess Ackerman leans into a highly emotive and personal narrative for their works on canvas. Bright and cheerful depictions of flowers, rocks and abstract landscapes are the visual lure for a deeper conversation on grief, loss and intimate healing.

Full interview on Art & About PDX; read here.

A conversation with Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. about how the artist and educator is claiming space, engaging students, and creating “social forms.”

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All images courtesy of the artist and Kassius King Photography.

“They come in bursts, almost like a heartbeat. I feel the shape of a word rolling forward and back between teeth and tonsils, stuck on the tongue.”

Portland-based artist Pace Taylor (they/them) visualizes their craft in bursts, jolts of feeling and passion that arrive in intimate fragments sticking to the skin and leaving an imprint on the paper. For their upcoming exhibition at Nationale titled “I hear voices from the other room, but I can’t make out the words”, the previous statement serves as the backbone to the push & pull dichotomy of their drawings. This craving to understand the very basic human drive for connection and communion is inane, like a heartbeat, like a breath, to Taylor’s work. Yet, at the center is also the immutable truth that try hard as we may, we might never fully understand one another. Knowing this, how do we continue forging ahead?

Full release on Nationale, read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

What first comes to mind when encountering the image of a portal? An escape, perhaps? Or an entrance, a path, a sign? How about a moment? In “Things I Have Seen and Don’t Remember”, new two-dimensional works by Sheila Laufer and Charlie Salas-Humara read as portals within the gallery space. They offer viewers moments of tandem solace in an otherwise indecipherable landscape of the everyday.

Full release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

As part of Portland Textile Month, Nationale weaves together a powerful assemblage of local, national, and international multi-media artists. “RE: Assembly”, on view through October 18th, reads like a love letter to light and fiber works; it is “adapted from a former function… pliable in form…. towards a new idea.” With thoughts of what it means to re-construct, re-contextualize, and re-assess objects and thoughts and materials, the works presented are unique to themselves and to the context of the gallery. Exhibiting together for the first time, these four artists present a strong front as makers currently working to push the boundaries of form and intuition.

Full review on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

Holly Osborne is a painter and a mixed media artist, currently based in Portland, Oregon. She attended Portland State University, graduating with a BS in Art in 2014 and a Master’s in Art Education in 2018. Coming across one of her works for the first time is a breath catching experience. Her paintings are ethereal, almost realistic but not quite, imbuing each piece with a sense of mystery as if colored in a dream. Done in cloudy hues of pinks, blues, and oranges, her Landscape and Still Life series in particular, a wide berth of exploration on the part of the viewer. As our town continues to remain on pause, with art happenings postponed indefinitely, writer Luiza Lukova interviewed Osborne from the comfort of their respective homes, touching on inspirations, emotions, and experiences.

Full Interview on Art & About PDX; read here.

All images courtesy of the artist.

JOON, a colloquial term of endearment in Farsi, is the name of Portland’s newest arts and culture magazine. The magazine is the brainchild of Bijan Berahimi, owner of FISK Projects, a local design studio, gallery, and publisher. Born of a collaboration with Brown Printing, Inc, JOON’s first issue is now available exclusively in print through stockists in Portland, Los Angeles, New York City, and Tokyo, as well as FISK Project’s online store. The 160-page, polychrome tome is the product of six years of conversations with different members of Portland’s creative community. Combining the radically inclusive content of a zine with the aesthetic appeal of a high-quality, glossy print magazine, JOON is unique, personal, non-conformist, and beautifully executed. Luiza Lukova and Sebastian Zinn sat down with Berahimi to discuss the eclectic group of creative individuals and institutions involved in JOON’s publication, as well as his idiosyncratic approach to print media as an art form in itself.

A calculated reaction to the scarcity of platforms for in-depth arts coverage in the Pacific Northwest, JOON emphasizes the sundry manifestations of culture which distinguish a community like Portland’s. The magazine is a manifestation of Berahimi’s personal ethos and professional values. With it, he uses his own brand and first-rate skills as a graphic designer to spotlight artists from very diverse backgrounds who have enriched this city through their distinctive creative practices and sui generis aesthetics.

Full article on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Fisk Projects.

