The white walls of Archer Gallery came alive with drawings, photography, paintings, and more at the opening reception of the 2025 Art Student Annual Exhibit on May 27. Three-dimensional pieces, such as ceramics and metals, stood on pedestals, while a digital media piece played on a TV, complete with headphones that allowed attendees to fully immerse themselves in its artistry. Families, friends, and staff explored the gallery, speaking with the artists about their pieces, each one curated over the past year by their art professors.

Every piece was unique, drawing the eye to color, shape, shadow, texture, and detail. One painting, bright with shades of blue and featuring a young woman with birds perched on her shoulders, was hard to miss. Nightfall by Olive Popp – who won the “Most Ambitious” award – stood out not only for its visual impact, but for the story behind it.

“I wanted the piece to feel dreamy, with a modern feel to it,” Olive said of her self-portrait. In the painting, she looks to the past, with ancient Greece in the background. But as an artist, Olive is looking forward, with plans to challenge her creativity in new ways as a makeup artist.

For Meilani Schille, inspiration came from the screen. Her watercolor piece, Personal Battles, blends elements from her favorite movies and TV shows into an eye-catching collage of pop culture. The layers of emotion and nostalgia reflect her approach to painting: letting layers of watercolor build into deeper, more vivid compositions.

Olivia K Smith, whose piece Virus won her “Best in Show”, also found her spark in visual storytelling. She credits watching cartoons at ten years old as the beginning of her artistic journey.

“The things I’m creating today – childhood me wouldn’t believe it,” Olivia shared with a smile.

With such a wide range of voices and visions on display, selecting winners was no easy task. That responsibility fell to Artist-in-Residence Bruce Conkle, who was tasked with making difficult decisions in a room full of deserving work.

“As a faculty member, I have had the joy of watching these artists work and discover their unique creative voices,” said Kendra Larson, Archer Gallery Director. “Time and again I am surprised by their ingenuity and tenacity. When things don’t go as planned, they are not deterred – instead employing a healthy sense of humor.”

The exhibit offers viewers the opportunity to glimpse into the artists’ creative journeys and celebrate their growth, dedication, and hard work.

This year’s winners include:

• Best in Show: Olivia Smith, Virus
• Most Ambitious: Olive Popp, Nightfall
• 1^st Place in Ceramics: Katie Wilson, Burger Coasters
• 2^nd Place in Ceramics: Angel Shetley, Cult of the Black Lamb
• 1^st Place in Drawing: Xavier Aguirre, Drowning in Joy
• 2^nd Place in Drawing: Britany Grable, Pots and Cups
• 3^rd Place in Drawing: Ariana Liseckas, Modern
• 1^st Place in Painting: Xavier Aguirre, Savor Me
• 2^nd Place in Painting: Thaily Garibay, Untitled
• 3^rd Place in Painting: Brady Creswell, It’s You Again
• 1^st Place in Photography: Coleman Merle, Reflections from the Past
• 2^nd Place in Photography: Olivia Porton, Follow Through
• 3^rd Place in Photography: Sam Keil, The L
• Best Print: India Tillson, Kool Aid
• Best Watercolor: Mary Clark, Lily Pads on Dreams
• Best Graphic Design: Yuliia Umanets, Typographic Mutation
• Best in Comics: Seb Golding, Maggie Hall
• Best Metals: Katie Swaim, Moon and Stars
• Best Silver Gelatin Print: Anselmo Esquivel-Soto, Untitled

Plan Your Visit to the Exhibit

The Art Student Annual Exhibit is open for viewing May 27-June 16, Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more details on the Archer Gallery, visit www.archergallery.com.

Photos: Clark College/Malena Goerl

Spring is a busy, exciting season at Archer Gallery – and if you’ve never been to the gallery, I encourage you to stop by. This April and May, the gallery welcomes artist-in-residence Bruce Conkle and a slate of public programs, including seven art talks and three workshops.

All events are free and open to the public, and will have light refreshments – so invite your colleagues, friends, and family along. Unless otherwise noted, events take place in the Archer Gallery, located at the lower southwest entrance of the Penguin Union Building. See you there!

Artist-in-Residence Bruce Conkle

For the 2025 Artist-in-Residence, Bruce Conkle was chosen because his work is engaging, thoughtful, and funny and because he has experience working with students. He has an extensive resume and plans to use his time in the residency to create ambitious drawings and sculptures. His first workshop will be about creating paper sculptures, and his second workshop will be on silver leafing. His work explores climate change, which is an important, current topic discussed in science, art, philosophy, and social science classrooms amongst others.

Conkle declares an affinity for mysterious natural phenomena such as snow, fire, rainbows, crystals, volcanos, tree burls, and meteorites. He examines contemporary attitudes toward the environment, including deforestation, climate change, and extinction. Conkle’s work often deals with man’s place within nature and frequently examines what he calls the misfit quotient at the crossroads.

