Blackfish Gallery

Christopher Shotola-Hardt’s show “Stanzas” is on view at Blackfish Gallery through Saturday, October 31. About his piece “Spoonbill, No. 2,” he writes:
“When you throw bottle caps into the recycling bin, they are too small to be found by the sensors and they go to the landfill. Use a magnet to separate the steel and aluminum caps, then put the steel caps in a steel can, the aluminum caps in an aluminum can -- but only 1/2 way on each, and crimp the top to secure them, then put the can and caps in your bin. While doing this work, I read environmental impact research on mining practices and how bird populations are affected. Effluents getting into streams is a huge concern and those effluents make their way into environments where waterbirds live.”

Christopher Shotola-Hardt
Spoonbill, No. 2
bottle caps, food carton chipboard, tissue paper & glue, acrylics on salvaged canvas
33" x 33"

In Memoriam presents the creative breadth and ingenuity of Stephan Soihl (1942 - 2026) through an exhibition of the Blackfish Gallery founding member’s most critically significant work. Giving viewers a glimpse into Soihl’s immense artistic life, the exhibition presents a curated selection of his watercolor monoprints, kinetic sculptures, and cast resin pieces.

A Memorial for Stephan Soihl ​will be held on October 25, 2pm at Blackfish Gallery.

Images:
View at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge - VII
Monoprint, Etching and Watercolor
14 1/4” x 26”
2000

View at ‘Perfect Hill’, Perrydale, Oregon - IV
Monoprint, Etching and Watercolor
14 1/4” x 26”
2000

We are pleased to share that Blackfish artist, Noah Alexander Isaac Stein’s work Dim Reflection of Wings of Flame has been selected for exhibition during Paris Fashion Week. It can be seen as part of the exhibition “Spiritual Noir” At the European Cultural Centre - France, 4 rue Piemontesi 75018 Paris, France through October 8, 2026

Join us tonight for 1st Thursday 5 to 8pm at Blackfish.

This October Blackfish Gallery is proud to present the solo exhibition Cosmic Trees by Kanetaka Ikeda and the retrospective of Stephan Soihl, In Memoriam. We are also excited to exhibit the solo shows S’wonderful S’marvelous by Paula Bullwinkel and Stanzas by Christopher Shotola-Hardt.

MAIN GALLERY - Kanetaka Ikeda Cosmic Trees Stephan Soihl In Memoriam

GALLERY TWO - Paula Bullwinkel S’wonderful S’marvelous

JAMES HIBBARD - GALLERY Christopher Shotola-Hardt Stanzas

Exhibit Duration September 30 - October 31

Exhibition Preview and Artist Talk September 30, 6 pm • Christopher Shotola-Hardt

Designing a Painting ADX Fest October 24, 2 pm • Paula Bullwinkel

Memorial for Stephan Soihl October 25, 2026 2 pm

JAMES HIBBARD GALLERY
Christopher Shotola-Hardt: “Stanzas”

PREVIEW & ARTIST TALK TONIGHT (6 to 8pm)

Behind the curious mystique of its avian imagery, Christopher Shotola-Hardt’s new exhibition “Stanzas” opens up a powerful and graceful lexicon of layered themes. Interweaving connected threads of meaning, Shotola-Hardt’s menagerie of bird species engage with environmental crisis and American imperialism while remaining true to the essence their own individual ornithic characters.

While many works draw on Shotola-Hardt’s considerable skill in realist painting, to portray his avian subjects, themes of environmental stewardship are expounded on through use of textiles, upcycled trash, and found objects. Shotola-Hardt likewise turns to lithography, photography, sculpture, and gelli prints, as “Stanzas” embraces the overlapping potential of its multifaceted themes.
– Noah Alexander Isaac Stein

SHOW OPENS TODAY!

First Thursday Artist Reception: October 1 (5 to 8pm)
Show Duration: September 30 -October 31, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday (11 to 5)
Artist Talk - Wednesday, September 30 (6:30pm)

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GALLERY TWO
Paula Bullwinkel: “S’wonderful S’marvelous”

In her new exhibition S’wonderful S’marvelous, Paula Bullwinkel explores concepts of play, both in the sense of theatrical expression, and also childhood activity. Through oil paintings rich with visual narrative and symbolic resonance, Bullwinkel documents mysterious interactions between dolls, children, and animals. Definitive moments of precedence, questions of cause and effect, and the symbolic portent of the figures are enigmatically left to the viewer.

In the mysterious freedom of these hidden stories, where occurrences are suggested without the gauche limitations of certainty, a strange vitality empowers Bullwinkel’s work. This vital freedom is extended to viewers, whose own internal reservoirs of imagination contribute to the works’ potency, and perhaps also to the stories’ outcomes. If a darkness is also suggested, it is never far from a hovering hope that infuses the work with a timely energy.

Bullwinkel has studied literature, photography, and painting in San Francisco, New York City, London, Salt Lake City and Berkeley. She has exhibited widely, including Switzerland, NYC, Brooklyn, New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland, and was recently profiled by OPB Oregon Art Beat.

SHOW OPENS TODAY!

First Thursday Artist Reception: October 1 (5 to 8pm)
Show Duration: September 30 -October 31, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday (11 to 5)

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MAIN GALLERY
Stephan Soihl: “In Memoriam”

In Memoriam presents the creative breadth and ingenuity of Stephan Soihl’s (1942 - 2026) through an exhibition of the Blackfish Gallery founding member’s most critically significant work. Giving viewers a glimpse into Soihl’s immense artistic life, the exhibition presents a curated selection of his watercolor monoprints, kinetic sculptures, and cast resin pieces.

As In Memoriam retrospectively explores the evolution of Soihl’s dynamic range, it evidences the simultaneous regard and pushing of boundaries that characterized his work. While the influence of the Washington Color School is immediately apparent in Soihl’s cast resin pieces, the calm independence of his watercolors and the synesthetic machinations of his kinetic sculptures are easily mistaken as conceptual divergences from this earlier work.

Stephan Soihl’s Celebration of Life will be held at Blackfish Gallery on Sunday, October 25, at 2pm.

First Thursday Artist Reception: October 1 (5 to 8pm)
Show Duration: September 30 -October 31, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday (11 to 5)

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