Brittany V. Wilder is a visual artist currently based in Portland, OR, working primarily in photography and written media. One of the last diplomees of the now-shuttered Oregon College of Art and Craft, she has continued honing her largely self-referential practice since her graduation. Brittany is quick-witted, hilarious and unabashedly herself. We met in her studio at Yale Union in SE Portland to talk about poetry, grief, and narrative a few weeks ago, before Portland closed for business under our current health crisis. In these uncertain times, it is even more critical to continue to support each other, emotionally, creatively, and spiritually - we hope that this interview can bring the reader even a small glimmer of hope or inspiration in their day.

Full interview on Art & About PDX; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the Brittany Wilder.

Cindy Sullivan is a self-proclaimed “self-taught artist who loves to capture the spirit of the good old days”, whose paintings caught the eye of our contributing writer Luiza Lukova at The Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts this past June 21-23. Intrigued by their homeliness and their rich character, seemingly inspired by the primitive folk painting of the days of yore, Lukova wanted to dig deeper into the meaning behind their pastoral quality. She recently was able to sit down and interview with Sullivan, chatting about her artistic process, her history with the Lake Oswego Open Show, and her creative direction.

Full interview on Art & About PDX; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the artist.

Tucked behind bustling Mississippi Ave, is a warehouse-come-event-space-come-art-gallery. Positioned on the corner of Failing St and N Michigan Ave, Tips on Failing has been operating in plain sight behind a facade of striking murals on the buildings exterior. The murals, part of the art space’s public programming, are only the first glimpse into this space’s potential. Beyond the roll-up door that grants visitors entry into the space, the industrial bare walls, exposed beams, and breadth of artist studios in the back offer a trove of potential for co-founders Gage Hamilton and Matt Wagner.

Full article and interview featured on Art & About PDX; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Anthony Taylor Photography and Tips on Failing.

With “Pansy”, her debut solo show at Nationale, painter and installation artist Michelle Blade melds iconic imagery and unruly mediums to demonstrate the unpredictability of painting. Pulling partly from the narrative of the Garden of Eden, Blade focuses her artistic energies on Eve, and other feminine mediations of her spirit in this newest work. In an attempt to explore the feminine relationship to the land, to knowledge, and to a sense of community, these paintings evoke a magical quality, depicting large-scale scenes of the garden and the earth in dreamy shades of pinks, blues, and yellows. In the traditional narrative, Eve is scorned for her defiance. However, in “Pansy”, the expectations are reversed and the unforeseen beauty and strength of the feminine are revered. Just as humans are unpredictable and far from foolproof, in each of her pieces, Blade explores a personal coming to terms with how perhaps it was a woman’s doing that set the path forward to everything else but perfection. As a result, Blade navigates our attention to the particular synchronicity humans share in the creation of everything in our immediate and tangible worlds. 

Full review on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and Michelle Blade.

In his week-long exhibition, “A Kid From Chicago”, painter John Petrucelli delivers to Nationale the full spirit of a lifetime’s oeuvre. Born and raised in the grit of Chicago, Petrucelli brought his tenacity for life and wild storytelling to Portland over fifty years ago.  A habitué of the gallery, each of his visits prompts an hour or two of conversation, often shared over fresh biscotti he brings with him. His stories range from the mundane—perhaps telling us how he spent his morning or took his coffee—to the more convoluted, such as recounting his memory of the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in vivid detail. Of the works displayed in this exhibition, a photograph Petrucelli took after the eruption is on view. The subject is a leaf covered in a fine layer of ash that he himself picked up and moved slightly off center, thus inserting his own hand in the historical event of the moment. Whether he recalls a drive-by shooting in Chicago as a newly minted public school teacher, showing a large painting at the Seattle Art Museum as a young father, or a run-in with one of the alleged Freeway Killers while hitchhiking on his way to Mexico as a college kid, each new memory he shares with us surpasses the previous. 

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and John Petrucelli.

An Interview with Curator Wendy Given.

“Portland-based artist and curator Wendy Given fills the impressive role of curator for the Port of Portland. Along with a dynamic permanent collection, Portland Airport’s Rotating Art Program aims to “provide a portal into the dynamic cultural life of our region.” Showcasing regional artists through ongoing relationships with art galleries, museums, and organizations, the Port of Portland provides a space to visualize and reflect the values of the Port of Portland and the region it serves. Contributor, Lusi Lukova, had the opportunity to chat with Given and ask some questions about her history with the Port, her experience curating the 8 rotating spaces, and her own personal background in Pacific Northwest arts and culture.”