His work has been shown in Reykjavik, Iceland; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and in the United States in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle and Portland. Conkle’s recent projects include public art commissions for the Oregon Department of Transportation, TriMet/MAX Light Rail, and Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union Public Art + Residency. He has been the recipient of a Hallie Ford Fellowship, an Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship, and Regional Arts and Culture Council project grant.

• Artist Talk: April 15, 1-2 p.m. at Penguin Union Building, Room 161
• Workshop 1: “Paper Sculpture” April 30, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
• Workshop 2: “Silver Leafing”  May 6, noon – 1:30 p.m.
• Closing Reception: May 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Artist’s website: https://bruceconkle.com/

Clark Art Talks

For the Clark Art Talks, I have invited artists from a variety of media, backgrounds, and experiences to share their work with our community. Each of these professional artists have unique histories and will share personal stories of artistic struggle and success with Clark students. As a student studying art, it is extremely valuable to hear how other artists have carved out careers for themselves.

Chris Lael Larson

• Artist Talk: April 21, 10 – 11 a.m.
• Zoom: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89415804013
• Artist’s website: https://www.chrislaellarson.com

Chris Lael Larson combines digital media with traditional painting, photography, and drawing materials. His colorful work playfully challenges our ideas of visual perception. His artist talk will be via Zoom to accommodate a digital painting class that meets online.

Larson has shown work in more than 30 cities across the U.S., with notable exhibitions at the Berkeley Museum of Art, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, and The Portland Art Museum NW Film Center. He received a 2020 grant from The Regional Arts and Culture Council to publish Cape Disappointment, a photo book documenting the visual vernacular of the distinctive towns of the coastal northwest — places where historical, cultural, commercial, and natural forces layer to create a confounding visual mélange.

Malia Jensen

• Artist Talk: April 23, 1 –2 p.m. in PUB 161
• Artist’s website: https://www.maliajensenstudio.com/

Malia Jensen creates sculptures and videos that investigate systems of nature. Her aesthetic is clever, polished, and highly crafted with a nod to symbolic imagery. Jensen draws inspiration from the natural world and the complex relationships we negotiate within it. Her technically accomplished work marries the tactile authority of the handmade with complex psychological narratives and a genuine quest for harmony and understanding.

Her work can be found in many public and private collections nationally and throughout the Northwest. Her project, Nearer Nature, received support from the Creative Heights Initiative of the Oregon Community Foundation. The resulting six-hour video, “Worth Your Salt,” was screened online during her virtual residency with the Portland Art Museum and was added to its permanent collection.

Kimberly Trowbridge

• Artist Talk & Color Workshop: May 1, 10 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. FAC 108
• Artist’s website: https://www.kimberlytrowbridge.com/

Kimberly Trowbridge works with installation, paint, and performance to create psychological landscapes and large narrative paintings. A lecturer on color theory, Trowbridge is the director of The Modern Color Atelier, a multi-year painting program at Gage Academy of Art, Seattle. She has led plein-air painting tours in Spain, Portugal, and Twisp, Washingon. She is currently developing work in the Pacific Northwest and the Mojave Desert and is writing her first book on color.

Trowbridge, who has developed a practice of traveling and oil painting directly from nature, says, “On the field is where I cultivate a deep and sensitive awareness of color interaction. I consider these field works my ‘primary documents,’ and they help inform my larger, narrative paintings.” She added: “I use stage-like, pastoral settings to create visual allegories of our physical and spiritual connection to the natural world.”

Mark R. Smith

• Artist Talk: May 9, 1 –2 p.m., PUB 161
• Artist’s website: https://markrsmithstudio.com/

Mark R. Smith’s art utilizes textiles as a way to examine and understand social structures. He will talk about teaching, collaboration, and public art. His current studio practice involves using recycled textiles which he incorporates into labor-intensive, densely patterned motifs that reference communal architecture, crowd dynamics and the behavioral aspects of social organisms.

His work has been featured in institutions across the U.S. His solo exhibitions include Gallery Hlemmur, Reykjavik, Iceland; the Office of the Governor, Salem, Oregon, and the Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, Oregon. His work is included in several public and private collections, including the American Embassy, Accra, Ghana; City Arts Inc., New York; King County Public Art Collection, Meta, Seattle, Washington; Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon; and Nike Inc., Beaverton, Oregon.

For Event Information: Archer Gallery (clark.edu)

Photographs submitted Kendra Larson.

Archer Gallery is excited to present Nature Patterns by Kim Cridler and Tamara English. The work in this exhibit highlights the symbolic, spiritual, and psychological power of nature.

The forms used in these oil paintings and metal sculptures speak to, and are inspired by, nature’s awe-inspiring beauty. In a time where climate change is at the forefront of public and political discourse, this exhibit presents an alternative, parallel relationship with the environment and how we navigate internally in the midst of challenging times.

Please join us for the opening reception and artist talk. See dates below. All events are free and open to the public.

