The Joker is Wild | Midori Hirose

 

May 7 – 27, 2015 | Littman Gallery

Reception: Thursday, May 7, 2015 | 5–8pm

Curated by Will Elder

In alchemy, materials transform from base metals into precious ones. Midori Hirose’s work investigates similar phase shifts, exploring material changes, both perceived and actual. As Hirose investigate and alter materials, she works to identify their structural polarities and absolutes, playfully exploring the elements of forms that concretize, reveal, or catalyze their different states. The chaos of the natural world and the assumed order of the built world are formal dynamics that Hirose seeks to express and understand through materials. Hirose calls her relationship to this history “material storytelling.” She sees her sculptures as three-dimensional illustrations that investigate and engage with this basic dichotomy.

For the series, The Joker is Wild, Midori Hirose investigates the primal aspect of play. Through her usage of jute, wood, clear acrylics and gouaches, Hirose captures a dimension of the primitive and of humor.

Midori Hirose is a multi-media artist who lives and works in Portland, Oregon, USA. She’s exhibited at PDX Contemporary Art, The Lumber Room and featured in East/West Project, Berlin, Germany. Her work was also included in Weirding and Uncanny at the Newberg Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland and in Supernatural, curated by Arnold J Kemp for the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art. This is the second edition of The Joker is Wild. The first was performed with a full cast at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop on Sat, March 21, 2015.

Performance with special guest Rattledick. Music for the high strung.