Opening Reception: Saturday, November 20, 1-4pm | Artist walk-through at 1:30pm First Thursday Reception: Thursday, January 6, 2022, 5-7pm
All programs are free and open to the public and are ADA accessible. Face masks are required for entry.
The culmination of the past 3 years of our two technical residency programs featuring the work of 12 artists opens this November. This group exhibition celebrates alternative models and spaces for material exploration in art making from our paper and print residents.
We are excited to welcome the community back to our Portland based Park Block space on the corner of NW 8th and Flanders. After having closed this physical location in March 2020, the former office and cubicle filled space has been renovated with programmatic flexibility in mind. Utilizing movable walls and an open floor plan, we can now more comfortably and safely host group exhibitions such as this one, on a larger scale.
This exhibition opens up audiences to the possibilities of hand papermaking and letterpress printing as artistic mediums, and demonstrates the need for artists to have access to learning opportunities beyond higher education. Creating works through experimentation and guided by material learning, the resulting pieces speak to process, histories of craft, and personal relationships and responses to type and pulp.
Exhibiting artists include Amy Bay, Antonius Bui, May Maylisa Cat, Demian DinéYazhi´, Madelynn Dubin, Megan Hanley, Garrick Imatani, Lucia Monge, Jess Perlitz, Alejandra Arias Sevilla, Mami Takahashi, and Hannah Kim Varamini.
The pieces on view encourage reflection on our relationship to body, home, culture, and land. They present glimpses into the unique practices and lived experiences of the makers. We encourage viewers to spend some time with the physical impact of the works at the gallery if possible. We also realize that the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic encourages us to continue offering virtual programs for the care and safety of all who cannot view the work in person. We will have a virtual gallery of works on view on our website at steloarts.org , in addition to video walkthroughs of the space.
During the exhibition we will release a publication celebrating the past six years of our papermaking residency program. We are excited to feature the exploratory process of making via the 24 artists who have participated in the program thus far, with 70% being locally based in Oregon at the time of their residency. Publication pre-orders will be available in December 2021, with discounted rates available to students, schools and libraries.
This exhibition is generously supported in part by a grant from The Ford Family Foundation Visual Arts Program. We are honored to have this support to expand and strengthen our offerings.
ABOUT STELO
Stelo illuminates the power of art to invite conversation and build community. We are dedicated to responsive models of support via partnerships, collaboration, and exchange.
Visitor information: Gallery hours Fri, Sat, Sun 12-5pm and by appointment with info@steloarts.org
Coalesce installation image, photo credit: Mario Gallucci.