Exhibit title: Nature Patterns
What: Twelve oil paintings by local artist, Tamara English, and three, large-scale metal sculptures by Michigan-based artist, Kim Cridler.
Artists: Kim Cridler and Tamara English
Exhibit dates: January 6 through March 24, 2025

• Viewing hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Opening reception: Thursday, January 16, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Artist Talk, Tamara English: Thursday, January 30th, 10-11 a.m. https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89227798779
• Artist Talk, Kim Cridler: Thursday, January 30th, 1-2 p.m. https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/81197837608
• Closing Reception: Saturday, March 22nd, noon – 2pm

On the Web: Archer Gallery (clark.edu)

Exhibition Statement

This exhibit brings attention to natural patterns shared by both plants and humans. For instance, the veins of a branch resemble the blood vessels of an arm, the leaf of a plant mimics the curves of a hip, and the stems of a flower meanders like hair.

In other words, we are nature and nature is us, we need nature and nature needs us. This idea has a rich history with scientists like Rachel Carson, naturalists like Henry David Thoreau, and poets like Mary Oliver and Robert Frost.

Kim Cridler’s work highlights the importance of physical materials, and how the ideal of beauty in nature and craft are important. Tamara English presents the inner life symbolized by a garden, where one may cultivate well being and upliftment.

While Tamara English and Kim Cridler live hundreds of miles apart and each have unique art practices, they share a reverence for and visual vocabulary of the natural world. Their work also points to the potential for change as a central part of the human experience.

Ultimately, this show humanizes our connection to the environment, sows the seeds of wonder, and, hopefully, encourages viewers to appreciate our natural world more.

About the Artists

Kim Cridler

https://www.kimcridler.com

Artist’s Statement: My practice is inspired by the patterns of nature and the way objects can record and extend our lives. My work, based on familiar forms like trees and vessels, argues for the pleasure found in beauty, and the power of material and form. Using a process that is accumulative and direct, joining small parts together into a larger body, I work to create a sense of movement within still objects. Within this structured movement there resides the potential for change. These works serve as a reminder of our own place in the natural world; no matter how carefully we construct and manage our daily experiences, life will not leave us alone or untouched by change.

Biography: Trained as a metalsmith, Kim was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, earned an MFA in Metals from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and studied at Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting. Kim has taught in art programs across the country including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Michigan, San Diego State University, Arizona State University, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the Penland School of Crafts. Her work can be found in the public collections including the Arkansas Art Center Decorative Museum of Art, the Chazen Art Museum, the collection of the Grand Valley State University, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, the collection of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Racine Art Museum, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, the Scottsdale Contemporary Museum of Art, and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Kim’s studio practice focuses on the fabrication of sculptural forms in metal with materials evocative of the natural world. She has also applied her use of steel, structure, and ornament in large-scale public art projects and commissions for public spaces. Public works include a sculptural installation for the MTA Arts-For-Transit program at the Mamaroneck, NY Metro North Station and works in the Londoner Hotel Macao, China. Her work was featured in a Master Metalsmith retrospective exhibition through 2022 at the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. You can find her on Instagram @kimcridler.

Tamara English

https://tamaraenglish.com/

Tamara English is an award-winning American artist whose work explores themes of re-enchantment and the buoyancy that arises through awakening to divine presence. Her oil paintings reveal the inner worlds as vibrant healthy landscapes, exploring how the inner aspects of our beings are like gardens that may be cultivated when one is spiritually engaged. Her work also explores the different levels of awareness beyond the physical. Most wisdom traditions speak about the existence of these different levels which include the subtle and causal realms. These realms are where our beliefs, perceptions and inquiry and understanding of what has sacred meaning to us are found. English blends imaginary elements with elements found in the physical world to create an atmosphere that expands our perception of reality. Her work reveals the vastness and beauty of an inner life in which one is connected to their divine ideal, beyond any specific tradition or belief system. Each painting may be considered a portal to discover the magical, mystical and alchemical in everyday life, well-being and upliftment, and that all is imbued with Spirit.

Tamara English’s work has been exhibited throughout the US and internationally including at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New York Armory, the US Embassy in Riga, Latvia and the Seattle Art Museum. She holds a BFA in painting from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her work has been written about in PORT, Pacific Dissent Magazine, Hyperallergic and Oakland Art Enthusiast. She has been awarded grants and projects from the Regional Art and Culture Council in Portland, Oregon and the Ford Family Foundation. She has been awarded a Golden Spot artist residency at Playa Summerlake in Oregon. Her paintings have appeared in the television series “Portlandia,” and in the documentary “Art: PDX” about Portland artists. Her work is widely collected and represented in many collections, including the collections of Lock Haven University, the City of Portland Portable Works, Columbia Sportswear, and a former U.S. president. English lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

About the Archer Gallery and Clark Art Talks

Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. Archer Gallery exhibits work by nationally and internationally renowned artists and connects the Clark College community with accessible and diverse perspectives from the contemporary art world. Learn more about the Archer Gallery.

