First Look Exhibit
I joined Gallery 114 in October 2025, along with a cohort of four other fantastic women. Along with learning the operations and needs of the co-op gallery we had just joined, we learned that we would need to start planning for our new member group show in February - just a few short months away!
We decided that our exhibit would be five individual shows, dividing up the gallery to showcase who we are as artists.
Now, you might assume that five strangers with strong opinions planning an exhibit together would be stressful - but I can assure you, it was anything but. We knew we had to plan and execute quickly, and we all just worked together to create our vision and figure out what we needed to make it happen. Nobody shied away from sharing their opinion, and nobody shied away from raising their hand for a job. We had positive energy, forward momentum, and the confident understanding that we were a powerhouse group of women artists ready to introduce ourselves to Gallery 114’s audience.
Exhibit Statement
This exhibition marks a moment of arrival—the start of a fresh conversation between artists, audience, and place.
Gallery 114 has long been committed to experimentation, collaboration, and artistic independence. The artists featured in First Look extend that legacy through work that is diverse in medium, process, and perspective, yet united by a shared seriousness of inquiry. Across abstraction and representation, material exploration and conceptual investigation, each artist brings a singular visual language shaped by lived experience, curiosity, and sustained engagement with their craft.
The artists in First Look bring dynamic, thought-provoking work that expands the already robust roster at Gallery 114, introducing new perspectives, materials, and lines of inquiry into the cooperative’s evolving conversation. This exhibition offers a glimpse into how these new voices are actively shaping and enriching the gallery’s creative landscape, extending the gallery’s range while honoring its foundation.
First Look celebrates the vitality that new members bring to a cooperative space: fresh questions, new energies, and expanded ways of seeing. We invite viewers to spend time with the work, to look closely, and to join us in welcoming these artists as they begin this next chapter at Gallery 114.
Artist Statement
I’ve been exploring abstract shapes as part of my coursework at a local ceramics studio, playing with scale to create wearable ceramics as well as a collection of ceramic tapestries. My art in Gallery 114’s First Look exhibit continues these explorations in scale, and incorporates elements from the smaller jewelry pieces into larger installation work.
To create my ceramic pieces, I hand-drew a variety of abstract shapes and had them 3D-printed into clay cutters of different sizes, which I used on slabrolled stoneware clay. I chose a soft palette inspired by PNW winters - creamy white, seafoam, lichen, and a dark golden honey - with textures that spark interest and invite viewers to take a closer look.
My vision for First Look was to continue blurring the line between sculptural art and jewelry, combining necklace chains and other components with larger ceramic shapes to create installation pieces; and mimicking my ceramic tapestries in the form of statement necklaces that would be as stunning on someone’s neck as on display in their home. I’ve been especially intrigued by seeing how far I can take these shapes - from ceramic tapestries to exploring larger installation works; from small earring charms to more elaborate statement necklaces, bolo ties, and brooches; from sculptural and display pieces into more functional items like the tic-tac-toe games.
Angela will be donating all of her proceeds from the First Look exhibit to Hands Off Portland; a local, Latina-run organization that provides essential mutual aid for the community, including safety kits for anti-ICE rapid responders; setting up a food and diaper drive for families who are afraid to leave their homes; and organizing pizza delivery to protesters.
