My Private Property (borrowed from the Mary Ruefle collection and short prose piece by the same name)

"I may not have been a writer at sixteen, but I was most emphatically a dreamer, and felt deliriously happy to be free..." (pg.56) 

In a contemporary context heavily inundated with and advanced by the art of commodification, what does the making of work rooted in honest connection and authentic self-perception continue to be? This open call would like to consider work generated at the intersection of new media and craft - artwork that is made with intention, with careful hands, and that speaks to a collective experience. 

Given a current attention economy heavily concerned with optics and speed, the influx of pre-deterministic AI generated content is challenging our traditional understanding of creative capital. Do these advanced systems of building offer further creative freedom, or serve as barriers to the intuitive process of art-making? This open call is looking to explore both novel and innate thresholds of crafting and consuming, in response to contemporary climates around artistry. What forms could those avenues of expression embody, and how are they symbolic of our innate connective threads? 

This open call is asking - as both individuals and as makers, when does your work feel most deliriously free and true?  

Deadlines

Call Opens: December 21st
Call Closes: January 29th (11:59pm PST)
Notification of works accepted/declined: Feb 12th
Install: February 27th - March 3rd
Exhibition: March 4th - March 26th, 
Opening Reception: March 4th, 6-9pm
Deinstall: March 26 after 5pm  

About the Curator

Luiza Lukova is a curator and arts writer whose work engages the intersection between language and visual story-telling as a way of shaping and reframing one's personal narrative. Lukova is the co-founder of homebase, a non-traditional backyard gallery space which operated from 2019-2021 and has produced exhibitions and public programming in conjunction with One Grand Gallery, Nationale Gallery, Well Well Projects, Power to the Dreamers (now UndocuPDX), and Art From All Angles Festival. Luiza Lukova was born in Razgrad, Bulgaria before immigrating to the United States; she is currently based in Portland, OR.

About Carnation Contemporary 

Carnation Contemporary was founded in 2018 by a collective of Portland-based artists who champion critical and contemporary artwork. We are a cooperative gallery supporting emerging and mid-career artists working in all mediums.

Our gallery is located in a 750 sq ft exhibition space on the side of Oregon Contemporary, which is a major contemporary arts venue located in North Portland Kenton district and home to the Portland Biennial.  

Visit our website www.carnationcontemporary.com to learn more.

Application Requirements

Materials Requested

• Brief Statement of Intent (Please explain how you see your work/process relating to the open call)
• 5 - 10 work samples or 10 -15 pages of text for written works
• Artist CV

When submitting images please provide any contextual or technical information related to your work. Include title, year, media, and dimensions for each image. For video/audio work, upload one still per artwork and provide youtube or vimeo link in details.

Applications will only be accepted via CaFE. No physical application materials will be considered.

Shipping Work 

The artist is responsible for all shipping arrangements and costs, including insurance during transit. 

Upon acceptance, work will need to be received no later than Feb 26th.

All work shipped must include a prepaid return shipping label and must be sent in reusable cartons/ crates.  Works submitted without this label or a reusable carton or crate will not be returned.

The gallery will assume no responsibility for any damages incurred during shipping.
 

Eligibility Criteria

• None