NOVEMBER 6–30 • MAIN GALLERY

Elegies
Christopher Shotola-Hardt

Long-time Blackfish Artist Christopher Shotola-Hardt presents "Elegies."

elegy [el-i-jee], n.

a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

What if, at the conclusion of the Great Acceleration, we are left with only relics of our avian species – images, art objects, taxidermy, sound recordings, documentaries? Or, will Nature ultimately persevere, leaving birds to roam through the relics of humanity’s past existence – ghost cities and towns?

Are we nearing the end of The Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant anthropogenic impact on Earth’s geology, ecosystems, and climate? Natural disasters and extreme weather events have become ever more commonplace. Each year brings ever-accelerating numbers of extinctions to flora and fauna, creating domino effects that push delicate ecosystems toward collapse. Birds play an essential role in the functioning of the world’s ecosystems, and countless bird species migrate seasonally, following food sources and thus becoming critical members of ecosystems spanning multiple geographic regions. Humanity exists within, and depends upon these ecosystems. The decisions our governing bodies make in one locale – regarding, say, water rights – can have devastating impact on migrating bird populations and thus on multiple ecosystems near and far. Maintaining optimism that we might suddenly become responsible, selfless stewards of the natural world is challenging.

Christopher Shotola-Hardt — Sentinel, 2024,

acrylic on canvas, 48” x 24”

A Retrospective
Robert W. Shotola

Robert W. Shotola — Theme, oil on masonite, 20” x 16”

Blackfish is honored to present "A Retrospective" from guest artist Robert W. Shotola. These paintings represent various ideas and approaches that have interested Shotola over the past seven decades. Consistent influences have been the environment and cultures of New Mexico and his relationship with music.

Shotola did graduate work in painting at the University of New Mexico with the transcendentalist Raymond Jonson. This was interrupted by a stint as the jazz drummer in the US Army Far East Band in Japan during the Korean War. After returning to Albuquerque for twelve years, he was active as a professional musician and always involved in painting and photography.

Shotola and family then moved to Madison, Wisconsin where he earned a PhD in Sociology. After teaching at the University of Wyoming for two years, he came to Portland in 1970 as a member of the Sociology faculty at Portland State University. One of his key interests was in the Sociology of Art. He and painter Harry Widman conducted extensive interviews with Portland-area WPA artists, which were used as primary sources by art historian Roger Hull of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art for his monographs for important retrospectives for artists, such as Charles Heaney. For several years, Shotola was a member of the Northwest Artists Workshop. Shotola retired from PSU in 1997 and continues to paint, play the drums, and take photographs.

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GALLERY 2

We Meet in Kangirnaq
Merridawn Duckler
Palmarin Merges

Merridawn Duckler — Sea Fever, thrifted jacket size M with authentic seashell detail, sash screen printed with "Sea Fever" by John Masefield, Merridawn original poem on hand-made paper from Oregon coast, kelp in pocket

Shifting Identities - 3 shows in one.jpg

"We Meet in Kangirnaq" is an exhibition of the two-year collaboration between Tokyo-based artist (and former Blackfish Member) Palmarin Merges and Oregon-based poet and conceptual artist Merridawn Duckler (a longtime Blackfish artist). The artists are “walking” towards each other until they meet at a half-way point in Alaska.

The exhibit features art and language discovered during this art-walking practice, and includes artist books and conceptual clothing. The show honors cross-cultural communication, the power of female friendship, and the aesthetic value of found and transformed objects in our paths.

Duckler writes: "As a conceptual artist I’m always walking toward something or running away from it. I’m walking towards an idea and running away from all the other ideas that crowd around, wanting their say. Making an object can be an obstacle where you want to exist in just pure language but of course language isn’t pure, and I’m learning, as an artist, that objects can be vividly descriptive. The objects in our show are about longing: longing to meet in Kangirnaq, for sure, but also having a status of longing like the mythical Moscow of those Chekov sisters, or shy Joseph Cornell’s little packed boxes that never get mailed. I’ve included artist-made outfits for our projected selves and artist-made books bookmarked in places we plan to return to later but, as in dreams, we never arrive. Palmarin and I value the found objects (these include words). Possibly the universe is trying to tell you something vis-a-vis objects strewn in your path while you’re just trying to get somewhere else like a shoe sale. Inside longing lives the optimistic hope of connection. We showed up for that by agreeing to collaborate on what is essentially a solo operation. Palmarin would text me, “Let’s talk on your Thursday, my Friday” and I love the ownership implied in that idea. We each get our own day. This show is where we finally meet and also where we can never meet. I keep the map of both places on my person at all times. I dedicate this show to my horrible sense of direction and my ambition to get somewhere."

Palmarin Merges — Shifting Identities - 3 in 1, Palmarin Merges, in a box, pages are loose - Shifting Identities faces collage, kanji collage found poems, and altered pages from a found book

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JAMES HIBBARD GALLERY

Reflections
Ruri

Ruri’s works express her inner experiences of her spiritual aspiration and ascent. Her inspirations come from nature as metaphor, and she tries to bring abstracted forms of nature (clouds, ocean and waves, mountains, rocks) to both in her 2D and 3D art works.

She plays with sumi (Japanese ink), washi (handmade mulberry paper) with Japanese calligraphy brush to create abstracted brush strokes, called Bokushou, presenting unlimited shades of grey.