This exhibition by Mieko Takamae includes a collection of both old and new ”eh-teh-ga-mi” picture letters. This year, Mieko welcomes 93 years of life. Inspired by everyday life, she finds beauty in simplicity and nature. Her work teaches us to take a moment to appreciate the small things around us and be grateful of each new day. She hopes viewers can find a sense of peace through her art.
Owen Tucker, Gold 1, collage on paper
Fieldwork is a collection of collages made with found materials, colored papers, hand-drawn patterns, and shiny garbage. Aside from focusing on subjects found out in “the field”, the images are geometric explorations of the two-dimensional field.
We all experienced 2020 in different ways. This exhibition documents decontamination efforts for covid-19 from March 16 to December of 2020 from the perspective of the service technicians.
Jenny Irene Miller, Pulling (together), 2023, archival inkjet print, 20 x 16 inches
How to skip a rock is a visual poem about relations and the magic found within queerness that is both tender and active. Within these cyclical connections are imagination, admiration, and the sharing of knowledge.
jennyirenemiller.com
Joshua Demain, Play Place (detail), oil on copper, 12 x 18 inches
My artwork navigates scenes I encounter from everyday life in Alaska. Ranging from magnificent sunset cityscapes to glorious natural landscapes, these paintings reflect the inherent grandeur of local Alaskan scenery. My goal is to convey the message that beauty is everywhere, and often where we least expect it.
Scott McDonald, Love charm (ex-voto) 1, 2024, mixed media on synthetic paper, 11 x 14 inches
What I do best is keep working and letting things happen. I called this show Guided by Voices because that’s sort of how the process works. I work intuitively and I try not to second guess my intuition. To me, being an artist means working in private and letting things happen–finding surprises, experimenting, showing up, not mediating, not censoring. It also means being vulnerable and presenting what happened.
scottmcdonaldart.com
This annual exhibition features new work from the gallery's membership community. This year, 66 artists included over 100 artworks for exhibition.
Artists included: Sami Ali, Meg Anderson, Fred Anderson, Christina Barber, Elizabeth Belanger, Audrey Berg, Barbara Bigelow, Kayo Bogdan, Rheanne Bouchard, Albert Bowling, Randall Carlson, Sally Carr, Sharlene Cline, Kate Danyluk, Joshua Demain, Connor Duffy, RJ Fontaine-McHendry, Astrid Friend, Rachel Gebauer, K N Goodrich, Patricia Grenier, Paul Hanis, Deborah Hansen, Lyndsi Harris, Judith Hoersting, Valerie Jaimes, Jody Jenkins, Susan Johnson, Arlitia Jones, Yulia Kalagaeva, Amanda Kelly, Sandra Kleven, Matt Klinn, Susan LaGrande, Petra Lisiecki, Emily Longbrake, Linda Lucky, Bert Mattingly, Iryna McCoskey, Tehya McLeod, Amy Meissner, Erica Miller, Diane Melms, Richard Murphy, Karen Olanna, Jacob Paiz, Nancy Perry, Nathan Perry, Tami Phelps, Elizabeth Pohjola, Marcia Pratt, MaryBeth Printz, J. Reto, Alex Rydlinski, Mikhail Siskoff, Lauren Stanford, Christine Sundly, Shoko Takahashi, Sandra Talbot, Irina Tova, Kathy Vail-Roche, Ron Viol, Jen Wang, Lee Waters, Lily Weed, and Xochiyollotl.
Photos by Hans Hallinen
I have always been curious about better understanding my extended family, a large and generally disconnected bunch, many of whom I have photos and faint memories of, but no strong ties. As I've grown and learned more about my family’s history, I can recognize how many of these connections were lost. Domestic violence, substance use, and unresolved trauma play a large part in the lack of connectedness we have towards one another. I’m especially interested in how that shapes the experiences of my grandmothers, mothers and myself.