Clark Art Talks serves the students and community of Clark College by hosting a monthly art lecture series. Distinguished artists and art scholars from around the country share their experiences related to their art practices and provide unique insights into their varied career paths and artistic techniques.

Art appreciators gathered to welcome artist Daniel Duford at the opening reception for his exhibit “American Underland” at Archer Gallery on October 1. The exhibit closes on December 20, so if you missed the reception, you still have time to visit this exhibit.

Duford chatted with guests, who included Clark students, staff, faculty, and community members.

He created all the exhibited work after his January 2024 residency at PLAYA in rural Summer Lake, Oregon, a land of open spaces and sagebrush at the edge of the Great Basin.

Standing in front of his painting Paisley Caves, he spoke about how spending a month in that landscape influenced his art. He spoke about walking across shallow, frozen lakes and taking in that landscape. He observed and said, “I took a ton of photos.”

Gallery Director’s Statement: I was initially drawn to Daniel Duford’s work because of his rich color palette and the unique mix of painting, drawing, and ceramics in his practice. I also appreciate how he combines landscape imagery with shamanistic and folkloric symbols to lead the viewer on a poetic journey—a deeper sense of time and space is brought to the forefront.

Our country is coming up on an election and, at times, the campaigns have felt shallow or short-sighted. In other words, the problems and solutions seem to have a four-year expiration date. This exhibit presents an alternative look at our country. The work on display depicts North American landscapes, characters, and stories that have long roots and deep time.

“That sense of time and change connects us to the larger, living world. That’s true deep time,” Duford says in an interview for Artsy.com. My hope is that this exhibit is both visually evocative for viewers and starts conversations around what it means to be American. Archer Gallery is excited to welcome this engaging political show that is refreshingly non-partisan just in time for the election.

American Underland events

•  Exhibition: September 16 – December 20
• Saturday reception: November 2, 1-4 p.m.
• Artist Talk: October 15, 1-2 p.m. (in person, PUB room 161)
• Virtual artist workshop: November 7, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Zoom: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89432337559

Artist’s Statement about American Underland: The motifs filling these new works are the Janus head, coyotes, and processions. Janus is the Roman god of doorways, of endings and beginnings. The double-faced god presided over city gates marking times of war and peace. Old Man Coyote too has many faces. He is the Changeable One. Coyote the deity created death, the stars, and lots of chaos. His stories are bawdy, absurd, and alive with the electricity of a living landscape.

Coyote the animal has a complicated relationship to the United States’s history of Puritanical programs of extermination and persistent resilience. The procession is an image I’ve long been interested in. From Goya’s penitents to Courbet’s A Burial at Ornans, the procession can be solemn, grotesque, mocking, or an exuberant carnival.

Given the flowing energy of protest movements in the past several years, I see the image of the procession as an image of collective soul. I am more interested in the chthonic energies rumbling beneath the ground and lava flows animating the collective unconscious of the nation.

About the artist

Daniel Duford is an artist, writer, and teacher. His work tells stories drawn from North American history and mythology. He is a 2019 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, a 2010 Hallie Ford Fellow, and a recipient of a 2012 Art Matters Grant. His murals and public art can be found throughout Portland. His books include John Brown’s Body, The Unfortunates Graphic Novel, The Naked Boy, and The Green Man of Portland. His work has been shown at MASS MoCA, The Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art, Maryhill Museum, Bellevue Arts Museum, Clay Studio, The Boise Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Craft, PICA, and The Art Gym at Marylhurst University. Residencies include MacDowell, Crow’s Shadow Art Center, and Ash Street Project. His writing has appeared in High Desert Journal, Parabola, Artweek, ARTnews, The Emily Dickinson Award Anthology, The Organ, The Bear Deluxe, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Technical and Ceramics: Art and Perception. His work has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Press, The Albany Times Union, The Oregonian, Sculpture Magazine, Art Papers, Artweek, The Willamette Week and The Portland Mercury. He is currently the Visiting Professor of Art at Reed College and Creative Director at Building Five in Portland, Oregon. Learn more here.

About Archer Gallery

Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. In order to exhibit work that has a strong interest for an academic institution, the gallery brings work that fulfills at least one of the following criteria.

• Regionally, nationally, or internationally exhibiting professional artists
• Artwork that has a strong connection to new contemporary art concepts or methods
• Artwork that connects to Clark College Art Department curriculum and programs
• Works by artists with significant historical influence on contemporary art practices

https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/archer

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

Archer Gallery was packed, animated, and noisy as dozens of student artists stood in front of their creations and talked to art appreciators about their work. The opening reception and awards ceremony for the Art Student Annual exhibition of Clark College art students drew students, faculty, staff, family members and the community on June 4.

This annual juried exhibit features Clark College art students’ work created in the past year chosen by their Clark College art professors. The strength and breadth of this artwork reflect the hard work, dedication, and unique voices of Clark students.

