Mediums_press

Press Release

Helen’s Costume is pleased to present our 13th exhibition, Mediums, new work by Gemma Browne (Dublin, IRE), Ricky Bearghost (Portland, OR) and Mike Paré (Milwaukee ,WI). There will be a reception at the gallery Saturday April 13th from 2-4 pm. Everyone is welcome.

These three artists are mediums, conduits of “what’s trying to force its way through”. Not hiding. Reverberating agents attuned to the spheres and what's oozing out. Intoxicated by the material as much as the subject “I am merely the instrument”, the fuzzy pumper barber shop, an apparatus ignited by color. This show will feature new weavings by Bearghost and works on paper by Browne and Paré.

Ten glimpses at the median distance

III.

If time’s enough
Rip Van Winkle
sleeping
at the base of a tree
long enough
it taps roots through bone
consuming
while gifting
an effigy of wood
in place of calcium, nitrogen, and marrow

VIII.

Beat back ceaselessly
a well intentioned
patch of english ivy
gardeners struggle to beat back blackbirds
singing
in the dead of night
mocked by starlings
picking over a recently turned field
too asleep to hear

VIIII.

I can't even keep my shoes tied
so I’ll wait to hear
as I braid laces full of cockleburs
one off to either side
they are only sharp in one direction

Chase Allgood

Artist Bios

Ricky Bearghost
Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Ricky Bearghost is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes—the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. In 1970, Ricky moved to Salem, Oregon, and in 1988 he relocated to Portland, where he developed his creative practice at different progressive studio programs including Project Grow, Art From the Heart, Public Annex, and PALS. Over the years, Ricky has become notorious for making vibrant, expressive weavings full of rainbow pony beads and found and scrounged materials. Working on the loom, Ricky commands the cohesive power of warp and weft, drawing color, texture, juxtaposition, language, and chance encounters together creating unique gravitational fields. An active drawer as well, Ricky’s 2D artworks evolve alongside his weavings, often featuring language that proceeds from left to right like skeins of meaning. It’s no surprise that Ricky likes to do word search puzzles in between weavings.

Ricky’s visionary and resourceful textiles have been exhibited at the Portland Art Museum, Lowell (Portland, OR), Webb Gallery (Waxahachie, TX), NIAD (Richmond, CA), Berkeley Art Center (Berkeley, CA), Galerie COA (Montreal, QC), Community Warehouse (Portland, OR), and Artyard (Frenchtown, NJ).

Gemma Browne
Gemma Browne was born in London, England and lives in Dublin, Ireland. She has exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally and has received many awards including from the Arts Council of Ireland. She is represented by Kevin Kavanagh Gallery in Dublin, where she had a solo show titled 'Wallflowers' in March of 2023. She had a solo show at The Lab Gallery, Dublin in 2020 and took part in a film made by the Dock Gallery in the same year. Some shows outside Ireland include' Paper Cuts' group show curated by Kristian Day at Saatchi Gallery in London, 'Faces, Places and Spaces' at New Art Projects, London, 'When Supplies Last' in Seattle and 'Got It For Cheap' curated by Charlie Roberts at Agnes B HQ in Paris and at The Hole Gallery in New York. She has taken part in ARCO Madrid, Athina, Athens, Manchester Contemporary and Atlanta Contemporary art fairs. Her work was featured in Artmaze international art magazine in 2018 and she was selected for the 6th Biennial of Painting with other Irish artists in a show called ' Dubliners' in 2021 in Zagreb, Croatia.
The characteristics of beauty and the use of ornate features and an exuberant palette contrast with undercurrents of disquietude and at turns an almost angry or melancholic edge. Vulnerability and strength are portrayed through the seemingly delicate though defiant demeanor of her young, female model subjects/ dolls/ porcelain and flowers.

Mike Paré
Mike Paré is an artist living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born and raised in Northern California, he has resided in Brooklyn, New York, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. His artworks have been exhibited in the USA and internationally.
Spring 1969: Niles Canyon, California: The Artist is conceived by two teenagers on LSD.
Dec 6 1969: Livermore, California: Altamont Free Concert. Rolling Stones. Hells Angels. The Artist’s teenage father is present.
Dec 8 1969: Daly City, California. The Artist is born.
1974: Niles, California: The Artist first experiences live amplified music at a biker party.
1976: Livermore: The Artist is exposed to ZAP comix.
1978: Livermore: Artist wins his first art competition with a crayon and watercolor drawing depicting scuba-divers and undersea animals. A large-scale drawing of Led Zeppelin followed.
Dec 8 1980: New York City: John Lennon was murdered.
1984: Pleasanton California, the Artist purchases his first Skateboard, a G&S Side Cut. The Artist has his first of numerous encounters with cops.
1984: Undetermined Bay Area location: First punk show. The Dicks and The Crucifucks.
1985: Bassist for Rabid Lassie.
1987: First Grateful Dead Show, Eugene, Oregon.
1988: Bassist for Sachiko Kanenobu.
1992: Oakland: The Artist graduates from the California College of Arts and Crafts with a BFA in Printmaking.
1997: First Solo Show in San Francisco, World Sports, at ESP Gallery
1997: The Artist relocates his studio to New York City.
9/11/2001: Missed 9/11, was out of town in Berlin.
2003: First Solo Show in New York, Black Light Folk Festival, at ATM Gallery. Founded The Joints, a folk rock vocal group.
2004: First Solo Show in Los Angeles, at Mark Moore Gallery.
2005: Guitarist for Roxy Pain.
2006: San Francisco: Thought Forms is published by Seems Press.
2009: The Artist relocates to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
2012: Santa Fe: Given the name Prem Anand Rajan as a devotee of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of New Mexico.
2012: The Artist relocates to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
2014: The Artist’s 2003 text / video piece about tripping in California canyons, Teenage Geography, is adapted for Macmillan’s High School Geography Textbooks in Australia.
2016: Founded Zouz Natural Incense.
2023: Solo Exhibit: Rama Lama Ding Dong at Green Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.