First Thursday Opening Reception: January 2, 6-9pm
Virtual Opening: Join us on Facebook Live: June 1, 5:30-6pm
Moderated Panel Discussion with New Members: Saturday, June 10, 2pm • Conversation with Don Bailey: Wednesday, June 14, 7pm
JANUARY 1 - FEBRUARY 1 — MAIN GALLERY AND GALLERY 2
Blackfish Gallery is delighted to introduce our four newest Artist Members. Malon Al-Jiboori, Pomegranate Doyle, Dede Luria and Christa Nye were selected after an extensive jury and interview process, designed to unearth promising, emerging and established artists with strong voices and diverse backgrounds and training. We hope you enjoy their debut exhibition at Blackfish and follow their work in years to come.
New Members Show
Malon Al-Jiboori, Pomegranate Doyle, Dede Luria & Christa Nye,
Uncovering
— Malon Al-Jiboori—
Untitled (2024) — Mae Al-Jiboori, acrylic and oil pastel
Created by one’s own vulnerability and desire to express and convey deep-seated emotions.
Impressions
— Pomegranate Doyle—
Afternoon (2023) — Philip Stork, pastel, mixed media, 11" x 14"
Philip Stork is an artist at the intersection of nature and the abstract using drawing, pastel, and ink to capture a reimagined world by combining color field and line. The addition of linear elements to the image provides a scaffold and a counterpoint to these elements. While his works presented in the New Members show have been a departure from his previous works, they reflect his need to be continuously challenged as an artist.
Impressions
— Dede Luria—
Double Putin (2022) — Laura Swingen, acrylic and ink on canvas, 6" x 12"
Dede Luria's paintings are contextualized through traditional painting languages which utilizes symbolism, metaphor and allegory to provoke a deeper assessment of associated objects, flora and fauna. These paintings pivot between real and unreal spaces, and built and natural environments. Referenced geography and locality in her paintings are specific to place and experience; however, the imagery is brought together through a kind of digital collage which both conceals and reveals a deeper narrative to reflect an experience rather than a single event.
Something Happening Here
— Christa Nye —
Dream Dancing (2024) — Christa Nye, acrylic on board, 24" x 18"
When I started painting “Dream Dance”, I just wanted to express the sense of personal freedom that I feel through my work. The approach was to create from my imagination without any limits or boundaries, and to be fearless. I tried to let go of any preconceived ideas and let my thoughts flow...leave my comfort zone, and take risks to enjoy the moment.
As usual, I was listening to music. My playlist included the albums ‘Fresh Cream’, ‘Disraeli Gears’ and ‘Wheels of Fire’, all by the band Cream. I love the “free” approach displayed through the music. At the time, it was nothing like anything anyone had ever heard before, with guitar riffs, drumming, and vocals that captured the spirit of a generation.
When I listened to the song “Politician” it still resonated with me. Without looking back with nostalgia and rose colored glasses, I see a strong relationship to today’s politics. The sixties were a time of great political change, tumultuousness and divisiveness. The flower children were certainly naive and idealistic, believing that love could change the world. Idealism gave way to disillusionment, cynicism and skepticism. The mistrust towards politicians and government was and remains prevalent.
As I question what the impact of issues like censorship, political interference, and suppression could have on our culture, I have come to understand how critical free expression is in the rapidly changing times in which we find ourselves. Artistic expression is a key issue for freedom in a democracy. My art helps me hold on to a moral center. To quote Buffalo Springfield
“... nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong”.
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JAMES HIBBARD GALLERY
Full of Empty
— Robert Shepard —
Reckoning (2023) — Robert Shepard, acrylic on canvas, 37" x 48"
This group of paintings was completed between 2023 – 2024. Even though they were done within that two-year time span, they represent a snapshot of a larger, ongoing practice of painting and discovery. These paintings are not specifically about anything, but do have the underlying motive of exploring the idea of emptying out in order to make room for the new – of creating space, and space equals substance. These painting represent a contemplative approach that embraces the notion that to reduce is to gain.
Blackfishers Doing Cool Stuff
See what Blackfish Artists are involved with outside the gallery this month.