Hello everyone,
Please join us tonight at Thirst Wine Bar
& Bistro's new River Room art gallery for complimentary wine, food
and music on the river to celebrate Tamara English's show featuring her Persian Majestic
series of paintings. Please see the following (and attached files) for
more information. This is a free event and open to the public. See you
tonight!
~ Martha
Attached image:
Discovering Exaltation
Oil on Canvas
24" X 36"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 5, 2008 KILL DATE: JUNE 15, 2008
Press Contacts:
Martha Wallulis, Curator & Gallery Manager
mwallulisart@gmail.com
www.mwallulis-art.com
studio 971.255.1385
Leslie Palmer
Owner, River Room at Thirst
503.295.2747
www.thirstwinebar.com
What:
TAMARA ENGLISH
Persian Majestic
Paintings
Where:
The brand new River Room Art Gallery at Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro!
RiverPlace Esplanade
0315 SW Montgomery Street
Portland, Oregon 97201
Dates:
Show runs Wednesday May 21 – Sunday June 15, 2008
Open Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 3-10 pm or by appointment.
Opening Reception:
Wednesday on the Willamette, May 21, 6-9 pm
Complimentary Wine & Appetizers
Live Music by Classical Guitarist Peter Hughes
…
To view more works by the artist, please visit her website at tamaraenglishstudio.com or contact her at tamara@tamaraenglishstudio.com.
…
TAMARA ENGLISH
Artist Statement
Persian Tapestry Series
These paintings are inspired by Persian carpet designs. The wonder and the beauty of the natural
world has always inspired my work, and my fascination with Persian carpets is in part based on
the patterns in the floral carpets as interpretations of aspects of nature. The incredible vocabu-
lary of shape and pattern also continually astounds me, as does the interplay of colors. In Persian
carpets I see beauty that has been created to honor the beauty of nature. So perhaps these paint-
ings are in part about honoring the honoring of beauty.
While the aesthetic of beauty is of interest to me, my focus is on beauty as a quality, as a pres-
ence. Thus it is not so much about what something looks like, but rather about allowing oneself
to recognize beauty; to allow oneself to experience the wonder and divine presence in all things.
In doing so beauty can become a call to action. What we find beautiful will inspire us. When we
commit to taking action on that which inspires us, that which is in our hearts; we become the art-
ists of our own lives, creating beauty in our actions and in the world.
As the thirteenth century Persian Poet Jelaluddin states:
"Let the Beauty you love be what you do."
About the Artist
Tamara English lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her paintings have been
exhibited throughout Oregon, with recent solo exhibitions at The Art Institute of
Portland and Lakewood Center for the Arts. Her work has been featured in group
exhibitions at Mark Woolley Gallery, Launchpad Gallery, and Lakewood Center for
the Arts, as well as exhibitions curated by Brad Atkins, Anne Grgich, Ben Pink, and
Martha Wallulis. Tamara has a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art, where
she won the Charles Carey Life Drawing Prize. Tamara's paintings have been com-
missioned by businesses and individuals in the United States and are collected
throughout North America. In July of 2008, her work will be showcased in a solo
exhibition at Mark Woolley Gallery.
In addition to being a painter, Tamara's background includes fine art, body-
work, art history, psychology, and the philosophical aspect of physics. She has de-
signed and sold her own line of jewelry. Her current and past creative pursuits in-
clude photography, writing, textile painting, ceramics, and music video production.
In the field of video production, she has worked with nationally known musicians
Kathleen Hanna and Nirvana. She also founded and ran a Portland-based record
label, releasing the band Richmond Fontaine's first album.
Tamara is also an artful life facilitator, offering individual sessions and classes.
The purpose of artful life facilitating, she says, is bring a perspective of hope and en-
thusiasm to the process of living an artful life. With the view that we are all the artists
of our own lives, she supports individuals and groups in cultivating creativity to enrich
work, relationships, artistic endeavors, and personal exploration. Her individual
sessions and classes focus on ways to move through what stops us, so we are able to
express the highest vision for our lives. To schedule a session, email Tamara at
tamara@tamaraenglishstudio.com.
Tamara is currently writing a book about the experience of being a professional
artist, with the intention of inspiring artists in their careers.
...
Please see the attached for Tamara's resume and image of her work. See you at the Opening!
--
M Wallulis
Artist. Curator. Vocalist.
Now Representing Fine Artists
check out:
mwallulis-art.com
myspace.com/crimson_3
launchpadgallery.org/crossover
...
What:
NIKKI KRESS
NEW PAINTINGS
New multi-media (oil, charcoal, gouache) works on panel and canvas
Where:
The brand new River Room Art Gallery at Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro!
Riverplace Esplanade
0315 SW Montgomery Street
Portland, Oregon 97201
Dates:
Show runs Wednesday April 23 – Monday May 19, 2008
Open Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 3-10 pm or by appointment.
Opening Reception:
Wednesday on the Willamette, April 23, 6-9 pm
Complimentary Wine & Appetizers
Live Music by Dominic Castillo
…
ABOUT THE SHOW
We are proud to be exhibiting new works by talented painter Nikki Kress. Nikki has created dynamic new works for the show including new oil, charcoal, and gouache mixed media works on panel. Nikki's works are both aesthetically and technically strong, figurative and abstract. Her use of a fresco technique on panel creates a beautifully strong and lush surface, on which she applies organic forms and lush color to create compositions and curvilinear forms which beckon the viewer, inviting the viewer to linger and contemplate the works. Among other things, the work touches on the element and process of transcendence from a lesser state of being, mutating to what appears to be an organic, natural, aesthetically lush, elegant, and refined state.
The selected attached images of Nikki's works are labeled as follows:
img 4107 - 2008 - Untitled - 4'x3' charcoal and oil on wood panel
img 4106 - 2008 - Untitled - 4'x3' charcoal and oil on wood panel
img 4190 - 2008 - Untitled - 2'x2' charcoal and oil on wood panel
img 4186 - 2008 - Untitled - 6"x6" charcoal and oil on wood panel
To view more works by the artist, please visit her website at nikkikress.com . You may contact her at nikkikress@yahoo.com.
…
NIKKI KRESS
Artist Statement
My work deliberately employs conscious, traditional, and innovative techniques. The traditional technique is a Fresco style of paint application, joined with contemporary figurative and abstract subject matter, which is then outlined by soft dark charcoal on hand built wood panels. The charcoal and thin layers of oil colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as they dry.
The subject matter of my figurative work meets the abstract paintings by way of subtext; they work by underlying an often-distinct theme in a particular piece or the body of work itself. The abstract work comments on something natural, referencing some mutation, natural or un-natural. When nature changes (clearly and drastically) around us, how do we notice the difference over the years and through generations? Will we ever fully understand what we've noticed? If so, how quickly can that information and understanding spread? Will we ever catch up with ourselves?
Nikki Kress
--
M Wallulis
Artist. Curator. Vocalist.
Now Representing Fine Artists
studio: 971.255.1385
check out:
mwallulis-art.com
myspace.com/crimson_3
launchpadgallery.org/crossover
generatorgroup.net/art
stay tuned for past and current press releases... be sure to check out Willamette Week's Visual Art Listings by Richard Speer. He is a fabulously talented and witty art writer and critic. Be sure to check out his book on Matt Lamb.