This solo exhibition celebrates Portland artist Elizabeth Malaska, the winner of the 2022 Betty Bowen Award, SAM’s annual award honoring a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work.
Malaska’s grand tableaux respond to a history of Western painting and power dynamics that often assigns women the roles of submissive accessories. In search of more potent and less pleasing feminine subjects, her tour de force paintings unpack historical genres—such as the reclining nude—and offer up challenging and introspective visions.