“This year’s exhibit received 100 more submissions and features almost twice the pieces compared to last year’s exhibit,” said Archer Gallery Director Kendra Larson. Students created their work in the past year. Their art professors curated the work.

Grant Hottle, art professor and head of the art department, said, “I’m absolutely stunned by the level of craft, emotion, passion, and sheer creativity on display this year. We have a superb group of student artists who are producing work at an exceptional level and their hard work and energy is palpable in Archer Gallery.”

“Clark art students contributed some stunning artwork to this year’s exhibit,” said Larson, “The creativity and craftsmanship was top notch. The opening reception was a great way to celebrate all their hard work this year.”

2024 Art Student Annual by the Numbers:

• 250 submissions
• 122 pieces chosen for the exhibit
• 69 student artists included
• 17 awards
• 15 sponsors

2024 Awards

• Best Painting: Hana Lowenthal
• Second in Painting: Casey Maomay
• Third in Painting: Lindsey Bross
• Best Drawing: Maddy Bisila
• Second in Drawing: Yuliia Umanets
• Third in Drawing: Ally Rounds
• Best Ceramics: Raina Perkins
• Second in Ceramics: Mara Schwenneker
• Best in Printmaking: Lee Weselmann
• Best Graphic Design: Gretel Schmidt
• Best Silver Gelatin Print: Raiden Concannon
• Best Photography: Oliver Romero
• Second Photography: McKeena Green
• Third Photography: Olivia Smith
• Best in Metals: Lindsey LaPore
• Best in Show: Esmirna Zeledon
• Most Ambitious: Maddy Bisila

Awards prizes were provided by Gamblin Paint, BarbaMingo Restaurant, Clark College Bookstore, I’ve Been Framed Art Supply, Collage, Georgie’s Ceramics, Blick Art Materials, McClain’s Print Supply, Independent Publishing Resource Center, Blue Moon Photo, Pro Photo, Portland Art Museum, Oregon Contemporary (Ox), and Niche Wine Bar.

Exhibition Schedule:

• Dates: June 4-14
• Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday until the closing reception and “Phoenix” unveiling from noon-3 p.m. on June 13.

Learn more at https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/archer/.

Archer Gallery is bringing three artists and multiple events to campus in May. All events are free and open to the public, so invite your colleagues, friends, and family to attend with you. Except where noted, all talks take place in Archer Gallery, located at the lower southwest entrance of the Penguin Union Building. See you there!

Kanani Miyamoto

Thursday, May 2 at 11 a.m.
Clark College, Penguin Union Building (PUB) 161
www.nativeartsandcultures.org/kanani-miyamoto

Originally from Honolulu, Kanani Miyamoto practices art, teaches, and curates in Portland, Oregon. An individual of mixed heritage, she most identifies with her Hawaiian and Japanese roots, which are celebrated in her artwork. Miyamoto holds a Master of Fine Arts in Print Media from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Practices from Portland State University. She is the arts coordinator at p:ear.

Important to Miyamoto’s work is sharing and honoring her mixed cultural background to represent her community and the beauty of intersectional identities. She hopes to create critical conversations around cultural authenticity in the arts. She uses traditional printmaking techniques to create large-scale print installations and murals. She also is an advocate for art education and a passionate community worker.

Miyamoto said about her work: “I’d like to tell the story of survivance and resilience through reclaiming this tradition. I want to recognize our ancestors and feel their hands through my hands.”

David Eckard, Artist in Residence

Exhibit: May 1 – 31, 2024
Archer Gallery
Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
www.davideckardstudio.com

Other events in Archer Gallery:

• Artist Talk: May 9 at 10 a.m.
• Workshop: May 16 at 10 a.m.
• Reception: May 18 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

David Eckard utilizes diverse materials, techniques, and presentational strategies in his studio practice. Futility, function, authority, queer masculinity, and persona are the primary notions investigated, critiqued, and exploited in his work. Eckard fabricates fictive artifacts and enigmatic objects with various materials and techniques. These sculptures exist as singular objects, installation components, and performance props.

His rendered works on panels and paper are biomorphic, sexualized schematics that address the body as a carrier of histories, fantasies, potential, and trauma. Through performance, Eckard orchestrates transient theatrics and deploys temporary monuments in civic spaces for incidental audiences.

Eckard has exhibited internationally. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, Sculpture, Flash Art, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Artnews. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards including the Individual Artist Fellowship (2015, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon), the Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts (2010, Ford Family Foundation, Portland), and the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship (2010, Portland).

Nicole Seisler

Tuesday, May 7 from 9 – 11:20 a.m.
Frost Art Center, Room 011 Ceramics Studio
https://nysprojects.com/

Nicole Seisler is a Portland-based ceramic artist whose practice comprises making, educating, and curating. Her sculpture, installations and public art investigate time, materiality, process, psychology, and the overlapping roles of artist, viewer, participant and collaborator.

