First Thursday Opening Reception: May 1, 5-8pm
Artist Talks with Angennette Escobar and Monica Mitchell: Saturday May 17th at 3:00 pm.
Artist Talk with Eddie: Friday May 2nd at 5:30 pm.
April 30 - May 31 — MAIN GALLERY
Cuentos, Casas y Vestidos
— Monica Mitchell and Angenette Escobar —
In Cuentos, Casas y Vestidos, Mitchell and Escobar pay homage to the matriarchs of their families through storytelling, concepts of home, and dresses. With installations and mixed media works, the artists explore themes of language, hope, history, and dreams.
Drawing upon her upbringing for conceptual inspiration, Escobar’s art is a deeply personal exploration of her Mexican Catholic heritage. Escobar’s work often includes Mexican religious iconography, specifically Milagros (small metal charms that represent miracles) and uses symbolism and surrealism to depict ideas from Mexican folk art as a way to channel memories of place and time.
Hope Chest — Angenette Escobar, 2025, Mixed media installation, 72" x 96"
Mitchell’s formal art-making practice is an exploration of traditional materials and techniques interwoven with objects and ideas from her environment. Mitchell finds inspiration from sources that include mythology, art history, gender, workplace, masquerade, music, literature, language and consumerism.
Quien Demonios Soy? Who in the World am I?, — Monica Mitchell
2022, acrylic on unstretched canvas, 140” x 42"
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GALLERY 2
Malgré Tout
— Eddie Reed —
Grounded in social engagement, place-based storytelling, and environmental justice, Reed’s new show Malgré Tout (Despite Everything) works to engage audience members as active thinkers and engaged observers. Confronting underlying realities about America’s contradictory moods, Reed pushes viewers to reconsider conventional assumptions about beauty, taste, race, and power.
Known for his provocative large scale paintings examining American social constructs, Eddie Reed’s work draws on his experience as part of the civil rights movement, and aims to embody the role of artist as activist.
Entitled (Always / Never) — Eddie Reed, 2023, acrylic / mixed medium on wood board, 30” x 40” x 2"
Commentary on past lessons of exclusion
and present efforts at acknowledgment
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JAMES HIBBARD GALLERY
Now and Then
— Barbara Black —
In her new show Then and Now founding Blackfish Gallery member, Barbara Black exhibits a selection of new and past paintings emblematic of her fusion of abstraction and representation. Black’s work relies on unexpected compositional structures and imagery which emerges of its own volition to form patterns, improbable landscapes, or human and animal figures.
During creation, Black pushes forms, colors, and shapes until meaning and congruency emerge out of initial abstraction. This process infuses Black’s work with a sense of mystery, as the intricate dance between imagery and the consideration of formal needs produces innovative solutions.
Night and Day Illumined — Barbara Black, 2022, acrylic, mixed media, 20" x28"
Black was recently honored as part of International Women’s Day celebrations in Portland OR for her contributions to Portland's vibrant gallery scene. As a bold and visionary female artist, Black has inspired and influenced generations of Northwest artists to follow in her footsteps.​
What we got goin' on...
See what Blackfish Artists are up to this month...