Clark College Announces Spring Programs At Archer Gallery (Photo) - 04/16/26
New Exhibit, Artist in Residence, Art Talks and Workshops Offered
VANCOUVER, Wash.— Archer Gallery at Clark College is hosting a new exhibit and a slate of public programs, including an artist-in-residence and Art Talks in April and May. All events are free and open to the public. All events will take place on Clark’s main campus at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. All art talks will take place in the Penguin Union Building, room 161, on the college's main campus, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way in Vancouver. Light refreshments will be provided. Directions and maps are available online.
Located on Clark’s main campus, Archer Gallery serves the students and community by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. Archer Gallery exhibits work by nationally and internationally renowned artists and connects the Clark College community with accessible and diverse perspectives from the contemporary art world.
Clark Art Talks hosts a monthly art lecture series for students and the community. Distinguished artists and art scholars from around the country share their experiences related to their art practices and provide unique insights into their varied career paths and artistic techniques. For more information about our exhibitions and art talks, and to watch videos of past art talks, visit archergallery.space.
Find details at Archer Gallery (clark.edu) or https://www.archergallery.space/upcoming-art-talks.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Nan Curtis
Nosh with Nan: Topic-driven conversations and light lunch with art food made by Clark College Culinary Program: 11 a.m. –2 p.m. on 4/21, 4/28, and 5/5
Closing Reception: May 6, 12–4 p.m. at Archer Gallery
Artist website: https://www.nancurtis.com/
Archer Gallery Director Kendra Larson explained why Curtis was chosen as artist in residence: “Nan Curtis was chosen to be our 2026 Artist in Residence because her work is of the highest caliber and she has experience designing and organizing dynamic workshops for post-secondary students. We are excited to welcome her to our community.”
Nan Curtis received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Wooster. Curtis’s practice is interdisciplinary, mining site, home, and personal narrative to reframe what can be considered mundane. Major exhibitions include Mira Costa College, San Diego; DiversWorks, Houston; Tacoma Art Museum; ConsolidatedWorks, Seattle; Linfield College, Oregon; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Elizabeth Leach, Williamson/Knight, Fourteen30 Contemporary, NINE, and the Art Gym in Portland.
Read more about Nan Curtis here: https://www.clark.edu/news-and-media/24-7//news-posts/nan-curtis-brings-sculptural-arts-to-archer-gallery.php
CLARK ART TALKS
Larson said: “For the Clark Art Talks, I have invited artists from a variety of media, backgrounds, and experiences to share their work with our community. Each of these professional artists have unique histories and will share personal stories of artistic struggle and success with Clark students. As a student studying art, it is extremely valuable to hear how other artists have carved out careers for themselves.”
Miel-Margarita Paredes
Art Talk: April 30, 1–2 p.m. in Penguin Union Building room 161
Artist’s website: www.mielmargarita.com
Miel-Margarita Paredes is a metalsmith, jewelry maker, and stop-motion puppet skeleton builder. She is known for her work on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), ParaNorman (2012), and The Boxtrolls (2014). She was born in Suva, Fiji, where her neighbors owned a pig named Houdini because of his frequent attempts to escape into the mangrove swamp. Memories of that large, smelly animal and the delicious dinner he became have stayed with Miel through her adult life, where she studied metalsmithing at California College of Art and Craft in Oakland and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Her metalwork incorporates the animal figure and traditional ornamental devices to interpret the ways in which we humans manipulate our environment to suit our needs, deconstructing and reconstructing both inanimate and animate objects. She lives with her husband, two children, two cats, six fish, and is growing a wildflower garden outside her home studio window in Portland, Oregon.
Bonnie Paisley
Art Talk: May 4, 10–11 a.m. in Penguin Union Building room 161
Artist’s website: www.bonniepaisley.com
Bonnie received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design and her Master of Fine Arts from Portland State University. She is the owner of Paisley Studios, a community fine art studio in Portland, Oregon, that offers grounding support to artists of all skill levels through visual art instruction and an affordable membership program for womxn artists.
Anya Roberts-Toney
Art Talk: May 7, 1–2 p.m. in Penguin Union Building room 161
Artist’s website: www.anyarobertstoney.com
Anya Roberts-Toney's oil paintings and works on paper explore feminine power and desire for connection with a feminine-charged landscape. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Portland Art Museum and Soho House, has been presented on Platform (a David Zwirner Project), and has been exhibited locally and nationally at locations including Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Dust to Dust Projects, La Loma Annex, Nationale, The Portland ’Pataphysical Society, the Office at Russo Lee, Somos Gallery, and Stephanie Chefas Projects. She is a winner of the Hopper Prize, a recipient of both a Photography Documentation Grant and a Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission (with additional funding from the Ford Family Foundation), and a recipient of the Stumptown Artist Fellowship.
