Clark Art Talks

Clark College’s Artist & Scholar Lecture Series

Upcoming Art Talks:

Bruce Conkle

Artist Talk and Workshop 1: Paper Cast Sculptures

Wednesday, April 30th, 1 - 2:20pm

Location: Archer Gallery

Bruce Conkle declares an affinity for mysterious natural phenomenon 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 shown around the world, including Reykjavik, Ulaanbaatar, Rio De Janeiro, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, and Portland. 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. In 2011 Bruce received a Hallie Ford Fellowship in 2010 and an Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship. His 2012 show Tree Clouds and Surface Glitch, 2016 were awarded project grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

https://bruceconkle.com/

Kimberly Trowbridge

Artist Talk and Workshop: Thursday, May 1st, 10 - 12:20

Location: Frost Art Center, room 108

Kimberly Trowbridge is a painter, an installation artist, a performer, and a lecturer on color theory. She received an MFA from the University of Washington (2006) and a BFA in Painting / BA in English Literature from Indiana University (2003). Her first solo museum show at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (2021) was developed during her time as Creative Fellow at Bloedel Reserve (2018-2020), a 150-acre garden amid an old growth forest.

Recently, Trowbridge was a resident at Jentel Artist Residency, in Wyoming (2022). She is currently developing work in the PNW and the Mojave Desert. She is currently writing her first book on color.

Trowbridge completed a Facebook Open Arts commission (2021), and was Artist in Residence at Oxbow, Seattle. She is a two-time Neddy Award Finalist (2014, 2016), and an Artist Trust GAP Grant recipient (2014). She 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, WA.

https://www.kimberlytrowbridge.com/

Bruce Conkle

Artist Talk and Workshop 2: Thursday, May 6th, 12 - 1:30pm

Location: Archer Gallery

Bruce Conkle declares an affinity for mysterious natural phenomenon 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 shown around the world, including Reykjavik, Ulaanbaatar, Rio De Janeiro, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, and Portland. 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. In 2011 Bruce received a Hallie Ford Fellowship in 2010 and an Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship. His 2012 show Tree Clouds and Surface Glitch, 2016 were awarded project grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

https://bruceconkle.com/

Mark R Smith

Artist Talk: Thursday, May 8th, 1- 2:00pm

Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building, room 161

Mark R. Smith’s current studio practice involves use of 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 US including the Portland Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Center (Cincinnati, OH) and the Zimmerly Art Museum, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ). His solo exhibitions include The Office of the Governor (Salem, OR), Gallery Hlemmur (Rykjavik, Iceland), The Art Gym Marylhurst University (Marylhurst, OR) and several at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, OR where his work is represented. Smith has also received many public commissions, including projects with Trimet, Providence Hospital and the Port of Portland (all Portland, OR). His work is included in several public and private collections, including the American Embassy (Accra, Ghana), CityArts Inc. (New York, NY), King County Public Art Collection, Meta (Seattle, WA), Lewis and Clark College (Portland, OR), and Nike Inc. (Beaverton, OR). Smith received his BFA from the Cooper Union (1983) and his MFA from Portland State University (1997).

https://markrsmithstudio.com/