Melanie Flood Projects is honored to present the first solo exhibition in the U.S. by artist Ricardo Nagaoka, curated by Yaelle S. Amir. The presentation will include recent photographs from his series examining Asian masculinity and society’s patriarchal structure as played out in the domestic sphere.⁣⁣
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Join us for an artist reception on Saturday June 25 from 4-7pm. Denzel Mendoza, performing as Illegal Son, will be playing an opening prelude for the show.⁣⁣ A public discussion between the artist and exhibition curator will take place at the gallery on July 9, 11am.

Ricardo Nagaoka is an artist born and raised in Paraguay and a grandson of Japanese immigrants. He immigrated to Canada with his family during his teenage years, and eventually landed in the U.S to study at the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA in Photography). He currently lives and works in Portland, OR. Growing up as a descendant of Japanese heritage in a culturally homogeneous country, he was an outsider in his own homeland. His surroundings insisted on him to define his own agency, challenging his cultural and familial identities from a young age. Ricardo’s work seeks to explore our constructs and ideas of home, selfhood, and masculinity. He finds an urgency in questioning the tendency to frame identities through their immediate surfaces, where the complexity of our conditions is often pushed aside for the status quo.⁣ 

This exhibition was generously supported by a Make | Learn | Build grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and a Career Opportunity Grant from Oregon Arts Commission & The Ford Family Foundation.

Choke (Benardo & Will), 2022, archival inkjet print 40 h x 30 w in.