Last week! Galleries open: Tues/Wed 11am-5pm, Thurs/Fri 12pm-6pm and Sat 11am-3pm

Click the image below to view a recording of the Julia Bradshaw virtual Artist Talk, originally live 03/02/22

The Reese Bullen Gallery presents two bodies of work by artist Julia Bradshaw, Stacks and Shapes and Survey.

Stacks and Shapes:

Julia Bradshaw treats photographs as malleable two-dimensional material, creating topographical landscapes and geometric shapes from source-photographs that refer to the fore-edges and top-edges of paperback books. Although outwardly referencing books, the photographs probe the histories, properties and technologies of photography such as the translation of colour photography into black and white. She also uses her photographs of paper-back books as material for endless experimentation. In so doing, she creates an infinite variety of forms and shapes that refer to the original photographed object but evoke a different sensibility: segmented geometrical forms reference her interest in the roots of minimalist abstraction whereas horizontal stacks of books are combined to suggest gently rolling topographical landscapes. In making the work, Bradshaw utilizes a variety of photographic techniques, from historical darkroom techniques to current computer-based photographic imaging.

Survey:

 In examining historical and contemporary astrophotography, I note the aesthetics of the scientific annotations; such as the alphanumeric designations, the mythological proper names of the bright stars, and the descriptions of the image-content. In historic texts, I also note the speculative scientific theories and the florid language of Victorian to mid-century scientific exploration. Formally, I am interested in the indexical information: the fiducial markers, the handwritten observations, the image-joinery, and the overabundance of arrows. I note incursions into the visual picture-frame by the mechanics of the space-ships and that in a stitched-together images (known as photo-mosaics) all photographic data is retained.

Even though I use the aesthetics of scientific images to inform this project, all the artwork in the series ‘Survey’ is created using silver-gelatin photographic processes and rudimentary tools. I use a cardboard box for a camera, and images are manipulated with knives, inks, joins, dyes, and reversals. The simplicity of the materials is a subtle poke at the vast gap between investment in science and investment in art. And by pointing my camera at the most abundant of materials, I aim to empower imagination in conjunction with science

Both space-scientists and artists produce visual material; but one requires extraordinary investment for cosmic explorations, the other explores the extraordinary richness of inner head-space. To a certain extent I see myself as an explorer of my imagination; creating my own maps, diagrams, and places to discover. My intent is to make observations about scientific images and scientific annotations and to create delightful confusion through wit. Thus, I acknowledge the complicated relationship between photography and reality; and the slippage of scientific speculation between reality and conjecture.

More information at juliabradshaw.com

Ka'ila Farrell-Smith is a contemporary Klamath Modoc visual artist, writer and activist based in Modoc Point, Oregon. Focusing on a series of Land Back paintings created in her Modoc Point studio, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith utilizes wild harvested pigments from Klamath lands, aerosol stencils of metal detritus found on the ranch land of the studio. Combined, these marks with harvested wild pigments constitute layers that bridge contemplation of colonizers violence and trauma, offering a matrix for resiliency and transformation of perception and memory. Formally, the works examine improvisational composition and abstract exploration, additional layers of thicker paint utilize text and imagery cited from the artist’s research.

Gallery opens with regular hours Friday March 24th.

Gallery open hours are Wed/Thurs 12pm-6pm, Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-2pm. Closed Sun/Mon/Tues.  Also open via appointment, please contact the Gallery Director at rbg@humboldt.edu, or call 707-826-3629.

Liminal bodies and space showcases two artist's distinct but echoed personal experiences as newcomers to the U.S., illuminating the resulting transformation of their identities, in the physical, and virtual worlds. Featuring the creative work of new media artists Linh Dao and Amanda Stojanov, this exhibition emerges as a response to an elusive sense of belonging in America as others or foreigners. Their works explore the ongoing tension and fluidity within both personal and societal concepts of identity. They share their experience of femme and otherwise marked bodies as they adjust to the process of assimilation and the erosion of their languages, history, and cultures. New technologies are used in conjunction with expressive typography to interrogate marginalized realities, including augmented reality, virtual reality, projections, performance, and interactive experiences. 

In this exhibition, two pieces feature the works of dear friends and collaborators of the principal artists and designers. Living Disruption is a collaboration with Suzan Globus. Amorphous includes significant contributions from Elise Coatney and Chenin Rowe.

Linh Dao + Amanda Stojanov

Lora Webb Nichols, Charles, Mary Jane and Patricia McDonald, 1930

Curated by Nicole Jean Hill

February 15th-March 16th, 2024

Event: 

Curator Talk with Nicole Jean Hill, Wednesday March 6th, 5pm-6pm ArtB 102 (Lecture Hall across from Reese Bullen Gallery.

Nicole will discuss Lora Webb Nichols biography as well as how she and her 24,000 archive of negatives fit into broader Photographic history.

More information on Lora Webb Nichols: https://www.lorawebbnichols.org/learn-more 

More Than a Number: Art From Participants in Cal Poly Humboldt’s Prison Arts Collective Chapter at Pelican Bay State Prison

The Reese Bullen Gallery hosted an Artist Talk with the artists at Pelican Bay State Prison on Thursday February 23rd from 2:30-3:30pm. We will be sharing the talk recording by March 6th, with a link available here.

More Than A Number features more than a dozen artists from Pelican Bay State Prison located in Crescent City CA.  showcased at Cal Poly Humboldt’s Reese Bullen Gallery. The exhibit will run from February 16 to March 11, 2023. The public is invited to visit the gallery during open hours, or by appointment. The exhibition features paintings, papercraft, crochet, beadwork, drawings, and carvings. The gallery also hosts large prints of the murals inside the yard at Pelican Bay State Prison, a chance to see more artwork most will not get to see.