Anya received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Brown University and her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Originally from Seattle, WA, she lives and works in Portland, OR, where she is represented by Nationale.
Dan Attoe
Art Talk: May 12, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. in Penguin Union Building room 161
Artist’s website: www.westernehibitions.com/artist/dan-attoe/
Dan Attoe’s paintings depict natural wonders — waterfalls, beaches, mountains, rocky cliffs, oversized forests — populated by tiny figures spouting even tinier diaristic missives, painted in silver and culled from the artist’s stream of consciousness. The miniature humans disrupt the grandeur of nature with their small stature and utterances. His drawings share the same concerns but inverted — the phrases and disconnected images are larger and often cartoonish, creating small-scaled narrative vignettes. Attoe makes a small drawing every day that he keeps for himself — slightly larger drawings and paintings expand upon this practice.
John Motley observes in The Oregonian, ”Multiple drawing styles reinforce the varying perspectives on youth and childhood, from pure, storybook fantasy to a less-innocent complexity, where fear and sexuality mingle.“ Attoe said of his work, “The landscape can be enjoyed for its beauty, and the disparity between it and the figures, but it also exists in service to these contemporary people in funny or ordinary clothing saying everyday things about emails or engaging in interpersonal clumsiness.“ Dat Attoe‘s recent shows include Glowing River at The Hole in New York, Recent Landscapes at Half Gallery in New York (reviewed in Artinfo), Landscapes with Water at Peres Projects in Berlin (reviewed in Frieze Magazine), and Dan Attoe at Fourteen30 Contemporary in Portland (reviewed in Art in America). He has been in numerous group shows in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe. He worked with and was part of the inspiration for a line of clothing by fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2011. Attoe is also one of the founders of Paintallica, an artist collective that has presented performative installations across the country, as well as Barneys New York and the Iowa State Fair.
Dan Attoe’s work has been written about and featured in Artforum, The Los Angeles Times, Art Review, The Journal, Flash Art, Berlin Art Journal, PAPERMAG, and The New York Times. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin in 1998 and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 2004. He is represented by Western Exhibitions in Chicago and Peres Projects in Berlin. Born in 1975 in Bremerton, Washington, Attoe grew up in parts of Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and now lives and works in Washougal, Washington.
Mae Al-Jiboori
Art Talk: May 19, 10–11 a.m. in Penguin Union Building room 161
Artist’s website: www.blackfish.com/maeal-jiboori
As a self-taught artist and painter, Mae creates highly abstract faces and figures with enigmatic undertones that challenge traditional notions of beauty and representation. Mae is drawn to the human condition and thought-provoking art that forces its viewers to perceive differently, to evoke something within. Mae does not aim to create ”high” or traditional art, or what is already out there, but to challenge one’s emotions by displaying what is felt in an expressive yet physical medium. The image is all-powerful, not solely by the creator, but by the viewer invited to consume the raw and visceral nature through creation. By subverting conventional expectations, Mae hopes to inspire reflection and perspective through distorted faces, surreal bodies, and lost gazes.
All Are Welcome: Clark College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution. Learn more at www.clark.edu/nds.
Clark College expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran or military status, citizenship, immigration status, or use of a trained guide dog or service animal in its programs and activities. Learn more at www.clark.edu/nds.
Accommodations: If you need accommodation due to a disability to participate in this event, please contact Office of People and Culture, Melody Williams at MWilliams@clark.edu or (360) 992-2432. Please make requests as early as possible to ensure appropriate arrangements can be made.
About Clark College
Founded in 1933, Clark College is Southwest Washington’s largest public institution of higher education. Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. This public community college offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves almost 10,000 students including high school students, veterans, displaced workers, multilingual and mature learners. About three-quarters of its students are the first in their families to attend college.
Clark’s Fine Arts Program
Clark’s Art/Fine Arts program invites students to explore creative expression through a wide range of artistic media. Taught by professional artists and instructors with advanced degrees, courses provide a supportive environment for students to develop their skills and pursue their artistic ambitions. Whether students are beginning their journey or expanding their talents, students can choose from courses in painting, drawing, ceramics, photographic and graphic design. Learn more about Clark’s Art/Fine Arts program here.
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