Unnatural Histories XI
Annual Group Exhibition Focused on Creatures of Myth, Legend and Folklore
To purchase please email gallerist@antlerpdx.com
We offer a payment plan on all original works, please feel free to inquire.
Stevie Shao
Orthrus
24"x30", Gouache and latex paint on hand shaped plywood
$1900
'Two Headed Dog' or 'Orthrus' is a guard dog whose greek name loosely translates to 'morning twilight' or 'starlight'
Orthrus is hardly seen depicted besides the story of Heracles 12 labors, where he is dying or pierced by arrows. In this piece Orthrus is shown in his prime, bounding with mouths ajar, sparkling fur and glowing eyes full of vitality.
Matt Linares
Cosmo
16"x16", Acrylic on Wood Panel
$1300
Born at the edge of a galaxy, this cosmic cat is known to pounce from planet to planet. Absorbing stardust and planetary fragments on its journey to its final destination. This stray uses these collected elements for protection on its quest to reach the warm center of the galaxy.
Phoenix Chan
Nekomata
14"x18", gouache and color pencils on wood panel
$1500
Nekomata: The Split-Tailed Cat
According to Japanese folklore, when your beloved house cat grew old enough, its tail will split into two and it will walk on its hind legs. Your senior cat will leave the households and begins its second life in the mountain as Nekomata, a breed of Yōkai that possessed fierce magical powers.
Sean Edward Whelan
Thylacine
20"x20", acrylic on wood panel
$1150
The Thylacine (Greek via Latin - Dog-headed pouched one) was found across the Australian continent, and commmon in Tasmania at the time of European settlement around 200 years ago. Perhaps misunderstood because of its appearance and blamed for stock loss, these shy creatures were hunted to extinction by the early 1900s. The last remaining Thylacine died in captivity in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1936.
Despite this, even today, some people strongly believe they live deep in the wilderness of Tasmania, and the animal has taken on a mythological status.
Others are satisfied they are extinct and determined to bring them back with preserved DNA and science.
"Thylacine" is a painting of a monument to the Tasmanian Tiger, a creature that exists between an ending and a new beginning.
Kelsey Bowen
That Which Cannot Hold
Rabbit and unicorn with lustered chain and pomegranate & knife
$2800
Centuries depict the unicorn as elusive, ever out of reach; growing into myth as time expands without recorded tale of encounter. The tale dissipates to imagination, twisting in chase through a dark wood, dissolving like a wisp of smoke between the shadows of trees. Perhaps one of the most captivating visual accounts of the unicorn is a 500 year old tapestry that hangs in the Met
Cloisters in New York City. This textile illustration depicts the unicorn captured and content, resting in a lush garden and bound by a golden chain. Its details hint at more human desires; fertility, loyalty, quiet domestication. The unicorn becomes a symbol of desire, of a chase ended. Its gilded threads woven like a warm breath mutter the long forgotten tale; passing over and under deep greens as if once again we are lost in the woods. Through the unicorn we see our own wanting and reaching, our fingers grasping the falling though silvery white mist. We are tied to this history by the impossibility of possessing that which we find most beautiful and by the desire to capture that which we cannot hold.
Cloisters in New York City. This textile illustration depicts the unicorn captured and content, resting in a lush garden and bound by a golden chain. Its details hint at more human desires; fertility, loyalty, quiet domestication. The unicorn becomes a symbol of desire, of a chase ended. Its gilded threads woven like a warm breath mutter the long forgotten tale; passing over and under deep greens as if once again we are lost in the woods. Through the unicorn we see our own wanting and reaching, our fingers grasping the falling though silvery white mist. We are tied to this history by the impossibility of possessing that which we find most beautiful and by the desire to capture that which we cannot hold.