Seisler received her master’s in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her bachelor’s in fine arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her work has been exhibited at Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Tallahassee, Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and Craft Contemporary in Los Angeles and American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California. Her work is featured in the “In Hand” exhibition at Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University. During the pandemic she published the book Recipes for Conceptual Clay (in the time of Covid-19)”.

She has taught ceramics for more than ten years at universities including School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Washington, Scripps College, and UCLA. She is an assistant professor and head of ceramics at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. As founder and director of the contemporary ceramics platform A-B Projects, she has curated over 30 exhibitions and offers alternative educational programming that reevaluates and redefines the trajectory of contemporary ceramics.

Across her practice, Seisler creates dialogue and perspectives around ceramics that exist in the same conditions as the material: malleable, shifting, adaptable, and enduring; existing within, between, and beyond conventional definitions.

More details are available here at Archer Gallery | Clark College

April is a robust month for Archer Gallery at Clark College. If you’ve never been to the gallery, this month is an ideal time to visit. The gallery is presenting four art talks in April. All are free and open to the public, so invite your colleagues, friends, and family to attend with you. Except where noted, all talks take place in Archer Gallery, located at the lower southwest entrance of the Penguin Union Building. See you there! Find details at Archer Gallery (clark.edu)

Pamela Chipman and Jan Cook

Thursday, April 18 at 2 p.m.
Location: Archer Gallery
Info: https://afraidnotafraid.com/

Artists Pamela Chipman and Jan Cook will discuss their exhibit, Afraid/Not Afraid. It is a photography-based immersive installation with sound that examines how women live with an ever-present threat of violence and the feeling of being unsafe in their world. In creating this work, we are confronting this underlying fear to call attention to and to create discussion and change around these issues. This collaborative photo-based installation explores vulnerability and our relationship to it as women. Gender violence, sexual stereotypes, and the portrayal of women in the media and popular culture feed and perpetuate this fear in our society. Our work looks at how these forces shape the lives and behavior of women, often in subtle ways, that become ingrained and normalized as part of our worldview. The images reflect the relationship between being watched and objectified and how women present their identities to the world.

Kelly Bjork

Wednesday, April 24 at 2 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/86711178018
Info: https://www.kellybjork.com/

Kelly Bjork is an illustrator, painter, and muralist working and living in Seattle. About their work they write: “Creating quiet moments of emotional wellbeing in my art is how I work to soothe and comfort others. I depict a world of tenderness, acceptance, and vulnerability in order to share the sensations of emotional wellbeing that I aim to foster in my life and in my community. I often create vignettes of people close to me. Narratives of intimate relationships are important for displaying the peace and support that everyone strives for in their homes and in their heads—peace and support that so often we are lacking. My paintings intend to bring that support in our surroundings. I consider my work both manifestation and documentation, it’s a means of advocating for mental wellness by acknowledging my own struggles with it. I hope a viewer sees the image of a space I’ve created as a place where they can rest and will be taken care of.”

Epiphany Couch

Thursday, April 25 at 10 a.m.
Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building (PUB) 161
https://www.epiphanycouch.com/

Epiphany Couch is an interdisciplinary artist exploring generational knowledge, storytelling, and our connection to the metaphysical. By re-contextualizing classic mediums such as bookmaking, beadwork, photography, and collage, she presents new ways to examine our pasts, the natural world, and our ancestors. Couch’s work is unapologetically personal, drawing from family stories, her childhood experience, archival research, and her own dreams. She utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to create images and sculptural works that hold space for reflection, transforming from mere things into precious objects — intimate and heirloom-like.

Couch is spuyaləpabš (Puyallup), Yakama, and Scandinavian and grew up in caləłali (Tacoma, Washington). She earned her BFA in sculpture with a minor in Asian studies from The University of Puget Sound. Her work has been shown at Gallery Ost in New York City, Yuan Ru Gallery in Bellevue, Washington, and Carnation Contemporary in Portland, Oregon. She received the Jurors Choice Award for her work included in the Around Oregon Biennial at The Arts Center in Corvallis, Oregon in 2022 and 2023. She lives and works in Portland and is a member of Carnation Contemporary Gallery.

James Boulton with Braille Stars

Saturday, April 27 from 2-4 p.m.
Location: Archer Gallery

James Boulton’s artwork is often characterized by dense layering and energetic application of materials. He has exhibited sculpture, video, drawing, and most often painting in galleries, museums, and more. At Archer Gallery, the artist presents an installation of new drawings paired with an improvised musical performance by the trio Braille Stars.

Braille Stars was founded in 1999 in Portland, Oregon by Gilly Ann Hanner and Stef River Darensbourg. Their expansive style combines experimental improvisation with melodic themes equally influenced by their guitar punk roots and ambient dream core. James Boulton joins the group in their newest incarnation performing instrumental pieces that rely on intuition, invention, and responsiveness as the trio collaboratively generates compositions in real time.

