Companion Species

September 11 - October 23, 2018

Opening Reception: “First Thursday,” October 4, 6-8pm
Artist talk: “Saturday After”, October 6 at noon

Greg Kucera Gallery is pleased to announce our fourth exhibition of work by Portland artist Marie Watt, the artist’s investigation of our cultural relationships with the natural world, animals, and dogs in particular. Works in this show were created at the invitation of the new Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum at Washington State University in Pullman, WA in an exhibition that opened the new museum on April 6, 2018.

“I am interested in how an underbelly is both the soft fleshy vulnerable part of a body, but also how it is associated with dark hidden areas. Lately, I have been reflecting on dogs—canis familiaris—as pets, mythological guides, and first teachers. Companion Species addresses the reciprocal relationship humans have with canines throughout history; this story is one of ignorance, stewardship and reciprocity.”
– Marie Watt

The centerpiece of of the show is COMPANION SPECIES (UNDERBELLY), a large scale sculpture (11 feet tall by 15 feet in length) made of aromatic American cedar. The canine figure makes reference to La Lupa Capitolina, the mythical she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus, the legendary twin founders of Rome. Other works continue Watt’s use of wool blankets and related imagery. The blankets represent a history of being handed down from generation to generation, and the human stories found within these everyday objects as shelter providers and symbols of security. Several works also involve text embroidered and stitched into the surface of the blankets while others are text-based prints and bronze sculptures of the she-wolf image.