My sweetest memories are associated with celebrating, cooking and eating. The women in my life are, by and large, the ones who continue to pass down these traditions. Our relationships with food are similarly complicated to our relationships with one another. Everything shared, taught, internalized. Not only how we make food, but how we eat it, how we talk about it and about our bodies. What we shouldn’t eat because we're trying to be “good”. What we make when we’re hosting a party, when we’re struggling to pay the bills, when someone we love is sick. Socialized to provide comfort and tender care for others, often at the expense of showing tenderness towards ourselves.
The process of making this work allows me to reflect on the relationship and stories I have of the women in my life. Using food and everyday objects, this series of work serves as an abstracted matrilineal family tree.
Photos by Hans Hallinen
Thank you so much to the folks that attended Jade's paper quiltmaking workshop - and to Jade for creating this experience for everyone!
Photos by Hans Hallinen
Within society we are taught that expressing too much of our inner workings is shameful. We must hide all the ugly parts of ourselves in a dark room, paint our faces, and show to everyone we are happy, and healthy. When the darkness comes creeping out, there are hushed tones and changes of the topic. In my experience growing up, there was always this creature hidden in the shadows, not knowing what that feeling is and why it haunts me. Many people grow up also not understanding what lurks inside them. I was told that that's life, suck it up, and carry on despite the pain of this invisible force weighing down, crushing you. For so long mental health issues weren’t taught or discussed. It has put isolating barriers up in relationships with family and friends. After years of walls built up around me, I have torn them down piece by piece. I made myself be raw with my emotions with my loved ones. Through sculpting with ceramics it has allowed me to depict for them how things feel. I have been able to process and come to terms with my own experiences and be better understood by those I care about.
This exhibition documents the struggles and invisible feelings we fight with everyday. I’m able to portray the many aspects of mental illness with animals as subject matter by utilizing their characteristics and animalistic nature that is unique to that species. I silhouette each of these animals in an ornate frame, in order to highlight the beautiful parts of ourselves that we have survived through, almost like a trophy of what we overcome. Through my work I hope to initiate an open discussion about what is considered a taboo topic. Invoking specific emotions that others might not understand, to bring people together to be vulnerable and raw with their struggles, feelings, in order to realize they aren’t alone and it isn’t something to be ashamed about.
Photos by Hans Hallinen
State Proof : the printing of the matrix to see where one is - to see the state of things. State Proof is a juried exhibition of prints by Alaskan printmakers currently making work. It reveals where printmaking is in the state of Alaska, but also, like the state proof, it shows us where we need to go.
This is the second edition of State Proof and has been organized 5 years since the first edition. The exhibition is curated by Joe Carr, Karinna Gomez, and Jonathan S. Green.
Artists included in State Proof: Kyle Agustines (Fairbanks), Susan Andrews (Fairbanks), Alice Bailey (Fairbanks), Mia Barrett (Fritz Creek), Mandy Bernard (Homer), Sasha Bitzer (Fairbanks), Michael Conti (Anchorage), Katie Ione Craney (Haines), Kevin Crowley (Anchorage), Joshua Demain (Anchorage), Andrew Demma (Anchorage), Bryce Nicolasa Foks (Anchorage) / Crystal Worl (Juneau), Donna Goldsmith (Anchorage), Mariano Gonzales (Chugiak), Deborah Hansen (Anchorage), Megan Henry (Anchorage), James Heumann (Juneau), Rhonda Horton (Wasilla), Yumi Kawaguchi (Fairbanks), Scharine Kirchoff (Anchorage), Will Kurucz (Coldfoot), Carol Lambert (Anchorage), Ethan Lauesen (Fairbanks), Emily Longbrake (Anchorage), Tehya McLeod (Fairbanks), David Mollett (Fairbanks), Jessy Moreland (Anchorage), Jennifer Moss (Fairbanks), Karen Olanna (Anchorage), Rebecca Poulson (Sitka), Arisa Sasaki (Fairbanks), Todd Sherman (Fairbanks), Sara Tabbert (Fairbanks), Shoko Takahashi (Anchorage), Kristin Vantrease (Anchorage), Jesse Venable (Fairbanks), Holly Winkelman (Juneau), and Alica Wolter-Hausser (Anchorage).