I am excited to announce the next Archer Gallery exhibit, Afraid/Not Afraid, by Pamela Chipman (Portland) and Jan Cook (Seattle). This immersive photo-based art installation looks at gender and vulnerability. Please join us for the opening reception and artist talk (dates below). Exhibitions and art talks are free and open to the public. 

Exhibit title: Afraid/Not Afraid 
What: Immersive, photo-based art installation looks at gender and vulnerability 
Artists: Pamela Chipman and Jan Cook 

Exhibit dates: February 7 through April 25 

• Viewing hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. 
• Opening reception—with free pizza: Wednesday, February 7, noon – 2 p.m. 
• Artist reception and performance by Lyra Butler-Denman: Saturday, February 17, 2 to 5 p.m. 
• Artist talk (in person): Thursday, April 18, 2-3 p.m. 

Website: Archer Gallery (clark.edu) 

Exhibition Statement: 

Afraid/Not Afraid immersive photo-based art installation looks at gender and vulnerability. 

Afraid/Not Afraid examines how women live with an ever-present threat of violence and the feeling of being unsafe in their world. Gender violence, sexual stereotypes, and the portrayal of women in the media and popular culture feed and perpetuate this fear in our society. This collaborative photo-based installation explores vulnerability and the artists’ relationship to it as women. The work looks at the emotional side of this subject and how these forces shape the lives and behavior of women, often in subtle ways, that become ingrained and normalized as part of their worldview.  

In this immersive installation, the viewer becomes the voyeur, peeping through an exterior window of a house before entering the space. The exhibition combines projected images, large photographic fabric panels, and sound. The images reflect the relationship between being watched and objectified and how women present their identities to the world. The photographs and projections on semi-transparent layers combine and interplay as the viewer moves through the piece, building an intimate space for reflection. 

The artists Jan Cook and Pamela Chipman created this installation together in an artist residency in Portland, Oregon. They are white cisgender women whose own experiences and concerns with safety and consent propelled them to make this body of work. In confronting this underlying fear, they want to call attention to and to create discussion and change around these issues.  

Jan Cook is a Seattle artist who works with photo-based imagery to examine the ideas that run through our collective unconscious and tie us together in our humanity. Pamela Chipman is a Portland-based visual artist who explores themes of memory, domesticity, and femininity. She creates work that speaks to the history, strengths, and struggles of women in our culture. 

About the Archer Gallery and Clark Art Talks  

Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. Archer Gallery exhibits work by nationally and internationally renowned artists and connects the Clark College community with accessible and diverse perspectives from the contemporary art world. Learn more here. 

Clark Art Talks serves the students and community of Clark College by hosting a monthly art lecture series. Distinguished artists and art scholars from around the country share their experiences related to their art practices and provide unique insights into their varied career paths and artistic techniques. 

Archer Gallery opened The Stone Path, an exhibit featuring work by eight indigenous artists on November 15. The exhibit is presented by Art in Oregon. Viewing hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except December 23 – January 1, and by appointment January 2-7. The exhibit is open through January 24, 2024. 

Previously, the exhibit was displayed at Gretchen Schuette Art Gallery at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon and Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg, Oregon. 

“This exhibit is a unique opportunity to see the top-notch work of eight stellar regional artists and attend a variety of accompanying talks,” said Archer Gallery Director Kendra Larson. “My hope is that this exhibition is a powerful visual testimony to the strength of art in the Pacific Northwest, sheds light on a variety of topics that currently impact us all and will give voice to artists historically underrepresented.” 

Larson added, “This exhibit also represents a collaboration between Clark College, Art in Oregon, and Crows Shadow, which I hope turns into future friendships between the three institutions. I’m so pleased that the Clark College and Vancouver community can enjoy this show.”  

Exhibition statement 

The Stone Path is a traveling exhibition showcasing the work of Natalie Ball, Demian DinéYazhi’, Vanessa Enos, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, Lillian Pitt, Wendy Red Star, Jeremy Red Star Wolf, and Marie Watt. Through their common connections as former artists in residence at Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts in Pendleton, Oregon and Oregon-based artists with Native American tribal heritage, this exhibition presents select permanent collection fine art prints from the artists’ residencies alongside artworks representing their studio practice. Curated by Art in Oregon’s Selena Jones, Owen Premore, and Tammy Jo Wilson. 

The Stone Path celebrates eight remarkable indigenous artists whose artistry expands our understanding of Oregon’s communities, cultures, and histories. The exhibition title references the flat stones used in lithography, a fine art printmaking process ingeniously represented in Crow’s Shadow Permanent Art Collection. During their residencies, artists work closely with CSIA’s master printmaker towards realizing limited-edition prints that strive to capture the artist’s unique vision through innovative augmentation and invention. CSIA residency prints are highly regarded and collected throughout the world. The exhibition will showcase additional art pieces from participating artists in complement and juxtaposition to their fine art prints. 

