ARTISTIC VOICES. "Oil/Resist" features the artwork of Janet Essley. Her work portrays the struggle of individuals around the world and the effects of the world’s dependence on petroleum. Essley’s "Alaska" (left photo) is one of a series of portraits created by dabbing used motor oil on paper. Local Iranian artist Hengameh Azadi paints in the traditional Persian miniature style using a three-hair paintbrush to apply watercolor in intricate, delicate designs. Azadi’s "The Beauty of Dance" (right photo) is part of the "Iranian Women Speak Out Through Art" show. (Photos courtesy of the artists)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #3 (January 15, 2008), page 15.

By Toni Tabora-Roberts

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC) is a gem in the Interstate corridor of north Portland. The exhibits on view this month are a good example why. "Iranian Women Speak Out Through Art" features work by Hengameh Azadi and Hengameh Modarresi, and "Oil/Resist" highlights work by Janet Essley. The two shows are on view in both the Main Gallery and the Entry Gallery through January 26.

The Oregon Women’s Caucus for Art helped bring the artists featured in "Iranian Women Speak Out Through Art" to IFCC. Azadi and Modarresi have a lot in common — they both share the name Hengameh, both are painters, and both were born in Isfahan (a.k.a. Esfahan), Iran’s third largest city, which boasts a colorful and important history as a center for Persian and Islamic culture. Despite those parallels, their artistic voices are quite distinct.

Azadi works in a traditional Persian style of painting called miniature. Highly influenced by Chinese and Mongolian art, the history of miniatures goes all the way back to the 13th century. Miniatures illustrated literature, poetry, or romantic works. Though small in size, they were typically highly detailed and elaborate, often depicting epic or mythical stories.

Azadi keeps with that tradition and her pieces portray these traditional stories. Most of her works have a similar composition, usually one or two figures in the center set against the backdrop of various locations. The technique she uses sounds intricate and the effect is rather stunning. She uses watercolor, but they certainly don’t have the typical look of the medium. IFCC’s creative director Adrienne Flagg said Azadi uses a paintbrush that consists of three boar hairs, which explains the incredible detail and delicate brushstrokes that make up her work. Traditionally done on ivory or shell, contemporary practice now uses plastic as the "canvas." The plastic painting is then mounted onto mat boards with colorful, meticulous painted borders. My favorite piece is "Love Story 2," which depicts two lovers in a vibrant, fluid composition that seems to dance upward. Azadi’s work has a definitive Persian sensibility.

Modarresi, known as Gui Gui, is also a painter, but has a much different approach inspired by Pre-Raphaelite styles. Using a bold color palette and painting with broad, expressive brush strokes, Modarresi’s paintings command a different type of attention.

Similar to Azadi, her works depict traditional Persian stories, but Modarresi also includes more contemporary themes and images of Iranian women. One highlight of her work is a more traditionally themed piece titled "Astyages’ Dream." It illustrates the story of Astyages, an ancient Persian king who dreamt that his daughter Mandene had a great vine growing out of her abdomen, symbolizing a son that would overthrow Astyages’ reign. The painting brings the dream to life in a vibrant, energetic representation in one of the more elaborate of Modarresi’s pieces.

"Oil/Resist" is a nice complement to the Iranian women’s show. Janet Essley’s work also portrays stories, but her work is much more politically driven in both form and technique. The show consists of three series of portraits using different materials to express the stories they tell.

"Endangered Species" depicts people "directly affected by the transnational corporate exploration and extraction of oil" according to Essley’s artist statement. In those drawings, Essley covered her finger with a sock and dabbed used motor oil on paper. The process proved so toxic that she had to try a different medium. That led to the "Dark Chandelier" series, which uses a similar technique of dabbing the paint on the "canvas" of tar paper with a sock. This series "shows individuals secondarily affected by our addiction to petroleum and its byproducts." The third, the most vibrant of the collection, is called "Gaia Resists." These paintings are done on large carpet felting, another petroleum product. They portray women activists around the world doing their own forms of resistance.

Each set of pieces has its own lure — the "Endangered Species" works are subtle and almost enigmatic; "Dark Chandelier" includes pieces that are a striking and shiny, in a way, physically representing the slickness of petroleum itself; and "Gaia Resists" is colorful, celebratory, and spirited, lauding the work of a diverse group of international women.

Accompanying all of Essley’s pieces are poems that can be picked up at the gallery entrance and brought along while viewing the work. One of the notable pieces in Essley’s body of work, "Wearing Red, Chana District, Thailand," represents the plight of Chana district villagers in protest of the building of a Thai-Malaysian natural gas pipeline that would destroy their farming and fishing community. Though the issue and situation are grave, the depiction is almost glorious, a vibrant tribute to the people’s resistance.

As a community-based arts organization that strives to build community engagement in the arts and promote cultural awareness, IFCC has invited community members to dialogue about the work. A symposium hosted by the Oregon Women’s Caucus for Art took place January 9 and featured poetry, a panel discussion, and refreshments. An Artists’ Tea, scheduled for January 19 at 1:00pm, will allow attendees a more informal chance to hear the artists talk about their work. Both exhibits run through January 26.

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center is located at 5340 N. Interstate Avenue in Portland. Gallery hours are 11:00am to 6:00pm, Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 4:00pm on Saturday. No admission is charged during gallery hours, but donations are accepted. For more information, call (503) 823-4322 or visit <www.ifcc-arts.org>.