Since Spring of 2021, faculty and staff of the Art Department at Cal Poly Humboldt have worked to develop and maintain a chapter of the Prison Arts Collective (PAC) to offer arts instruction and material support for artmaking at Pelican Bay State Prison. The Prison Arts Collective, a statewide pairing of California State University Art Departments and state prisons, begun in 2013, operates through a belief in art as an inalienable human right. Our institutional partnerships are designed to foster creative self expression in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, such that people who are experiencing incarceration can have access to the transformative power of making and exhibiting art. Over the course of this show,  we have the shared opportunity to showcase the creative endeavors of (PAC) participants at Pelican Bay, bringing their creations outside of that space to a broader audience.

The Reese Bullen Gallery can be found on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus in the Art Building, near the corner of Laurel Drive and B St. in Arcata. The gallery is open Wed/Thurs 12pm-6pm, Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-2pm. Closed Sun/Mon/Tues. Also open via appointment, please contact the Gallery Director at rbg@humboldt.edu, or call (707) 826-3629. Admission is free. Parking information is available at parking.humboldt.edu or (707) 826-3773.

More information on Prison Arts Collective and how to support their efforts at www.prisonartscollective.com/

Please join us for the Opening Reception for "My Black Is..." exhibition with Black Humboldt at the Reese Bullen Gallery at Cal Poly Humboldt Campus. Featuring Nine Artists personal takes on Black Identity. Exhibition run has been extended to December 10th!

More information about Black Humboldt, upcoming events and how to support the organization here: https://www.blackhumboldt.com/

Jamal Ibrahim
Mo Harper-Desir
Lydia Morris
Malachi Arthur
Kassandra Rice
Mia Simone Felder
Karyn Clark
Mykaela “Mickey” Montgomery
Elila Veronikue

Representing over 30 Native artists, Recalling From The Source celebrates creativity within the California North West coast community. With fantastic works ranging from painting, beadwork, regalia, basketry and more. The exhibition is open to viewing starting Friday Oct 14th: Wed/Thurs 12pm-6pm, Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-2pm. Closed Sun/Mon/Tues. Also open via appointment, please contact the Gallery Director at rbg@humboldt.edu, or call 707-826-3629.

The Goudi’ni Native American Arts Gallery is located on the corner of Union St and 14th on the first floor of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Bldg, BSS room 104. More information on campus parking, visit parking.humboldt.edu. More information, photographs and virtual tours of the exhibition will be available at art.humboldt.edu/galleries. Gallery Locations: Ground floor of the Humboldt Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, at the corner of 17th and Union Street. For more information please contact Brittany Britton, Gallery Director at rbg@humboldt.edu or 707-826-3629.

Marlene' Dusek's accompanying thesis "They will always lead you back to your center. oşúun"

View the thesis (pdf)

This exhibition features selections from the 40+ year history of the Permanent Collection Purchase Prize, where one student's work is purchased and added to the HSU Permanent Collection of Art. 

This selection of work showcases the breadth of creativity found in the HSU Art Department across the decades, and the paths these artists have taken after their time at HSU. 

The HSU Permanent Collection of Art can be seen across campus in offices, public spaces, and more.

Featured Alumni Artists are Rebecca Babb, Nathan Betschart, Natalie Covert, Katelynn Kirk, Alexandra Gonzalez, Mary Beth Hanrahan, Tali Koushmaro, Jacquiline Langeland, Maya Makino, Una Mjurka, Mykaela Montgomery, Andrew Ortiz, Elisabeth Perez, Jeff Russell, Susan Shaw, Meredith Smith, Lien Truong, Sara Welge, and Brian Woida.

Los Angeles based artist Dave Young Kim is back in Humboldt County with a newly created body of work for his solo exhibition at the Cal Poly Humboldt Reese Bullen Gallery. Kim is a fine artist, born and raised in Los Angeles. He received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Davis and an MFA in Studio Art from Mills College where he worked closely with renowned painter Hung Liu. 

His current body of work engages with the intangible quality of home and explores themes of nostalgia, war, conflict, and displacement. By interpolating cultural motifs into personal and larger histories of struggle, Kim explores the unifying search for belonging across disparate conditions. In 2020, he co-founded the Korean American Artist Collective (KAAC), a group of artists building community around work rooted in the Korean American experience. In 2021 he was a selected muralist for the Eureka Street Art Fest and in connection with the Eureka Chinatown Project to paint a mural, entitled Fowl, for the newly dedicated Charlie Moon Way area. (Located at Charlie Moon Way and E st Eureka near the backside of the Coast Central Credit Union)

This exhibition features light boxes, referencing storefront displays, with detailed portraits below. Kim states: ”My work plays with that idea of manufacturing nostalgia as integrated with my family history, memory, and identity. My artistic approach is drawn from a sense of loss or longing, looking for a place to belong.”

The exhibition Signs of Passage: Nostalgia and New Beginnings will run from November 8th through December 9th at the Reese Bullen Gallery. We will hold an Opening Reception with Kim on Thursday November 16th from 4:30pm-6pm at the Reese Bullen Gallery, with light refreshments. 

Artist Talk with Dave Young Kim - Friday November 17th, 10am-11:30am ArtB 102, as well as live on Zoom. To join the webinar follow this link: 

https://humboldtstate.zoom.us/j/88397320611

Here at the Reese Bullen Gallery he presents a new body of work based on the above thesis. More information at https://www.daveyoungkim.com/