EMILY WISE
HAIR OF THE BANSHEE
JUNE 14 - JULY 13, 2024
OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY, JUNE 14th, 2024
5-8 PM
ON VIEW
JUNE 14 - JULY 13, 2024
FOR INQUIRIES
Please contact hello@chefasprojects.com
Flexible installment plans are available upon request
PRESS
Opening Night Photos
Chefas Projects is thrilled to present the return of Portland painter Emily Wise with her latest collection of work Hair of the Banshee.
Inspired by myth-making and the relationships women build with themselves and each other, Wise uses the act of painting as a way to imagine, explore, and interrogate the existence of a sacred feminine space. Bursting with an electric palette of lush, perhaps imagined botanicals, bodies and landscapes, her paintings explode with dizzying layers of detail aimed to access invisible realms through familiar forms. In each body of work, Wise weaves a surreal, overarching narrative as the viewer follows her protagonists on their journey of self through otherworldly terrain.
In Hair of the Banshee, Wise invites the viewer on a surreal journey alongside three sisters as they venture into uncharted territory in their quest for answers to the long-standing mysteries that have haunted their family for generations.
Growing up amidst the captivating tales spun by their grandmother, the sisters were immersed in the lore of banshees—a distant echo of their heritage. However, with their grandmother's passing, a lingering question persists: was she merely the guardian of these Irish legends, or could she have been the very banshee she so vividly described?
Driven by the unmistakable scent of canned sloppy joe (a dish their grandmother could never master) and the distant melody of a solitary harmonica, the women slowly approach the enigmatic border that separates myth from reality, where the spirit of their grandmother now resides.
Emily Wise (born 1988, Baltimore, MD) received her BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR, where she currently lives and works. Wise's paintings explore female archetypes that blur the line between reality and the surreal. A feminine connection to fable has existed throughout human history, as the female form pops up again and again in myth and monster tales alike. Storytelling binds us together and informs who we become as much as our bloodlines do, and the intermingling of these forces can create beautiful mystical realities.
The opening reception for Hair of the Banshee will take place at Chefas Projects on Friday, June 14th, 2024, 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 July 13, 2024.
ARTWORK
© CHEFAS PROJECTS
Photo credit: Mario Gallucci