Our Favorite Artist at Gallery 114
Founded in 1990, Gallery 114 has been a constant beacon of individuality and artistic freedom in Portland’s Pearl District. Most member run, cooperative galleries are lucky to last two years before the infighting and squabling tear them apart, so it is a testament to the member artists that the gallery has continued to be a vital part of Portland’s art scene. The gallery has also avoided the complacency of some co-ops, and the work on view is consistently of high quality and relevant to our region.
So, on to our favorite artist, Kimber Shiroma. She is, of course, our favorite, because she works with us here at Utrecht, where she is known as the Queen of the Count, and the God of Galkyd, among other things. I was lucky enough to see one of the Robert Motherwell’s series, “Elegy to the Spanish Republic”, while on a business trip to Philadelphia, and came back to Kimber’s show with the painting fresh in my mind. Her work was impactive, to say the least. Looking at her large scale paintings, one can see a continuity with the history of abstract expressionism, but she clearly adds to the tradition. The addition of fabric and hair, which are glued to the surface of the canvas, are not readily visible from a distant viewing, and as you are drawn in there is a paradoxical attraction/repulsion that goes on. They imply an underlying complexity to all things, something visceral and filamental about nature. They are beautiful paintings, and, like humans and other living organisms, they are constructed of things that, when explored too closely or squeezed too tight, make one go yuck.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I saw Kimber’s work, as well, and loved it.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
PORT reviewed Kimber’s show here: http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2007/08/entropy_and_eme.html
a very promising painter.