Elizabeth Malaska: In the Shadow

Wilding Cran Gallery is pleased to present In the Shadow, an exhibition of new works by Portland-based artist Elizabeth Malaska.

Through her creative process, Elizabeth Malaska explores the metaphysical universe of the soul in an effort to puncture and uncover Western patriarchal perspectives of identity. The works featured throughout In the Shadow serve to illuminate systems of kinship and empathy between humans, plants, animals, and man- made objects. Whether rendering reflections of moonlight on water, a patchwork blanket, a discarded shoe, a solitary swan, or a mirror with no reflection, the series of four oil paintings flit between portraiture and still-life, figuration and surrealism, to allegorically unravel notions of subjective embodiment, animism, and the shadow self.

Across her body of work, Malaska pulls influence from traditional painting, mythology, nature, literature, internet screenshots, and images from modern advertising. The subjects, themes, and stories explored throughout her work are the byproduct of what the artist describes as a “homeless consciousness.” It is this nomadic sense of identity that allows Malaska to absorb and ruminate upon the ways in which our emotions, relationships, and surroundings imprint upon us, weaving threads of connection between humanity, spirituality, society, and the natural realm.