A Body Among Bodies

Just what IS a body, anyway? A house for the spirit? An object? A moment within pattern? Maybe all of the above? Something totally different? What do YOU think?
The artists included in A Body Among Bodies all seek, in quite different ways, to explore the dynamic of existing as a physical being. Featuring the art of Larry Calkins, Drie Chapek, Dana Mattson, and Meredith Hamm, the exhibit engages the senses and invites the viewer to enjoy delving into their own understanding and experience of being a person in the world, a body among bodies.

About the Curators

Meredith Hamm

Meredith Hamm grew up in the middle of the country’s largest toxic waste Superfund site. In the shadow of “The Stack” (the world’s largest freestanding masonry structure) she lived with toy poodles, made drawings and enjoyed the title of “National Science Foundation Young Scholar”. After attending Rice University, she worked in a London architecture firm, focusing her energies primarily on designing gardeny areas for British secret spies. Since returning to the States, she has earned a BFA from Rice in painting and an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Thanks to a generous grant from Rice, she also studied in Asia during this time, travelling and exploring on her own.  Currently, she takes great joy in writing, drawing, and making strange objects, as well as looking at everyone else’s writing, drawing, and strange objects. She currently teaches a variety of outrageously stimulating classes at The Art Institute of Portland. A friend to canaries and worms, she dreams of riding her bike down the Mississippi, being the featured kazoo player for a holiday Rockettes show, and, of course, being the steward of a miniature horse.

Dana Mattson

Dana grew up in Kirkland, Washington in the 1950’s & 60’s, and graduated from Western Washington University in 1981 with a concentration in Art & Psychology which culminated in a degree in Human Services. Dana has explored a variety of approaches to mixed media, printmaking and painting, often in resonance to the Abstract Expressionist style and Pacific Northwest/Asian themes of her childhood. She was brought up to be involved in the visual arts and dance.

Artists

Opening Reception

Date: Friday, January 25th, 2018 at 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Free to the public. Meet some of the artists and enjoy complimentary appetizers. $5 wine and beer. Free parking is available.

Artwork: Sky Potato by Meredith Hamm, Mask by Larry Calkins, Undergrowth by Drie Chapek, and Untitled by Dana Mattson