Cliff Notes
Each week, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Christine Miller, Rachel Elizabeth Jones, Sam Hiura, and Nia-Amina Minor pick the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast.
Francesca Capone: A Mother’s Discourse
Nationale, Portland, OR
April 13 to May 19, 2024
I’ve always found textile work to be deeply intimate. The tactile sensation of the soft fabric, particularly with fabrics I’ve collected over time, creates a deeply personal connection to the work. As a textile artist myself, I often obsess over perfect lines and precision in my pieces. However, experiencing other fabric artists’ work has taught me to value the beauty in imperfections and handmade nuances.
Francesca Capone’s fifth solo show at Nationale, A Mother’s Discourse, is narratively built from the intimacy of motherhood. Her work is described as a “soft protest” against the inadequate support for mothers and new families in the United States—weaving together her thoughts and concerns with U.S. family policy in tandem with reflections on her young son’s growth. Capone, both a textile artist and linguist, blends her colorful craft with poignant statements—quotes woven into her pieces from years of collected writings. Accompanied by a book archive, her exhibition intertwines artistic expression with the journey of motherhood while advocating for societal change.
Reflection: What are some feelings you experience when encountering textile art?
V. Maldonado: ojo de águila
Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR
April 18 to June 1, 2024
V. Maldonado’s ojo de águila at Froelick Gallery puts the artist’s personal life on display. The exhibition’s title is fitting, translating to “eagle’s eye” in English, as Maldonado’s large-scale paintings are rendered in a distinctive aerial perspective. Read together, with the expansive canvases, energetic lines, and vibrant hues, the paintings read as a visual diary. As I viewed the multilayered paintings, I was curious if there’s any significance to the color, scale, and figures in relation to Maldonado’s own season in life. Each stroke seemingly outlines chapters of memory, hinting at a hidden imagery recurring within the abstract motifs.
Reflection: Is there a color and shape that you associate with a time in your life ?
Kinke Kooi: The Male Part of the Flower
Adams and Ollman, Portland, OR
April 6 to May 4, 2024
I am easily entranced with intricate small-scaled artworks. There was no shortage of this kind of work in Kinke Kooi’s exhibition, The Male Part of the Flower, at Adams and Ollman. Within the mixed media drawings, the negative space of the surrounding gray walls acts as a galactic backdrop of these mystical and cosmic surrealist paintings. Kooi’s exploration delves into interconnectedness, non-duality, and transformation, creating a sensory explosion within each small drawing. The tension between binary elements—male and female, flora and fauna, sharp and soft—provokes a captivating dynamic. Human and reproductive elements, embellished with 3-D additions like bracelets and stones, add further complexity, manifesting a captivating dance of opposites.
Reflection: Are there any binary elements in your life that you’re drawn to ?
(ie: sweet and salty, sour and sweet, effortless and challenging)