On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at 11.30 a.m. Joseph Gallivan talks to artist Gina Wilson, whose show Quiddity is at the Russo Lee Gallery until Sept. 27. Willson talks about the essence of herself as in “quiddity”, her choice to make spontaneous images and leave traces of her corrections as part of her creative process, and the difference between making her 3D work, ceramic vessels, and 2D wrk, which are semi abstraction in paper, board and fabric.
From the press release:
Russo Lee Gallery is pleased to present quiddity by Gina Wilson. This exhibition is an intimate exploration of form and feeling. Each piece in this new body of work stands as a journey, a narrative of self where Wilson searches for beauty across dimensions both seen and felt. A true polymath, Wilson “wears many hats,” weaving aesthetic, physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and even mathematical threads into her works. Comprised of several mediums including ceramics, works on paper, works on panel, and mixed media on fabric, her pieces are more than static objects—they are living dialogues between artist and material.
Gina Wilson is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Chicago, Illinois. She earned her B.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and later completed her M.F.A. at Portland State University in Portland, OR. Over the past 47 years, Wilson has exhibited extensively in both solo and group shows. Her work has been featured at the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the University of Oregon, and Clackamas Community College in Oregon. Wilson’s work is held in numerous private and corporate collections including ArtColl Trust, Bellevue, WA; Central City Concern, Portland, OR; Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI; and Harsch Investment Corporation, Portland, OR; as well as in the public collections of the Boise Art Museum in Boise, ID, and the Portland Art Museum in Portland, OR.
https://www.russoleegallery.com/exhibitions/gina-wilson8
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Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune and for Axios Portland. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available lightly used.