First Thursday Exhibitions & December Programs
In-Person Happenings at Blue Sky
Dec 2 - 31, 2021
image © Rachel Papo
image © Sonia Lenzi
First Thursday, December 2
Join us for extended evening hours from 5 - 8 PM.
Join us as we celebrate the opening of Rachel Papo’s exhibition, It’s Been Pouring: The Dark Secret of the First Year of Motherhood, and Sonia Lenzi’s exhibition, Take Me to Live with You.
Blue Sky is pleased to announce It's Been Pouring: The Dark Secret of the First Year of Motherhood, an exhibition of photographs by Rachel Papo. Rachel Papo subverts the romantic notions of motherhood as she shares the very real condition of postpartum depression that she and others experience. By documenting contrasting and visceral feelings through photographs and journal entries, Papo builds awareness of something that often goes unnoticed or is misunderstood. It’s Been Pouring sets out to capture the voices of mothers in their darkest moments. This collection of photographs and interviews shines a direct light on their experiences, exposing the unbearable tension that exists between the miracle of birth and the horror that follows, leading the viewer through a narrative of despair.
Blue Sky is pleased to announce Take Me to Live with You, an exhibition of photographs by Sonia Lenzi."I have always loved visiting the homes of others, not so much to see how people lived their daily lives, but in order to understand them better, and in my turn feel accepted by them, becoming part of their lives." Sonia Lenzi's latest project, Take Me to Live with You, offers up an archive of collective relationships of the people, history, culture and values of Italy. Lenzi brings us into the homes of elders, photographing their spaces, objects, and selves with the desire to recall personal memories and provide lessons for future generations. Lenzi was drawn to certain elders who embody her parental ideal, acting as stand-ins for the relationship she yearned to have with her now deceased father.
image © Rachel Papo
Saturday, December 4: Rachel Papo Artist Talk
1 - 2 PM at Blue Sky. For the health and safety of the artists, Blue Sky staff, and attendees, we are limiting the number of attendees at the talk. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Rachel Papo (American-Israeli, American Born, b. 1970) was born in Columbus, Ohio and was raised in Israel. She began photographing as a teenager and attended a renowned fine-arts high-school in Haifa, Israel. At age eighteen she served in the Israeli Air Force as a photographer. She earned a BFA in Fine Arts from Ohio State University (1991-96), and an MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City (2002-05). Rachel's photographs are included in numerous public and private collections, and have been exhibited and published worldwide. She is represented by ClampArt Gallery in New York City, and has published two monographs, Serial No. 3817131 (PowerHouse Books, 2008) and Homeschooled (Kehrer Verlag, 2016). She has been selected as a finalist for the "Santa Fe Prize for Photography," and was awarded a NYFA Fellowship in 2006. In 2009, Rachel won a Lucie Award for "Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year." She lives with her husband and two children in Brooklyn, New York, working on personal projects and accepting commissions.
image © Sonia Lenzi
Wednesday, December 8: Sonia Lenzi Artist Talk
6 - 7 PM at Blue Sky. For the health and safety of the artists, Blue Sky staff, and attendees, we are limiting the number of attendees at the talk. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Sonia Lenzi (Italian, b. 1964) is a photographer and visual artist. Her artistic practice adopts an interdisciplinary approach and revolves around interrelated themes, concerning identity, memories of people and places, mortality and gender. She uses photography to investigate, establish and recreate social relationships through signs, symbols and gestures. She graduated initially in Philosophy at the University of Bologna, then from the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts with a degree in Painting, finally graduating in Law. Her photographic project, ‘It Could Have Been Me’ (2015), was shown as an installation at Bologna High Speed Railway Station and presented at MAMbo, Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, ‘Lares Familiares’ was performed in Naples and first exhibited at the Archaeological Museum (2016), and then at the Italian Cultural Institute in London (2019). ‘Last Portrait’ was presented at the Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths College, University of London (2019). She lives and works in Bologna and London.
Saturday, December 11: Portfolio Walk with 2021 PNW Drawers Artists
1 - 4 PM at Blue Sky. For the health and safety of the artists, Blue Sky staff, and attendees, we are limiting the number of attendees at the talk. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The Gallery Portfolio Walk is Back! Participating Drawers Artists will be on hand at the Gallery at various times throughout the day to talk about their prints and offer an inside look at their creative process. Many prints are for sale and it’s a perfect moment to give the gift of photography, while supporting Northwest Artists! Can’t make it into the gallery? Visit our website to read up on the artists, see their work, and call us to purchase work—all from the comfort of your own home!
Blue Sky Holiday Hours
11/24 - 12 - 5 PM
11/25 - CLOSED
11/26 - 27 - 12 - 5 PM
12/23 - 12 - 5 PM
12/24 - 25: CLOSED
12/31 - 12 - 5 PM
1/1 - CLOSED