Linfield Gallery will feature talks by artists Modou Dieng and Devon A. VanHouten-Maldonado Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. in the Nicholson Library, Room 127.
Dieng has collaborated with VanHouten-Maldonado on “An Interactive Installation,” an exhibit that draws inspiration from a history of heroes and antiheroes in Mexico and Senegal. The exhibit examines the way history is represented in a contemporary context in the information age.
Viewers are asked to interact with the work using a provided lens, in order to investigate cultural history and ethnicity using contemporary tools. A clash of digital and analog cultures determines a hybrid aesthetic of history and ethnicity, the artists say.
ARTISTS
Modou Dieng is a Senegalese artist now living in Portland who uses mixed media, painting, photography and installation to focus on issues of race, social status, gender, urban history and belonging.
Dieng has exhibited in galleries and museums in Los Angeles, Brussels, Paris, New York, Madrid and other cities and was listed as a Critic’s Pick on Artforum.com, based in New York City. He is an assistant professor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), the oldest full-time art school in the Pacific Northwest, and is founder and curator of Worksound Gallery, a laboratory for creative experimentation in Portland. Dieng received his BFA from the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Senegal, in 1995, and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006. Watch Dieng at work.
Devon A. VanHouten-Maldonado lives and works in Portland, Ore. In the first several years of his young career, he has exhibited extensively, with a focus on alternative spaces and community activism. VanHouten-Maldonado has been involved with important local projects such as These Prison Walls. He has also been involved in international projects such as Global Studios in Dakar, Senegal. In 2012, VanHouten-Maldonado created The Bunker, an alternative art space dedicated to experimental exhibitions.
The exhibit will run from Feb. 11 to March 16.
LINFIELD GALLERY
Exhibitions of regional, national and international stature are on view throughout the academic year in the 1,500 square foot space at Linfield College. Patrons can expect challenging shows that exemplify diverse approaches to the practice of contemporary visual art. Exhibits are organized by Linfield Gallery Curator and Director Cris Moss.
All exhibits are free and the public is invited. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is located in the James Miller Fine Arts Center on the Linfield College campus (map), at 900 Baker Street SE in McMinnville. Ample parking is free. For more information, call (503) 883-2804 or visit Linfield Gallery online.