Art Galleries

This content was published: April 10, 2023. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

Parallel Exhibitions: April is the Cruelest Month by Jeff Leake and FROM: TO: by Mana Mehrabian

Cascade Paragon Arts Gallery

On the left, a painting of a landscape with a giant mushroom and human figures on a hill. On the right, a photograph of brown flat objects that look like frames hanging in a row on a wall.

Images: (left) Jeff Leake, Phantasm, 2021, oil on wood, 28” x 30” (image courtesy of the artist), and (right) Mana Mehrabian, detail of Fragile: Handle With Care, 2022, handmade paper from shipping boxes on photo frames, 13” x 80” x 2” (image courtesy of the artist).

April is the Cruelest Month by Jeff Leake and and FROM: TO: | :فرستنده: گیرنده by Mana Mehrabian

  • Exhibition dates: April 21 – June 3, 2023
  • Opening events for both exhibitions and Artist talks: Friday, April 21, 2023, 5-7pm, 6pm artist talks
  • “How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative” with artist Jeff Leake and his colleague Neuroscientist Dr. Bill Griesar, Saturday, May 20, 2023, 2-4pm
  • Gallery hours:
    • Wednesdays – Fridays, 12-7pm
    • Saturdays, 12-5pm

Paragon Arts Gallery at PCC Cascade presents two parallel exhibitions: April is the Cruelest Month by Jeff Leake in our West Gallery and FROM: TO: | :فرستنده: گیرنده by Mana Mehrabian in our East Gallery. Visual and interactive, the exhibitions offer oil paintings, works using paper, sculptures, photography, and videos. The exhibitions reflect on cultural narratives: Jeff Leake’s paintings inspire storytelling, and Mana Mehrabian’s art explores concepts of home, memory, migration, and identity.

Please join us for a reception on Friday, April 21, 2023, from 5-7pm with talks by both artists beginning at 6pm.

Public programming continues with a NWNoggin workshop “How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative” with artist Jeff Leake and his colleague Neuroscientist Dr. Bill Griesar, Saturday, May 20, 2023, 2 – 4pm. A presentation on the neuroscience of how our brains create meaning through narrative will be followed by hands-on art activities and actual brain specimens to observe. Open to folks of all ages.

All events are free and open to the public.

April is the Cruelest Month by Jeff Leake

Presented in the Paragon’s West Gallery, Jeff Leake’s oil paintings delve into the intersection of human behavior and cultural ideals, examining how they shape relationships with others and the natural world. In this exhibition, Leake focuses on the impact of storytelling on human relationships and the complex interplay between cultural narratives and human interactions. By exploring the motivations behind idealized images and the influence of storytelling on our sense of self and identity, Leake encourages viewers to gain a more nuanced understanding of how cultural narratives shape our interactions with others. Visitors are invited to reflect on their own experiences and perspectives, and to consider the impact of cultural narratives on their understanding of themselves and the world. The exhibition aims to foster greater empathy and understanding and a more complex and nuanced understanding of history.

Join Jeff Leake and his colleague Neuroscientist Dr. Bill Griesar for a NWNoggin workshop “How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative,” Saturday, May 20, 2023, 2 – 4pm. A presentation on the neuroscience of how our brains create meaning through narrative will be followed by hands-on art activities and actual brain specimens to observe.

Jeff Leake writes,

T.S. Eliot’s epic poem “The Waste Land” begins “April is the cruelest month”, and among other things, this poem uses a series of stories to explore the human condition and a sense of psychological dislocation in modern society. The paintings presented in this exhibition delve deeper into the impact of storytelling on human relationships. As an artist, I am deeply invested in exploring the ways in which human behavior and cultural ideals intersect and shape our relationships with each other and the natural world. I believe that art has the power to challenge and complicate dominant narratives that often perpetuate idealized versions of history, and I strive to use my own art as a means of exposing the gap between our ideals and actions. The paintings in this series offer unique perspectives on the power of storytelling to shape our understanding of the world and our place within it. – Jeff Leake

About Jeff Leake

Jeff Leake is a Portland-based artist with a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from the University of California at Davis. In addition to art, he works with neuroscience faculty at Portland State University to teach art and neuroscience. In 2012, Jeff and Dr. Bill Griesar started NW Noggin, an art and neuroscience outreach group that teaches about the brain and behavior through art, everywhere from K-12 schools to Congress. Leake has shown across the United States and internationally, earning multiple awards and grants, including the Arte Laguna prize, Ford Foundation Golden Spot award, grants from the Oregon Art Commission, and Regional Arts & Culture Council. He has been an artist in residence at Caldera Arts, UCROSS, the Montello Foundation, Pedvale Art Park in Latvia, and the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai. He is currently represented by Gallery 114 in Portland and Ying Gallery in Beijing.

jeffleakeart.com
Instagram: @jeffjamesleake

FROM: TO: | :فرستنده: گیرنده by Mana Mehrabian

Mana Mehrabian writes,

FROM: TO: | :فرستنده: گیرنده is informed by my experience of being in a transition state, living in between two cultures and places: the labor of adapting to one while living far off from another. Employing mundane objects and materials, this body of work explores concepts of home, memory, migration, and identity in relation to photographs and images. The works feature connections through mediated communication — such as screens, shipping boxes, and handwritten notes — where bodies, memories, and places unite across boundaries and distances. This becomes a reflection on a personal yet collective experience. – Mana Mehrabian

About Mana Mehrabian

Mana Mehrabian is an interdisciplinary artist, born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and currently living in eastern Washington. In her photographs, installations, and video works, she explores the role that images play in our communication and visual consciousness and reflects on ideas of perception, identity, memory, home, and the body. Mehrabian has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. She is a recipient of the 2022 Artist Trust Grants for Artists’ Progress (GAP). In parallel to her work as an artist, she works as an independent curator and an educator. Mehrabian received her MFA from Washington State University, where she currently works as an instructor.

manamehrabian.com
Instagram: @manameh

About Paragon Arts Gallery

Paragon Arts Gallery is an educational showcase committed to exhibiting work of high artistic quality. Our versatile gallery is located at 815 North Killingsworth, at PCC’s Cascade Campus. Mindful of our role as a member of the Humboldt community, we are especially committed to engaging community members in our space.