Artist Talks 

Archer Gallery offered thoughtful, insightful artist’s talks with Ka’ila Farrell Smith and Demian DinéYazhi’ on November 20 and 21 via Zoom. 

On the closing day of the show, join curators Selena Jones, Owen Premore, and Tammy Jo Wilson for The Stone Path exhibition curators’ walk-through at 1 p.m. on January 24 in Archer Gallery. 

Meet the Artists 

• Natalie Ball (Klamath/Modoc, based in Chiloquin, Oregon) 
• Demian DinéYazhi’ (Diné/Navajo People, based in Portland, Oregon) 
• Vanessa Enos (Walla Walla, Yakama and Pima heritage; enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, based near Pendleton, Oregon) 
• Ka’ila Farrell-Smith (Klamath Modoc, based in Modoc Point, Oregon) 
• Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs Reservation; descendant of Warm Springs, Wasco [Watalas] and Yakama [Wishxam] people, based in Portland, Oregon)  
• Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow, based in Portland, Oregon) 
• Jeremy Red Star Wolf (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; vice chair, CTUIR board of trustees; lives on the Umatilla Indian Reservation) 
• Marie Watt (Onödowá’ga/Seneca Nation of Indians, based in Portland, Oregon) 

About Art in Oregon 

Art in Oregon is a Black-led, statewide visual arts focused 501(c)(3) non-profit working to build bridges between artists and communities. The mission of Art in Oregon is to foster culturally rich regional communities through partnerships, advocacy, and investment in artists, businesses, educational spaces, and community spaces. Our goal is to build and sustain art patronage through pride in Oregon artists and pride in art ownership. We work to establish collaborative relationships with the common goal of increased visibility and access to art for all people. Learn more here. 

About Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts 

Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization formed in 1992 by local artists James Lavadour (Walla Walla) and Phillip Cash Cash (Cayuse and Nez Perce). CSIA’s mission is to provide a creative conduit for educational, social, and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development. Crow’s Shadow has evolved into a world-class studio focused on contemporary fine art printmaking.  

Crow’s Shadow is located in the historic schoolhouse at Saint Andrew’s Mission on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation about 10 miles from downtown Pendleton, Oregon. Learn more here. 

 About the Archer Gallery and Clark Art Talks 

Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. The gallery exhibits work by nationally and internationally renowned artists and connects the Clark College community with accessible, diverse perspectives from the contemporary art world. Learn more here. 

Clark Art Talks serves the students and community of Clark College by hosting a monthly art lecture series. Distinguished artists and art scholars share their experiences related to their art practices and provide unique insights into their varied career paths and artistic techniques.  

Exhibition photos: Clark College/Kendra Larson

Art faculty, students and community members gathered for the opening reception of the 2023 Art Faculty Biennial on September 28^th at Archer Gallery. The exhibition of recent work by Art department faculty members provides an opportunity for Clark’s art faculty to show their work and to discuss their inspiration and their process one-on-one with students, faculty, staff, and the Vancouver community.   

“We are excited to exhibit the work of our talented Clark art faculty,” said Kendra Larson, art professor and Archer Gallery director. “The variety of materials and approaches highlighted in this show mirrors the diversity of classes offered at Clark. We are lucky to have a vibrant community of very talented artists teaching here. This show celebrates that.”  

Grant Hottle, art professor and chair of the art department, pictured above, talked about how anyone can appreciate art without having a personal conversation with the artist.  

Standing in front of three of his oil on canvas paintings, he said, “People visiting the art show don’t have to have advance knowledge of art to understand what they see. Instead, their experiences with art, film, literature and music all inform their ability to enjoy art. I hope folks come into the gallery and think about what they’re viewing and come away with feelings and ideas that mean something to them, based on their own experiences.” 

Pointing to his painting “After Claesz (Red Honor),” he said he was inspired by “Skull Still Life” by Pieter Claesz, a 17^th century Dutch Golden Age painter of still lifes. 
 
The show walk-through and artist talk will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 19^th. The artwork will be on display from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and through November 2.  

To learn more, visit https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/archer/ 

Participating Clark College art faculty include:  

• Jennifer Brazelton 
• Lisa Conway 
• Ray Cooper 
• Damien Gilley 
• Kathrena Halsinger 
• Stephen Hayes 
• Grant Hottle 
• Colin Kippen 
• Kendra Larson 
• Martha Lewis 
• Gabriel Parque 
• Shawn Records 
• Suzy Root 
• Ben Killen Rosenberg 
• Brian Shannon 
• Senseney Lea Stokes 
• Allison (Allie) Syes  

Follow the Archer Gallery Instagram account to follow this and other events at the gallery: https://www.instagram.com/archergallery

Photos: Susan Parrish/Clark College

To see more photos from the exhibit visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/clark_college/albums/72177720311740987