Local artists are merging analysis and aesthetic in a pair of shows at PSU’s Littman and White Galleries.
Remote Events and Vanished Objects, combinations of sculptural and video works by Kyle Thompson and Caitlin Ducey, will show in the Littman Gallery through Aug. 29
Local artists are merging analysis and aesthetic in a pair of shows at PSU’s Littman and White Galleries.
Remote Events and Vanished Objects, combinations of sculptural and video works by Kyle Thompson and Caitlin Ducey, will show in the Littman Gallery through Aug. 29.
In the nearby White Gallery, recent Master of Fine Arts graduate Evan La Londe is showing a collection of drawings in acrylic and print, titled Them Brainwash Days, Those Heartache Nights.
“I draw a lot on all of my fishing experience for work,” said Thompson, who spends the summer fishing season in Alaska on a commercial boat.
His work at the Littman and Ducey, speaks to the nature of water. Two floor-based projectors, mounted side by side, display a running video depicting an aspect of water’s movement by each of the artists.
Thompson’s video follows the individual movement of water molecules, as modeled by a program; Ducey’s streams a close-up of water in motion as seen by the naked eye.
“I see them as being related. I think it’s not so much of a pointed juxtaposition but just the natural differences in the way that we work and what our work is like,” Ducey said. “I think my work is much softer.”
“There’s a pull and a natural, emotional response with Caitlin’s work, and I think that it’s really strong and amazing,” Thompson said. “I don’t think there is with mine, and I think that it’s a really good example of an emotional response and an analytical response.”
The artists’ works interact throughout the exhibition, their first joint showing.
Another ceiling-mounted projection dominates the space’s eastern wall, running a video documenting Thomspon’s recent performance off the shore of Alaska. In it, Thompson constructs a rectangular raft out of plywood and zip ties and travels out to sea. He spends roughly 13 hours on the water, his raft dancing with the ocean’s surface.
Ahead of the projection, Ducey has placed a pair of crafted deck chairs to overlook the performance. On the canvas seating is printed a gradient of color, moving from dark to light up the chair’s surface.
Thompson explained his performance at sea as a juncture of two realities for him: working on water as his livelihood and also a fear of being in water.
“I think a lot of that piece for me was finding the intersection of these two trajectories: one, water promoting life for me, and the other, water making me think about dying,” he said. “Finding that intersection and being able to create an artifice with which to study that intersection is a lot of what that piece was about.”
Down the hall, the White Gallery displays a set of distinct works by La Londe. In a hallway gallery painted plum, a collection of recently completed color and airbrush works on paper decorate the walls. The works feature a vivid palette of colors, some depicting only faintly evident objects. Other pieces show washes of color, or negative-space images in
complementary tones.
“I like to think of them as drawings, mainly because they come from a pretty experimental place right now,” La Londe explained. “I was thinking of making a photogram of an object on paper, and thinking about how the airbrush could give the illusion of light coming across the object.”
La Londe’s work often shows silhouettes of objects. But, he explained, the objects and symbolism are not the focus of the art. Instead, they address memory and dreamlike states. The title of the exhibition, Them Brainwash Days, Those Heartache Nights, taken from a song by the band Joan of Arc, addresses similar themes of memory.
“Literally, what you’re seeing is the periphery of these objects,” he said. “It’s kind of blurry and strange, and not resolved. To have that articulated in the title, in a different way, is important.”
Similar themes run through much of La Londe’s work. Previously a photography teacher, La Londe explained a focused interest on the history of the camera, as well as the nature of how we view things as humans.
“When we’re looking at the world through our eyes, we’re already looking at something that’s been flipped and switched by our brains,” he said. “There are all these things we take for granted in the way we see the world, and a lot of my work tries to unpack that.”
All three artists remain active in the Portland
art scene. Ducey and Thompson run an alternative art space in Northwest Portland called 12128. The space exists on a recently decommissioned boat once skippered by Thompson’s father.
“It’s a boat: It’s isolated; it’s its own existence,” Thompson said. “It does a lot for viewing art…Putting work in that space does that same thing.”
In addition to his own work, La Londe also works as a research intern at Recess Gallery in Southeast Portland, where he helps the gallery curators set up experimental shows. The space exists on a recently decommissioned boat once skippered by Thompson’s father.
“I’m always curious about trying to get a finger on the pulse of startup spaces,” La Londe said. “I think they’re usually the most exciting, because [there are] no rules about what they can do for the programming. But they’re also having to fundraise and make money and figure out how to support it.”
The artists explained that they took the opportunity to try new things and worked on a time budget. But all seemed happy with the achievements and a bustling opening night, which took place Aug. 2.
“We were kind of nervous about showing work together, and the size of the space,” Thompson said. “It’s new work for both of us, so there was a lot of apprehension. But I think we’re both really happy with the work.”
PSU’s Littman and White Galleries present
Remote Events and Vanished Objects
by Kyle Thompson and Caitlin Ducey
Littman Gallery
Them Brainwash Days, Those Heartache Nights
by Evan La Londe
White Gallery
Smith Memorial Student Union, second floor
On view Aug. 2–29
