Hayley Barker, AMPM, 2017, oil, pastel and colored pencil on panel, 16 x 10"
Long a familiar presence in the Portland art scene, painter Hayley Barker has for the last three years been based in Los Angeles. In the mixed-media paintings that comprise AMPM, she depicts a goddess-like figure who confronts the viewer with an implacable visage, crowned by a floral headdress. Who is this proto-feminist idol, and is she a totem of pulchritude, fearsomeness, or both? Barker leaves such speculations to the viewer.
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“Williamson Knight has taken over the Pearl District space formerly occupied by Hap Gallery with ambitions to bring radical and marginalized voices to one of the city’s most monied neighborhoods. Co-director Iris Williamson became a significant part of the operations at Hap during its successful run, and when owner Judy Jacobson wanted to retire the gallery, she offered to subsidize the space for Williamson and John Knight’s vision. Even with help, running a Pearl district gallery without funds on hand isn’t economically feasible. So they’ve designed an equitable model of distributed ownership that puts the artists first. This dovetails with their curatorial vision to provide a platform to voices and radical themes that are rarely seen in their neighboring galleries.
Their hope is to provide space to artists they consider politically and socially relevant while creating a platform for social and economic capital when needed. The 2017 curatorial program includes exhibitions and projects by: angélica maria millán lozano & Laura Medina (also known as rolas in pdx), Sheida Soleimani, Alisa Bones, Don’t Shoot Portland, Derek Franklin, Raque Ford, Dru Donovan, and Hayley Barker.
The inaugural show, Social Learning Theory by Sheida Soleimani, was one of the more visually and conceptually complex shows of the year. The small gallery was dominated by large, blobby fabric sculptures and complex photographs of similar sculptures in constructed spaces. These used a variety of visual techniques to thoroughly confuse the spatial reading of what was being photographed. That complexity and their vivid colors led many viewers to assume the images were photoshopped rather than constructed entirely by hand. Similarly, there’s an engineered confusion to the reading of the goofy, colorful fabric sculptures. Once you understand that the images that are digitally printed on the fabric are some of the only extant images of Arabic women imprisoned, tortured and executed for political or religious views, the cognitive dissonance becomes an important, disquieting feature of the show. The material is quite heavy, and you’re compelled to look deeper.
In addition to their ambitious and intense roster of shows for 2017, W|K hopes to test their business structure in the real world this year. They’re developing a stockholder model that will allow anyone to buy dividend-paying shares in the gallery, the proceeds of which will all go directly into the day-to-day operations of the gallery and support the artist-centric business model. Contact the gallery if you’re interested in becoming a shareholder.”
— article by Ním Wunnan for Oregon Arts Watch
Bozo Mag is pleased to announce, “New Paintings”
by Hayley Barker at Abode.
“These are the faces of spirits and guides, goddesses, and sometimes versions of myself, disembodied, that I meet when I journey. When I meet someone new in shamanic meditation I try to feel them, their energy. I try to discern their faces, and features, but oftentimes am left with little more than a shifting impression of their facial sphere. I may be listening to one speak for a long time, but barely be able to see their face. I feel I know them, even though I cannot fully see them. They are felt, known through not seeing.
Each one tests my ability to discern subtle energies.
When I am scared I tend to want to leave my body, but these guides are teaching me to stay in my body, even when
I cannot see the being right in front of me.”
This exhibition will be on view from Sunday, July 16th, until Sunday, August 27th. An opening reception will be held on Sunday from 5pm to 8pm at 840 North Wilton Place. Opening hours will proceed on every Sunday, from 12pm to 5pm, until Sunday, August 27th.
840 North Wilton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90038
bozomag.com for more info