Full Interview on 60 Inch Center; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Wendy Given and The Port of Portland.

In Martha Daghlian’s first solo show at Melanie Flood Projects, the artist and curator presents “Ceremonial Vestments”, a series of ornately hand-sewn garments. The five dramatically lush works, accompanied by a video performance by Daghlian, serve as tender homages to a set of historic women selected by the artist. Despite their tantalizingly saccharine nature, these works pay tribute neither to the girlhood game of dress-up nor to the careful craft of textile production. Instead, attention is focused on specific incidents of what Daghlian calls “transformational violence,” as she toggles between the limitations imposed by femininity within her own person and similar instances commonly navigated in artistic practices.  

Full feature on Art Practical; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and Mario Galluci Photography.

In “Where did you sleep last night?”, Portland-based painter and sculptor Shohei Takasaki poses a question that is deceptive in its overt simplicity. In his first solo show with Nationale, Takasaki presents a new series of paintings that explore snapshots of domestic life and abstracted intimacy. Strong and enigmatic geometric forms overlap with more readily recognizable shapes such as a sock, a cracked egg, or a leaf, all painted in loud, eye-catching colors. Reminiscent of timeless artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Picasso, Takasaki’s collage-like aesthetic bodes well with his provocative desire to distort figuration. Moreover, notably inspired by the land art of Robert Smithson, and the way in which the scale of a project is at times too grand to grasp all at once, Takasaki melds these disparate parts in an attempt to chip away at the seemingly impossible task of understanding something in its entirety.

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

The Japanese ensemble’s Portland performance focuses more on improvisatory process than musical product.

Incorporating auditory and tempo elements of Noh theater into their performance, they toggle between their own experimental interpretation of the Japanese concepts of Ma (negative space), and Wa (harmony). In aiming to enhance a sense of Wa in the performance, Marginal Consort concerts achieve a peaceful unity of typically opposing natures. The four musicians engage in a conversation with one another, with the audience joining them in a silent context. Perhaps the most commanding and impressive unity more closely resembles an erasure, an eradicating of expectation, and moving beyond the narrow frame of what constitutes music and musical instruments.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Taz Coffey Photography and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art.

An Interview with Artist Julia Oldham -

“Oregon Artist Julia Oldham has returned to Portland ‘Pataphysical Society with the debut of her latest film ‘Fallout Dogs.’ The film paints a portrait of Pripyat, Ukraine after the Chernobyl incident, as documented by its population of stray dogs. Charting their movements and activities, as well as those of the small population of residents who have returned to their homes after the nuclear fallout, Oldham tells a story that is both touching and devastating. She is ‘fascinated by Chernobyl as an example of what the world might be like without humans, and what would become of our structures and changes to nature.’ 60 Inch Contributor Lusi Lukova sat down with the artist and asked questions about her experience in Ukraine working alongside these animals.”

Full interview on 60 Inch Center; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the artist.

New York-based artist Rebecca Reeve debuts new photographic work in Sun Breathing, her first solo exhibition at Portland’s Upfor Gallery. In her archival pigment prints, Reeve imposes grid-like forms or painted elements on the natural environment. She then photographs these optic interventions, intentionally muddling the internal and the external as a means to explore the dichotomy between restraint and unbounded potential.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and Mario Galluci Photography.

With “Soft Shades”, her first solo show with Nationale, Lilian Martinez brings to the gallery bold works that play within the narratives of comfort and bodies at leisure. The domestic settings of the paintings—a shower, a couch, or luscious plants—are done in warm, soft pastels that contrast with the nature of the large and flat brown bodies on view. In placing these figures within such serene settings, Martinez establishes a strong emphasis on representing women of color at rest and in power within their personal domiciles, while also retaining an overall easy and playful tone. These works imply a dichotomy of strength and softness. However, on these canvases strong and soft meld together to work cohesively and harmoniously. For Martinez, a woman can be both soft and strong, she can command a space as effortlessly as she can blend into her surroundings.

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Nationale.