Meditations on light and shadow, and the compression and expansion of space. A collection of objects created with digital manufacturing methods, software, and traditional techniques.
Artists included: Deiniol Avery Ballais, Elizabeth Belanger, Rheanne Bouchard, Kelly Brabec, Sally Carr, Xochiyollotl Carrow Harbison, Mike Conti, Katie Ione Craney, Lloyd Crow, Joshua Demain, Don’t Trip, Connor Duffy, Suzanne Dvorak, Araya Flowers, Pedro G. Quintana, chava g0th, Rachel Gebauer, Jenna Gerrety, Donna Goldsmith, Karinna Gomez, Mariano Gonzales, Carolyn Gove, Deborah Hansen, Megan Henry, Bill Herman, Judith Hoersting, John Jenkins, Susan Johnson, Yulia Kalagaeva, Amanda Kelly, Scharine Kirchoff, Sandra Kleven, Matt Klinn, Taylor Lee, Emily Longbrake, Linda Lucky, Jessica Maldonado, Eliana Marin, Bert Mattingly, Tehya McLeod, Poppie-Fae McNair, Richard Murphy, Aileen Page, Carlos Pereira, Nathan Perry, Tami Phelps, Alex Phillips, Elizabeth Pohjola, j. Reto, Elka Schapira, Jade Shakera, Mikhail Siskoff, Lauren Stanford, Andriana Strezoski, Hope Studios, Shoko Takahashi, Sandra Talbot, Meneka Thiru, Sharon Trager, Owen Tucker, Ron Viol, Lee Waters, and Benji Wrede.
Still from The Forager by Lara McAllister, 02:48
Here we focus on the fluidity of life and death: depicting a lone forager in the woods and her surprising harvest. Shocking visuals playfully juxtaposed by calming, ethereal music illustrates the complex paradoxical relationship between life and death. To live one must consume death.
Yulia Kalagaeva, Yaroslav the Wise: 1031 Year Old Legend, charcoal, 26 x 32 inches
I’ve always loved stories: the old legends, myths, and histories, as well as the new everyday life experiences and events. I find it fascinating how these stories — some universal, some unique — overlap through our lives to create who we are as individuals. This exhibition is a collection of (mostly) charcoal portraits that depict my perception of a person and the stories within. I like to think of them as extracts of biographical anthologies.
Sandra Talbot, But They Are So Beautiful (Crepis and Leucanthemum), 2023, archival ink printed on metal distressed using steel artifacts collected in the Aleutian Island Archipelago, 21 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches. Imagery is from photographs of metal collected from the site, locale photographs, and digitized field press collections of the invasive Crepis tectorum and Leucanthemum vulgare collected from the abandoned NSGA military site, Adak, Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
To the medieval mind, the Order of Nature was reflected in the ‘typical’ form and function of natural phenomena. Anything rupturing this order—the novel, rare, capricious, uncanny ‘sports,’ monstrous objects brought back from distant lands—filled Wunderkammers (cabinets of curiosities), the precursors of herbaria and natural history collections. These uncanny sports evoked not only a sense of wonder, but collective discomfort, and even terror, as well. Such discomfort, even collective terror, resides in the minds of many contemporary researchers and conservationists when faced with the spreading of alien species into novel environments.
I participated in 20th and 21st century scientific expeditions to remote, treeless, windswept islands of Alaska’s Aleutian Island Archipelago and allied island groups where landfall was made during the Bering Expedition. These islands remain largely uninhabited, yet almost all have endured negative ecological impacts associated with military, cattle ranching, fox farming and other (western) human activities during the 19th and 20th centuries. Following years of research solely on native plant species, during which introduced plants rarely occurred in our vegetation study plots, I noticed the transition of introduced plant species into invasiveness. That is, they have traversed the threshold between ‘introduced’ and a state wherein they expand into and alter a novel environment.
