the semi-finalist is: brenda mallory

Brenda Mallory was recently awarded a 2022 Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts.

 Proximate Parcels
​2019, Deconstructed thread spools and cores, 70" x 34" x 4"
photo by Mario Gallucci

I find Brenda Mallory’s sense of craftsmanship to be endlessly appealing, in part because it never wades too deeply into the still and sterile waters of perfection. She instead opts to explore the swiftly moving stretches of a twisting river that brims with life and unpredictable currents. Mallory’s process is rigorous and exacting, but her finished products retain a handmade sensibility that is both idiosyncratic and graceful, equal parts animated and refined. Even when her work veers towards geometric abstraction, Mallory avoids the outer extremes of austerity and instead puts her energy into breathing new life into old objects, a process she refers to as “disruptions.” It’s an undertaking that is as much about a creative alteration as it is about telegraphing an optimistic take on humanity’s ability to mend what’s been broken. The treasures she creates out of rejected scraps are the result of hours of dedicated labor; they are also evidence that we can transform physically and conceptually. Through Mallory’s work I see a path forward that involves both caring for what was once neglected and placing what was previously discarded at the center of an essential conversation about our collective future. On top of all that, her work is just beautiful.

When I visited Brenda Mallory’s studio in NE Portland, it quickly became clear that she’s a natural raconteur who effortlessly narrates the story of her life and work with an uncommon command of details and nuance. One of my goals with the Semi-Finalist interview series is to create a space where artists get to talk about their work on their own terms. Mallory makes that easy and this month I'm honored to present my interview with her. In it she talks about her Cherokee roots, making do, materials, process and more.

Photos without credits are by me.

Brenda Mallory in her studio with a piece from her iconic Reformed Packings series (honeycomb paper, paint, encaustic) and a detail.

The Semi-Finalist: Brenda, let's jump right in. Can you talk about any formative experiences in your life that had an impact on your work and career?

Brenda Mallory: Growing up in Oklahoma as a child gave me an awareness of truly living in the land.  My dad was a farmer, a hunter, a gardener. My grandfather was a beekeeper and also fished a lot so there was always good food on our table. We  butchered our own meat, grew and canned a lot of our own food, gathered wild greens and mushrooms. We were pretty broke most of the time I think, but I didn't really know that. Living with those resourceful, scrappy relatives who truly held things together with baling wire informs who I am to this day.  Visiting Oklahoma feels like a very different time and place to me now, but then it was a rural existence that left a bold mark on who I am and my visual language.
In the 1980s I got a degree in Linguistics and English at UCLA.  After that I worked as a preparator at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was an exciting experience to handle the work of artists like Bourgeois, Nevelson, Hesse, Kounellis, works from Arte Povera movement - artists who I now consider big influences on my own work.

Reformed Packings #27(Emergent)
2022, honeycomb packing sheet, paint, encaustic, 18" x 18" x 2" 
photo by Mario Gallucci

S-F: So much of what you do involves the transformation of ordinary objects (and sometimes literal trash) into objects of beauty. Where did the concept for this come from and how did your process and style develop?

BM: I like the challenge of working with literal trash and found materials.  It's like alchemical magic when something goes from looking like trash to become compelling, beautiful, "valuable".   If it still looks like it came from the dump when I'm done, then I don't think I've succeeded. The idea that an object has more than one use, more than one life in it is what appeals to me. I talk sometimes about the idea of "making do" with what you have on hand as a survival technique - and in the bigger picture, that "making do" isn't only about objects - it can be about learning a new place as displaced immigrants have to do, learning new plants and weather patterns, new ways to function in a new society to make a place your home.  Some of this comes from thinking about the Cherokee side of my family with the history of forced removal from historical homelands to an unfamiliar place.  Resourceful people turned what no one else wanted (at least until they did) into a new home.

Above: Scraps in Mallory's studio that will inevitably have more than one life.
Below: Seeds embedded in handmade paper (WIP).