“The Big Dark is a cloud … you appreciate it for reminding you that there is an above and a below. You could think of it like you think of a condition — something ominous or something pestering but also something you get used to, that you can’t do without.” In “The Big Dark” at FourteenThirty Contemporary, Arnold Kemp and Kristan Kennedy form their own collaborative cloud of artistic expression.

When Jeanine Jablonski, owner and director of Fourteen30, approached Kemp about showing new work, he suggested a collaboration with Kennedy. The Big Dark, the foundational concept, as conceived of by both artists exists in the past, present, and future. Like their friendship, it manifests in bursts but always shapes and defines immediate experience. Kemp explains that the exhibition afforded them “a chance to come together to draw again…to be in this very political moment and to present a model of collaboration across difference and to show how various interests could be combined to be a powerful force for good.” The works at Fourteen30 are all new though they were born of old ideas and conversations. The natural order of Kennedy and Kemp’s artistic practices coalesce here as if by no other choice, called on by this unrelenting condition of The Big Dark, this force that wills the creation of highly charged works. The artists grapple with finding clear skies and camaraderie on otherwise overcast days.

Full feature on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

“Treguas” or “truces” is an exhibition of firsts. It is Angélica Maria Millán Lozano’s first solo show and the the first show presented at the new Fuller Rosen Gallery located in the Ford Building.

The space, Fuller Rosen, is the creative effort of E.M. Fuller and BriAnna Rosen, both formerly of Killjoy PDX. This collaborative project aims to exhibit local and national artists who are addressing urgent, contemporary issues. This new project allows Fuller and Rosen to expand upon the work they started at Killjoy in a more focused and dedicated manner. The curatorial team is two rather than six and the location is more accessible. Fuller and Rosen chose Lozano as their first artist because of their commitment to promoting the voices of up-and-coming creatives.

Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, much of Lozano’s work is deeply charged and personally resonant. While some artists choose to make space between their work and personal lives, Lozano rejects any boundary between the two. To fully understand her practice one must be privy to a generous and intimate understanding of her upbringing. Family narrative is central. In unearthing deep-set pain and trauma she wrestles with the imperfection of all humans, even beloved family members. Lozano explains, “[t]he way that I present the work, however, is mostly centered in the resilience of subjects rather than the pain.” “Treguas” is an examination of Lozano’s grandmother who was forced to marry an older man at the age of fifteen. This age is pivotal in Latin American culture because it is the year in which a young girl celebrates her Quinceañera, her rite of passage into womanhood. In a time meant to be devoted to celebration and looking forward to a lifetime of joy and exploration, Lozano’s grandmother experienced the opposite. The works in “Treguas” explore the grandmother’s story.

Full feature at Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Fuller Rosen Gallery and Ryan Krueger Photography.

“The Work Continues”, at PCC Sylvania’s North View Gallery, emerged from an unanimous functional depression felt by its six artists and two curators. We may easily guess the source of this unrest, even without curator Sam Hopple’s explanation that this artistic survey first took form in 2016 as a direct response to a numbness following the Presidential election.

However, the manner in which these six artists chose to further engage with this unsettling environment—through a complex exploration of identity—gives this show its place in contemporary art activism. Each of these artists, through their own respective processes and mediums, toggles the question of “Who are we?”—as artists, as advocates, and as humans. Tapping into something deeply personal, each piece in this show is a vulnerable and raw demonstration of art that does not compromise.

Full review on Oregon Arts Watch; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and Maria T.D. Inocencio.

Nestled in the backroom between an Amy Bernstein painting and an Emily Counts sculpture is Francesca Capone’s Night Fog, part of her solo exhibition at Nationale entitled “Think of Seashells”.

As a weaver and a poet, Capone approaches her work from a visual as well as a literary mindset. The prose attributed to this particular work by the artist reads as follows: “As the object grows, it curves around the forms of its surrounding shapes”, and it feels as if this is precisely how Night Fog operates in the context of the show as a whole. Although it may be the final work a visitor may see tucked away as it is, its bold resonance does indeed curve to the viewing experience and serve to form a lasting impression. As a gallery-goer moves through the space, they are gathering growing memories of the body of work in total. Culminating with Night Fog, this particular piece stands somewhat solitary, both due to its location but also to its composition. Mounted on oak board, this is only one of two weavings that is presented in this manner. Yet, this doesn’t detract from its overall relation to the remaining pieces -- the oak nicely completes oceanic visions of seashells and driftwood that Capone brings into the space. The poly netting line similarly compliments other found materials such as the flotsam rope, plastic bags, and beach refuse that are embedded into the fiber of the hangings.

