What a fantastic opening night!
Great conversations, dear old friends and awesome new ones 🥂
Much gratitude to the show curator @thatonecass and @fordgallerypdx. Around the Narrative Lens is up through the end of March.
If you didn’t make it to the opening, stop by 2505 SE 11th Ave in Portland to see artwork by 5 local artists.
I was thrilled when Cass contacted me about participating in this show. It’s always wonderful when curators reach out to me, it’s rewarding to be a part of a group project, to evolve the work within the parameters of the curatorial idea. Now, this might sound restrictive and against the supposedly free and unrestraint spirit of artistic inquiry, but I get plenty of unbridled freedom in my studio practice. Usually it’s only my wimpy and curiosity that lead the way. So occasional constraints or theme and space are a welcome change. I do well under deadlines. I create them for myself constantly. But it’s easier and, surprisingly, freer when the deadlines are imposed from the outside .
Image credit: Intrinsic Ventures
I have always loved the cavernous industrial space of the Ford Gallery in SE Portland. Located on the ground floor of a historic Ford factory close to the train tracks, the building now houses artist studios, creative business offices, a cafe and two art galleries. The Ford Building dates back to 1914 and was Ford Motor Company’s assembly and distribution plant for its famous Model-T.
Ever since growing up in an industrial easter european city I’ve been fascinated with late 19th-early 20th century factory architecture and loved walking around the old part of town picking out my fantasy homes. I thought I invented the idea of living in a decommissioned antique factory building until I came to the States and learnt that my original idea was stolen many decades ago by those enterprising artists in Soho.
New Large Paintings
Manna for the Masses
64x48 inches
acrylic on canvas
2020
Over the last year my paintings have been getting larger. I finally gave into that forever haunting me monumental European history painting tradition.
Manna for the Masses is my largest finished piece and while there is always something that could have been done differently, I feel a sense of accompaniment in allowing myself to call it done and exhibit this monster.
There are many more waiting in the wings, ready to be made, but they are held back by the mundane logistics of my wonderful, but not unlimited studio space.
Manna for the Masses as a work in progress on my studio wall
When working this large, I paint flat on the wall and roll up the canvases to rotate between projects. This is why all the recent large paintings have been done in acrylics that dry fast and allow me to temporarily put away works in progress to keep things fresh and moving. It’s a clunky system and it isn’t ideal, but it allows me to finally tackle this formidable size and I can’t wait to go larger. I hope to make life sized figures next.
Stretching the Manna painting on location during show installation