OPENING RECEPTION
THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2025
5-8 PM

ON VIEW
JULY 13 - AUGUST 16, 2025

FOR INQUIRES
Please contact hello@chefasprojects.com

PRESS

Chefas Projects is excited to welcome back Lisa Congdon for The Way Through, a solo exhibition of 40 new paintings and a series of limited edition serigraphs.  

In the final months of 2024, Lisa Congdon underwent two knee replacement surgeries to correct severe osteoarthritis. During her long and painful recovery, she turned to a daily sketchbook practice, creating collages as a way to process the experience. The ritual became an essential tool for navigating her healing journey, gradually evolving into a vibrant body of work.

Over time, approximately 80 collages were created. As an homage to the profound experience of healing, Congdon transformed half of the collages into paintings - each one honoring the original compositions while carefully preserving the irregular cuts, slivers of negative space, and tactile evidence of her hand. These elements echo the vulnerability and resilience of her recovery process. The Way Through is a tribute to the power of art as medicine.

The opening reception for The Way Through will take place at Chefas Projects on Thursday, July 17 from 5-8 pm. Located in Portland, Oregon, at 134 SE Taylor Street on the first floor of the Taylor Works building, Chefas Projects invites the public to explore this unique exhibition, which will be on view through August 16.

Lisa Congdon (b.1968) is best known for her colorful, graphic style and her exploration of themes of joy, liberation and inclusion. She makes art for clients around the globe, including The Library of Congress, Target, The U.S. Postal Service, Wired Magazine, Amazon, Google, Smith Optics, Warby Parker, Method, Comme des Garcons, Peets Coffee, REI and MoMa, among many others. 

Congdon exhibits internationally, including solo shows at Saint Mary's College Museum of Art (California), Chefas Projects (Oregon) and Paradigm Gallery (Philadelphia), along with group shows at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles, Museum of Design Atlanta and The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. 

Congdon is self-taught and didn’t achieve momentum in her career until she was nearly 40 years old. Despite her untraditional path, Congdon has achieved recognition, not just as an artist, but as a leader in the industry for her work in social justice, mentoring and teaching. In March of 2021, she was named “One of the 50 Most Inspiring People and Companies According to Industry Creatives” published by AdWeek. 

ARTWORK

INSTALLATION IMAGES

© CHEFAS PROJECTS
Photo credit: Mario Gallucci