The eradication of invasive plants, difficult even in easily accessible places, is less likely each year as the invasives’ ranges increase on these islands. As such, invasive plant species are liable to continue impacting indigenous plant communities, eventually becoming integral (likely dominant) components of the islands’ vegetation communities. Given a parallel to western colonial expansion into Alaska, these invasive plant species can be viewed as proxies for human expansion and community disruption. Many of the common invasive plant species on these islands—among them, the ox-eye daisy, the dandelion, the bird’s-foot trefoil and several hawksweed species—are characterized by changeable taxonomic nomenclature, morphological variability, and varying ploidy levels. For example, on Simeonof Island, in the Shumagin Island group south of the Alaska Peninsula, the ox-eye daisy is subject to relatively high levels of fasciation (see The Pleasure of Natural Sports). Via morphological variability, hybridization and ploidy, these invasive plant species obscure the boundaries of classical Linnean nomenclature, and via invasiveness breach the ecological boundaries of long-established indigenous plant communities. They are “boundaryless plants.”
This exhibition presents a Wunderkammer of alien, strange, unwelcome and/or unidentifiable (and sometimes beloved) plant species to draw attention to the presence of invasive plant species in far-flung islands of western Alaska. The Wunderkammer includes photographic imagery, including of herbarium specimens collected on the islands, printed on steel plates distressed using iron artifacts also collected on the islands, and cast aluminum or bronze and various artifacts in repurposed commercially-made boxes. Four prints featuring imagery of dandelions include digital imagery generated using artificial intelligence, a technology that increasingly evokes a collective discomfort, even terror, in contemporary minds but also forces us to examine the boundaries of human intelligence and creativity.
Stephen Gray, Roogalator, mixed media
In my current body of work I have used contemporary and nostalgic toys reconfigured to form strange new creations. Stuffed animals and mechanical toys have been disassembled and rearranged in order to transform them into a new mythology. The cartoonish nature of these materials lends itself to the creation of an imagery that can be both humorous and perverse. Stylistically the work is in the tradition of comic grotesque. The grotesque functions as a metaphor for the incongruous nature of the human condition, comedy says that which is true that you would do anything to deny is true. A subversion of an idyllic vision of nature, the beautiful and the ugly, the humorous and the tragic are inextricably interwoven, creating associations that exude a fascination with a world that explains itself in contradiction.
The Alaska Photographic Center (APC) is a statewide organization formed in 1983, with a mission to promote fine art photography in Alaska. Each year APC seeks out a nationally recognized artist to jury the Rarefied Light show and present a public lecture and workshop. Rarefied Light is Alaska’s largest annual fine art photography exhibition. This year they received 391 entries by 65 artists.
Guest juror Jennifer Spelman, Santa Fe, selected 46 photographs by 35 artists for inclusion in this year’s exhibition.
Best of Show is awarded to: Dennis Walworth, Anchorage, “Floating on Feathers of Frost”
In addition, Jennifer chose 6 pieces for the honorable mention award.
Brian Beckwith, Eagle River, “Nova Ascends”
Loren Holmes, Anchorage, “Sled Dog Crossing”
J. Jason Lazarus, Fairbanks, “Vasquez Rocks, Agua Dulce, California”
Richard Murphy, Anchorage, “Bird Creek Ice”
Kevin Smith, Anchorage, “Kivalina Road 1”
Kerry Tasker, Anchorage, “Intersect”
Following the Anchorage exhibit, the exhibit will travel to the Bear Gallery in Fairbanks, showing December 1st to December 23rd, with an opening reception on December 1st from 5-7pm. The show will then exhibit at Kenai Peninsula College, January 18th to March 7th, 2024, with an opening reception January 18th from 4:30-6pm.
Learn more about the APC at their website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Rarefied Light is funded in part by a grant from the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Image: Dennis Walworth, Floating on Feathers of Frost, inkjet print on paper, 19 x 23 inches
I paint outdoors from life almost every day, and doing so I have witnessed the seasons changing, from the marsh grass growing back in the spring, to the cattails shedding their feathery seeds in the winter, to the bend of a thick branch under the snow load. These paintings reflect the beautiful changes I have witnessed around me, each piece painted on site. However, while this show is outwardly called “Season of Change," inwardly I also had a season of change.