Full review on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

A short and idyllic drive down Foster and through the quiet countryside will take you to Boring, Oregon, and to The Orchards, a site-specific sculpture garden that lives on the farm property of the Layng family.  Founded in 2017, this project began as a way for curator Matthew Layng to endeavor a space where community and public art can cohesively meld. In their two years of programming, The Orchards have been home to just four installations, some of which remain as permanent or semi-permanent works on the property, and which demonstrate Layng’s intentional and considerate curation. In presenting as a “destination” sculpture garden, contemporary art has found new ground amid the tomatos and the corn. This specifically honed curation adds a necessary and measured precision to the work that is installed. As a result, the pieces that are on view at the open-air venue are intended as ones that would remain and grow with the space they are surrounded by. The Orchards most recently became home to new work by Portland-based artist Ido Radon. Her newest installation, “The Gate”, first opened on the eve of Saturday, September 8th at precisely 7:34pm: sunset.

Full feature on 60 Inch Center; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the artist.

The ongoing series of exhibitions known as “Apex”, at the Portland Art Museum, presents the work of emerging and established artists living in the Northwest. Residing in the context of the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Northwest Art, the current program debuts new work by the Portland-based artist, curator, and educator, Avantika Bawa. The culmination of a three-year project, Bawa’s exhibition takes the iconic Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland as its subject and explores the power of repetitive image making and observational variance in its production. With the study of architecture and its nuances at the crux of her artistic practice, Bawa creates renditions of the Coliseum’s structure that are not minimal but are deceptively simple. With this series of paintings, drawings, and prints, she devises a pattern for reinventing one image of the historic building into endless iterations.

Full feature on Art Practical; read here.

The programming of “(re)buffer”, recently on view at Private Places from April 22- June 22,  is a theatrical and ambitious rendition of traditional gallery exhibitions. Split into three “acts” with an “intermission”, “(re)buffer” is durational and builds on itself much in the same way that one might expect of a staged performance. Private Places retains an air of mystery in the descriptions of the acts; the artist names are reduced to initials, color and architecture play in the role of the characters, and the dramatic unveiling of the actual scene is reserved for opening nights. The title “(re) buffer” is meant here as both action and reaction, one in which “continuance obliges provocation - an incitement to engage.” As one act is played out, it begs a subsequent response from the following entity, asking to create a conversation around the manipulation of space and place. No act is final and no act negates its prior.

Full feature on 60 Inch Center; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery.

In her first solo show at Nationale, Lindsey Cuenca Walker captures an ever-elusive quality of phenomena. The paintings in “Tough and Tender” are inviting; soft hues of pinks and oranges meld with easily recognizable shapes of flowers, a cup, a saucer. The works draw the viewer in with their comforting imagery, then seek to question what else could be at play apart from the obvious. These “cliché” objects are reinterpreted on the canvas as Walker seeks to unearth the depth and sincerity behind their surface value. By title alone, these dichotomies of visible and concealed, of tough and tender, and of grounded and fleeting are at the forefront here. 

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and the artist.

“Jef Geys”, the artist’s posthumous exhibition currently on view at Yale Union (YU), is a compilation of works that conceptually teeter between the liminal authorships of artist and curator, creative freedom and institutional limitations. The exhibition serves as an accidental retrospective for the Belgian born artist after his unexpected passing this February.

Noted for his conceptualism and an eagerness to test the limits of the art world, Geys began producing work as early as the 1950s, a period exalted for its fluctuations in social and political experimentation. As an artist, activist, and educator, the central focus of Geys’s oeuvre eschews rigidity in favor of playfulness, fabricating a tantalizing game of cat and mouse within the larger institution of contemporary art. What Geys aimed to illuminate was the extent to which the hand of the artist and the curator—both essential to the practical execution of an exhibition—could at times be problematically interchangeable. Peeling away at layers of highly stylized methods of curation and display, Geys highlighted the subjective nature of art-making and appreciation.

