Clark Art Talks
Clark College’s Artist & Scholar Lecture Series
Upcoming Art Talks:
Tamara English
Artist Talk: Thursday, January 30th, 10 - 11am
Zoom Link: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89227798779
Tamara English is an award winning American artist whose work explores themes of reenchantment 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 US president. English lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Kim Cridler
Artist Talk: Thursday, January 30th, 1 - 2pm
Zoom Link: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/81197837608
ARTISTS 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.
SHORT 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, TN. You can find her on Instagram @kimcridler.
Kristen Rogers Brown
Artist Talk: Tuesday, February 4th, 1 - 2pm
Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building, room 161
Kristin is a creative director and designer currently teaching design and illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA). For the past decade, she has used her background as an award-winning editorial art director to design meaningful experiences, publications, and brand strategies across media. She spent 2010-2018 as art director for Bitch Media, an independent media organization whose mission is to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media and pop culture. Her work with nonprofits and values-driven organizations proves that thoughtful design drives engagement, builds community, and makes a difference in people's lives.
Steve Lieber
Artist Talk and Workshop: Thursday, February 6th, 1 - 3pm
Location: Frost Art Center, room 104
Steve Lieber is an American comic book illustrator known for his work on books such as Detective Comics, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Hawkman, and the critically acclaimed miniseries Whiteout, which was adapted into a 2009 feature film starring Kate Beckinsale.
Maria T.D. Inocencio
Artist Talk: Wednesday, February 12th, 3 - 4pm
Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building, room 161
“My practice is an investigation of our relationships to one another and to our communities and is a process for discovering and expressing our commonality while reminding the viewer that we exist in the context of time and diversity. Ultimately my hope is to encourage connection.”
Bruce Conkle
Artist Talk: Tuesday, April 15th, 1 - 2pm
Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building, room 161
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.
Chris Lael Larson
Artist Talk: Monday, April 21st, 10 - 11am
Location: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89415804013
Chris Lael Larson is a Portland-based artist working in the overlap of photography, assemblage, and painting to create new perceptual experiences. He culls riches from the everyday absurd, forefronting the strange, ridiculous, and confounding ways we connect to each other, the things we consume, and the environments we inhabit.
Chris has shown work in over 30 cities across the US, with notable exhibitions at the Berkeley Museum of Art, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, and The Portland Art Museum NW Film Center. In 2020, he received a Grant from The Regional Arts and Culture Council to publish Cape Disappointment, a photo book that documents 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 melange. Chris is a member of Carnation Contemporary and Wave Contemporary in Portland, Oregon. Chris received a BS in Earth Sciences and a BA in Photography from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he was awarded the Irwin Scholarship for the Visual Arts.
Malia Jensen
Artist Talk: Wednesday, April 23rd, 1 - 2pm
Location: Clark College, Penguin Union Building, room 161
Malia Jensen (b.1966, Honolulu, Hawaii) is a Portland-based artist known primarily for her work in sculpture and video. 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 hand-made 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. She has been Artist in Residence at the Headland Center for the Arts, Ucross Foundation, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Yucca Valley Materials Lab, and the Portland Garment Factory. Jensen has been a visiting artist at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Whitman College, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has mentored students at Oregon College of Arts and Crafts and Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her recent project, Nearer Nature, received support from the Creative Heights Initiative of the Oregon Community Foundation. The resulting six-hour video, Worth Your Salt, screened online in 2020 during a virtual residency with the Portland Art Museum and was recently added to their permanent collection. Jensen has a BFA, ’89, from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and is represented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York. (Bio courtesy recology.com)
Bruce Conkle
Artist Talk and Workshop 1: 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.
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.
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.
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/