I turned 50 in 2022, entering the autumn of my life. Suddenly while painting from a spot on a marsh, I felt wholly connected to autumn and begrudged winter. And what a long winter we had, with relentless snow and dark days. The decaying leaves, the broken branches, the migrating birds, all of them suddenly speaking to me in a different way than I had ever heard before. Winter is on the horizon.
Part One: Stand Still
This series of 15 landscapes was painted from the same vantage point over a period of 13 months. The paintings aren't meant to be maps of the landscape but rather an expression of the constant evolution of change around us. While we go about our daily lives, so do the birds, the trees, and even the water. If we ever stood still, this might be what we would observe.
Part Two: Autumn
These paintings of Potters Marsh in autumn comfort me as I enter the autumn of my own life.
Part Three: In Everything
Everything has a season of change. And for many living things, there is a final season.
www.samialiart.com
Instagram @sami_paints_
Gerald Dubie, Window to Matisse, colored pencil and collage, 10 x 7 inches
Math to Matisse: A Journey 1940-2023 reflects artist Gerald Dubie’s lifetime interest in the visual world, connecting these works with his love of math, music, and his drive for discovery. He found Matisse on that journey after years working in black and white, and then carefully adopted color and whimsy, following the master’s lead. These works are personal reflections of a life intensely led.
Statement by Beverly Dubie
This exhibit is Gerald Dubie’s private collection of the art he created during his life in Alaska, 1966-2023. Gerry passed February 17, 2023.
Gerry came to Anchorage as a math teacher in 1966 for two years and stayed, as a teacher, a university instructor, a tennis champ and coach, and a manager at the state court system.
He acted in local theatre, sang in community choruses, wrote poetry, captained a boat and built a remote cabin. Grateful he made Alaska his home.
He also responded to these experiences by producing some of the works you see in this exhibit. Most are not titled because, not expecting them to be publicly shown, Gerry did not name them. He shared some of his work in progress with friends but most were created privately in response to a particular time, idea, feeling. He said he shifted his energy and competitive drive to creating, responding to life circumstances that ignited ideas he sought to make concrete.
Gerry worked primarily in pencil and paper. For years, starting with the drawing of the skull, he limited himself to black and white, including the large work that won honorable mention at Alaska Methodist University Juried Art Show in the late 1960’s, and other abstract works reflecting his love of math, especially geometry.
Then, Gerry decided he would carefully, slowly enter the world of color and during that journey discovered artist Henri Matisse and was hooked! He permitted himself to experiment with movement, color, shape and produced several of the works in the exhibit including “Window to Matisse”.
Gerry spent meditative weeks after his daughter’s death in 2000 drawing line after careful line to create “Earth is the Place…”, remembering a view from an airplane ride they shared.
“Lavender World” emerged after a particularly meaningful trip to France and “Sails in the Sky” is a tribute to the beauty of Gerry’s cabin on Kasitsna Bay.
Gerry also saved lots of discarded stuff - old bottles, scraps of wood, tinfoil, metal and surprised himself with whimsy, his sculptures “Bottle Rearrangement”, “Halibut On The Go”, and “Perky Critters”.
Gerry would be surprised his work is being shown, thanks to Ted Gardeline and the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, and would be grateful and honored you are here to share part of his life. Thank you for coming.
Contemporary British Painting (CBP) is an artists collective of over sixty members, founded by Robert Priseman and Simon Carter. The group is run entirely by volunteers from within the membership. It's a platform for contemporary painting in the UK "seeking to explore and promote critical context and dialogue in current painting practice through a series of solo and group exhibitions [in the UK and beyond]." CBP also facilitates the donations of paintings to art collections, galleries, and museums in the UK and around the world. In 2016 The Contemporary British Painting Prize was founded, an annual prize promoting the best of contemporary painting produced in the UK.
To learn more about CBP and their member artists visit www.contemporarybritishpainting.com.