Full feature published on Art Practical; read here.

“Thick on the Ground” opens at Nationale with bold, new works by Christian Rogers and Kyle Vu-Dunn. Themes of resilience, otherness, and memoir resonate strongly with both artists. Their paintings manipulate traditional figuration in celebration of the intimacies of queer relationships. The addition of three-dimensional elements, such as Rogers’s use of paper pulp and Vu-Dunn’s sculptural panels, focus one’s attention on the frame and everything it encapsulates. Visually enticing combinations of subject matter, color schemes, and shifted perspectives make these pieces loud and proud. The cheeky wink that accompanies their seductive, artistic dance is implied within each painting.

Full press release at Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of the gallery and the artists.

“From The Ground Up” by Ryan Bubnis and “Rhizome” by Jeff Pfeil (on view at Stephanie Chefas Project) could appear at first glance to be extended paintings from a similar, if not the very same, project. Their vibrant hues and interpretive subjects coalesce well within the gallery space. Aesthetically, the curatorial decision to feature these two artists in congruity is visually stimulating and apt. Thematically, however, these artists employ wildly different approaches to the content they paint. Bubnis hovers on a cheery and reflective surface; his intention is that of unadulterated joy and entertainment. In contrast, Pfeil’s more formal approach to his work appears to employ more structured intonations of color theory and composition which would serve no role in Bubnis’ lighthearted canvases. Thus, this juxtaposition of taste and artistic intentions offers an opportunity for engaging dialogue centered around the specifics of form, color, and technique.

Full feature published on 60 Inch Center; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Stephanie Chefas Project.

“Fantasies in Parallel”, curated by Jess Garten and hosted at Grapefruits Art Space, is a group show of thirteen female and gender nonbinary-identifying Portland photographers. Highlighting both digital and film photography, “Fantasies” is a striking, playful experiment in identity and presentation. The title aptly describes this show as fantastical; the photographs create their own alluring, brightly colored universe laden with mystery and intrigue. A strong sense of community and camaraderie is felt among these creatives. Acquainted with one another via the image-heavy culture of social media, their construction of an online support system now manifests in reality at Grapefruits.

Located in a spacious warehouse in northeast Portland, Grapefruits is an artist-run community space centered on accessibility and the support of emerging artists in the area. Grapefruits makes this accessibility transparent by continually providing a free space for young, marginalized creatives. The curation of “Fantasies in Parallel” successfully captures the essence of what it signifies to acutely convey the loud nature of social photography in a less polished, but perhaps more earnest, documentation. With their intersectional focus, each of these thirteen photographers relays narratives of femme and trans bodies, and is concerned with capturing the quotidian moments and struggles of what it means to exist in a queer body. In these works, consciousness of identity and playing dress-up for social gatherings coyly conflate. The photographers intermesh their own subjective experiences with those of their models, both candid and staged, to lay everything bare and fiercely demonstrate the inquietude of burgeoning youth and identity.

Full feature published on Art Practical; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Jess Garten and the artists.

“We.Construct.Marvels.Between.Monuments” is hosted at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) as an immersive, artist-led attempt to transform the fourth floor of the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art. This project will run from December 2017 to December 2018 and consists of a series of five exhibits born out of partnerships and collaborations with independent artists and art collectives around the city. In lieu of choosing established artists, Curator Libby Werbel gives the platform to local and equally as insightful creators. These collaborations strive to bridge the gap between contemporary art and its accessibility in the city for both makers and viewers. The curation of “We.Construct.Marvels.Between.Monuments” is also an attempt at a larger conversation of how the museum space itself can be more inclusive and critically-engaged with the creators, thinkers, and innovators in the region.  

This unique undertaking with the PAM aims to carve out an even greater reputation for the Portland contemporary art scene as relevant and vastly-wide-reaching, particularly in our current tumultuous political times. Art seems to be one of the few ways remaining to actively participate in practices that are both therapeutic and deeply personal, but also take a stance on larger cultural and social issues. Consequently, creating a space for such different and salient voices is at the top of Werbel’s vision with “We.”, the first installment of this year-long endeavor.

Full feature published on 60 Inch Center; read here.