S-F: During my visit to your studio you expressed some frustration with one of your unfinished pieces and casually mentioned your desire to make it “sing more.” Later you stated that for you the studio is a place where “meaning is emerging.” I love that evocative language in reference to form and content. Can you describe what you mean by “singing” and “emerging” in relation to your work?

Brenda Mallory in her studio.

BM:  In that particular red piece I was talking about, I did end up repainting it and adding two bands of black.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what is going on formally that it is better now - maybe it was too much of the same thing before without enough variation.  Or maybe there was too much variation!  Perhaps these bands of black became an organizing device.  I like to think of my work as complicated minimalism.  There's so much going on in every piece, but it's often a repetition of the same shape or form - like a field of wheat.  It's lively, full of motion and variety, but really just a field.

Works in progress in the artist's studio.
"...the patterns, the repetition, the material richness are all compelling aspects in the same way an ocean view is pleasant, or a box full of blueberries." 

S-F: At a time when a lot of art is overtly engaged with social and political themes, your work remains largely abstract. Talk about that.

BM: I think a lot of information can be found in abstraction and I think it engages your brain in ways that allow for nuances and multiple interpretations. I'm not interested in the "overt."  There are definite social and political themes in some of my work, but maybe it's not obvious at first glance or without reading my statement or without knowing my history.  That said, I think any viewer can access my work in some way - the patterns, the repetition, the material richness are all compelling aspects in the same way an ocean view is pleasant, or a box full of blueberries.  But some of the ways I put things together (the hog rings, the nuts and bolts, the obvious seams) are unexpected and a little "wrong", and those elements move the pieces  out of just the "pleasant-view" realm and cause questions to arise.

Reformed Packings #23 (Star)
2022, Honeycomb packing sheet, paint, encaustic, 32" x 32" x 2.5"
photo by Mario Gallucci

Firehose Experiment #3
2015, deconstructed linen firehose, paint, threaded rods, nuts, 24" x 28” x 3”
photo by Mario Gallucci

S-F: You recently spent a bit of time on the east coast for a residency and a theater collaboration. What were you doing in each and what kind of impact are they having on your studio back in Portland, OR?

BM: I collaborated with Christopher K. Morgan and Artists on set design for his work, Native Intelligence/Innate Intelligence.  My first residency was with this company at the The National Center for Choreography Akron back in 2018.  We built sets in 2020 at a two -week residency at EMPAC (the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) in New York and then boom, COVID hit and everything shut down.  It's finally scheduled for a premier in DC in October, then will travel to multiple venues.  Working on a collaborative project has been a real growth experience and different from how I usually work.  I’d like to do some more work with him.

From the performance at the end of Mallory's EMPAC residency in NY. The set design was the result of a collaboration between Mallory and Christopher K. Morgan and Artists.
photo by Brenda Mallory​

S-F: What's next for you?

BM: I am working toward a show that opens in April 2023 at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and also a show at Russo Lee opening in May.   ​

 At the Fringe
2019, waxed cloth, paint, nuts, bolts mounted on wood panel, 33.5 x 74 x 2 inches
​photo by Mario Gallucci

Zen Scrubber #1
2015, Nylon industrial scrubber pad, rubber drive belt, plastic cable, 60" x 18” x 6”

You can see more of Brenda Mallory's work:
- On her website
- At Russo Lee Gallery in Portland, OR
- On instagram @brenmallory
- At Atlanta Contemporary (through September 4, 2022)
- and many other places (see links on her website)

Below: More Mallory.

Above and below: Mallory's studio in the basement of her NE Portland bungalow acts as a staging ground for all phases of her process, from research and initial drawings to packing work up for shows happening locally and around the country.

Firehose Experiment #15 (black_red bioform)
2022, Linen firehose, paint, hog rings, 13" x 15" x 2.5"
photo by Mario Gallucci

Brenda Mallory in her studio.