Opening Reception (artist in attendance)

Friday, March 1
5–9 PM

Painter, collage artist and native Oregonian, Israel Hughes presents new mixed media works that celebrate layers, lines and edges. Motivated by formal relationships of shape, color, texture and visual themes, Hughes has created an ensemble of singular abstract works and series under the rubrics Rome, Railroad and Clock. Hughes’ intuitive process and improvisatory style are informed by visual poetry, New York Dada and a storied history as a theater manager and blues musician. It is no wonder that he developed his current work within a self-imposed constraint of 48 hours per piece, all the while listening to Thelonious Monk and John Cage.

Israel Hughes was a founding member of 12×16 gallery, a Portland collective from 2005-2017, and the erstwhile blues band, Portland Zoo. He attended San Francisco Art Institute and Cornish College of the Arts before graduating from Western Oregon University. He lives in Portland with his wife, the photographer Lee Ann Slawson.

Left: Israel Hughes, Untitled, 12 x 9 inches, 2019, Mixed Media.

Israel Hughes, Untitled, 14 x 12 inches, 2019, Mixed Media.

Israel Hughes, Untitled, 10 x 9 inches, 2019, Mixed Media.

Israel Hughes, Untitled, 4 x 6 inches, 2019, Mixed Media.

Israel Hughes, Untitled, 4 x 6 inches, 2019, Mixed Media.