The inaugural art exhibition of Orí Gallery, “Elements of Reclamation”, launches the vision of co-creators Maya Vivas and Leila Haile for an artistic space that recontextualizes and elevates the artistic narrative of trans and queer creatives of color. 

Orí presents as an amalgamation of creative work and a medium for mobilization through the arts. It is rare to see a space that so fully actualizes its promise. Orí Gallery escapes the othering effect that some clean and white-walled spaces in Portland seem to endorse and instead creates a locale in which people of color can see themselves represented.

This challenge to the status quo offers musings on being, presence, culture, and community. In amplifying marginalized voices, Orí is a measure of the act of confronting institutional power from the inside. These elements of reclamation are an exclamation of solidarity and community in the face of frustration. At the core of this show is the concept of what it feels like to navigate the world in a Black femme body—“yes, there is pain, but there also exists the joyous, the absurd, the apathetic, and the intellectual.” Each of these charged elements fuses a narrative of staking a claim in the past, present, and future. 

Full feature published on Art Practical; read here.

Following one’s heart, and harnessing and acknowledging one’s artistic strengths—in Carson Ellis’s case, that she is first and foremost an illustrator—is a maker’s most valuable resource. This strength Ellis embodies to the fullest with her upcoming solo show, “La Vista”, her fourth at Nationale. The pieces presented here are a combination of her versatile oeuvre, pulling on her skills as illustrator and artist alike. Done in ink, gouache, pencil, and ballpoint pen on paper over the past five years, this powerful amalgamation of sketches and drawings highlight the very essence of Ellis’s artistic process. 

Full press release at Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Nationale and the artist.

“Sundials” by Evan La Londe at Melanie Flood Projects is the final installment of the gallery’s ongoing artist series, Thinking Through Photography. La Londe’s exhibition explores the very nature of what it means to be a contemporary artist creating within this canonical field by presenting works that are original and dynamic, void of all preconceptions of the photographic image. These qualities create a delicate balance in Sundials, with the work functioning as an intimate exploration of  photography, both as an artistic medium and a scientific procedure, while simultaneously incorporating the artist’s own methodology to present an ahistorical approach to image making.   

Recording the motion of the sun and its ephemerality, what makes these pieces so powerful is that they are able to capture more than an instance. Their ability to locate and mark off a distinct moment in time, though not necessarily in the manner in which we’d expect, is what makes the title of this exhibit so engaging. They’re by no means sundials in any conventional sense -- they have no explicit time-telling function. However, they mark the immateriality of time, the possibility for these prints to engage the viewer both acknowledging temporality and eschewing it. La Londe strives to uncover the hidden subtleties of what lies behind the print, the image or presence that might at other times be obscured by the camera in a traditional photographic action. As a result, we become privy to a latent, shadow world of illusions and subtle play of light and color.

Full feature on 60 Inch Center; read here.

What’s in a poodle? For Sophie Larrimore, much more is at stake in the paintings on view in “Sunday Painting”, her first solo exhibition at Nationale, than just images of dogs, and despite the abundant presence of the fluffy animals in the works, these paintings are not just dog paintings. Instead, these pieces incorporate something as mundane as dogs to illuminate a greater exploration into Larrimore’s own artistry. Like a typical nude, a little too out-there, definitely unexpected, the dog provides a blank slate for her to imprint and imbue with rich work that is at once highly individualized but also widely recognizable. 

Full press release on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Nationale and the artist.

Each fall, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art hosts a ten-day immersive Time Based Art (T:BA) festival held in Portland, Oregon, consisting of original performances by international and local artists. Along with performances that engage a wide-variety of mediums and musings, T:BA is a space for thought-provoking dialogues and conversations, compelling exhibitions, lively late-night music, screenings, workshops and more.

With its emphasis on time, the festivals ephemeral presence is even more demanding of our attention. T:BA presents itself as “Art in Real Time.” Among the plethora of this years’ talent and performances at the festival, “Bunny”, performed by dance provocateurs Luke George and Daniel Kok, engages the crowd in an incredibly direct capacity, asking them to be active participants as opposed to the typically passive audience member. The type of consuming engagement that this show demands is rewarding -- one is obliged to be fully present and indulge in the dialogical expectations of the piece to reap its full benefit. “Bunny” is sexy; it is alluring and it is playful, defying both gravity and boundaries. As a result, one leaves the space fostering a bond and shared experience that had not existed prior to their entering the room. 

Feature published on 60 Inch Center; read here.

Ben Lerner’s most recent publication, “The Hatred of Poetry”, couldn’t have arrived at a more apt time. Language is intrinsic to everything -- our way of living, the way we communicate, how we express ourselves -- and the most fascinating thing language can provide us is growth. Language is never stagnant and often highly adaptable; the way we choose to interact with it is what determines its impact and whether or not its growth will continue. That is to say, language will always be changing; the question is, are we ready to change with it?

As powerful a medium as it is, Lerner maneuvers the intricate dualities of the poetic form with surprising ease and efficiency. “The Hatred of Poetry” is at once one of the strongest denunciations of poetry I have ever encountered, but also one of the greatest defenses capable of rivaling Sir Philip Sidney’s “The Defense of Poesy”. A highly recommended and insightful read, for those who have never read a page of poetry and for those who have devoted their lives to it alike.

Full review on Nationale; read here.

Image courtesy of Nationale.

For this year’s Converge45, a special four-day arts events based in Portland now in its second running, Ellen Lesperance combines her focus on feminist acts of power and her meticulous attention to detail. Her art serves a dual purpose: an assignation of strength and an exploration of the forms in which we protest and attain independence today.

Thematics and historical significance playing a strong role in these pieces, Lesperance demonstrates the need for creation and return of agency to the female voice. For the artist, woman is meant to be her own sovereign and woman’s capabilities to enact change and movement are unparalleled. Lesperance creates an arena for her audience to consider the role of female solidarity in spaces/times of tumult and consider the manners in which it has both been heard and silenced. Quite topical in our current national climate, these two works fervently demonstrate woman’s rise to power in the field of protest and urge for a continuation of these same trends.

Full feature published on 60 Inch Center; read here.

Max Ritvo’s newest, and unfortunately only, body of work “Four Reincarnations” can and should be taken as the physical embodiment of Ritvo himself. Subdivided into four parts, each section capable of standing on its own—a kind of reincarnation—easily represents the young poet’s mind, spirit, soul, and heart. Emotion spills from these pages, and although Ritvo’s pain is tangible, readers can also find solace in the most unexpected places in his poetry. The same was true of Ritvo, who claimed that the day he was no longer able to write would be the day when it was his time to pass. This posthumous collection of poetry is as deeply moving as it is humbling, able to resonate with the most innate of human emotions.

Full review on Nationale; read here.

Image courtesy of Nationale.

Issues of ethnicity and foreignness have always sparked contentious debate in our country, and more than likely always will. Nationale's current show “Foreigners” brings these heated issues to the forefront via the work of four Portland-based immigrant artists. In our current highly politicized and tense society, it is refreshing to see artists are confronting these ever-present and foreboding hurdles, hurdles that impose on their selfhood and their artistic agency.

The work of these artists is nothing short of impassioned and powerful. The notion of "in-betweenness" and “groundedness” that they each explore is no easily surmountable feat. Perhaps for brief moments in time the gap may be bridged. However, much like thriving in one's cultural roots, for immigrants those moments of closure and calm are fleeting. The need to expound on a sense of comfort and create a space that is both transitional and simultaneously homely is at the core of the artistic drive for these makers. What they have achieved both individually and collectively here with “Foreigners” is not to be overlooked and certainly will not be forgotten.

Full feature on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Nationale.

Shock factor can be presented in a multitude of ways, in terms of color, form, style, and text, and in his most recent work “Read It and Weep”, Christian Rogers uses those qualities to fully encapsulate that feeling. It is easy to find oneself treading the fine line between identity and visibility, both within the self and the other, particularly as an artist. That notion comes to the foreground when a work becomes inherently grounded with a personal mark, a gesture, or your identity as an individual and an artist. Rogers harnesses this in-between ground to create jarring and evocative pieces that challenge not only his own convictions, but those of his audience as well.

Much like the offerings of fruit and other objects in some of Rogers’ pieces, this series is an eager offering to his audience—”Read It and Weep” is sexy, it’s unconventional, and it’s a hit.

Full feature on Nationale; read here.

All documentation courtesy of Nationale.