Bennett Slater
Tooth Faerie
12"x12", Oil on Wood
$2000
Tooth Faerie: Used as the basis for the "Tooth Fairy" of children's folklore, the Tooth Faerie is quite real, and much more maleficent than its fictional counterpart. The Tooth Faerie is identified by its pristine porcelain-like flesh, resembling that of a delicate figurine. It uses this as a disguise to blend in on knick-knack shelves and curio cabinets inside a host's dwelling. As a nocturnal creature, the Tooth Faerie waits until all other creatures are asleep to forage for its meal. As its namesake has already divulged, the creature feeds on dentin, and the pulpy substance beneath it; most commonly found inside teeth. Unlike the fairy of stories, the Tooth Faerie is known to consume teeth from hosts of all ages, though it finds children and infants to be easier targets. The process of collecting and feeding on teeth has never been recorded or documented, so it can't be determined exactly how it is performed, but victims do report significant pain upon waking. Once a tooth has been extracted of its resources, all that remains is the hollow outer enamel shell. Unsatisfactory or irregular teeth are often discarded after feeding, but it is believed that in rare instances, perfect specimens are collected and absorbed into the body of the creature, rejuvenating its extravagant, porcelain-like finish.
Brin Levinson
The Crying Bird
14"x22", Oil on Panel
$1100
All Owls are equipped with special adaptations that make them efficient predators. Keen
eyesight allows them to locate quarry even on dim nights. Sensitive directional hearing helps
locate concealed prey. Some can even hunt in complete darkness using sound alone to guide
them to a successful kill. The Crying Bird is at such an advantage, it may simply pirch above the
target, opening it's eyes just at the right moment.
Marta Witkiewicz
Heron in Bloom
8.2"x11.7", Graphite pencils and gold acrylic paint on bristol paper
$650
In my writings, I’m developing stories that take place in the Enchanted Forest created by the ancient Spirit of Nature. Shelter for all the animals and plants which are gone from the Earth or are on a verge of extinction. It’s a place where fauna and flora merge together living in a perfect symbiosis. In this way all the species are stronger, and more resistant, complementing each other, and balancing strengths and weaknesses. Magical force flows through all the roots of trees and plants which grow and expand beneath the ground, all of them connected. It is this power that makes animals and plants merge together.
Chaplya ( name derived from Slavic languages and means simply "heron".) – the Queen of all birds is one of the oldest spirits traversing the skies. Don’t be fooled by her posture full of grace and stillness, thus her beak sharp as a spear has pierced the enemy through not only once. Not without a reason, creatures of ancient forest call her The Huntress. She never leaves the boundaries of her realm, for the task entrusted to her requires constant observation from above. She is the protector, the eyes of the forest., and the only one that can reach the crown of the Life Tree, where those who passed reside. Her duty is to safely carry their souls to this place of this eternal peace and watch over them until the end of the days.
Bethany Krull
Golden Chrysalis
14'x15"x11", Epoxy Clay, String, Wood, Paint.
$1600
The chrysalis swells with metaphors of growth, change and latent potential and represents the wild and unpredictable mysteries inherent in the natural world.
Susannah Kelly
A Petal Nest
8"x10", Acrylic on Panel
$475
Pictured is a glimpse into the life cycle of the “Lickety Split”, a bird so fast it’s never been photographed. Far too busy going to and fro to nest, these fascinating creatures lay their eggs in obliging flower fields.
Neil Perry
Sobek
16"x20", Acrylic on Wood Panel
$900
If a crocodile is going to spend his days gobbling up poachers, it goes without saying he is going to get messy teeth from all that skin and blood and bone.
If the birds the poacher came to hunt owe their plumage being preserved to the appetite of this hungry crocodile then it's only right that they should take time out of their day to help him with his dental problem.
To say the crocodile and the birds are friends would be overstating their relationship. The situation is fundementally transactional, but one that both can enjoy the benefits of never-the-less. This dynamic of mutualism contributes to a happier life for all on the banks of the Nile...except for the poacher, naturally.
Calvin Laituri
Blight drew ever nearer
4"x6.7" (9.5"x12.5" framed)
Archival ink and engraving on clayboard surface
$1100
The piece depicts a variety of 20th century mythology. The subject represents the blight that nearly eradicated the American Chestnut tree, as a result of human introduced invasive disease. Chestnut trees of yore stood tall and ancient, contrast to the young resurgent forests of our time. Now they are nothing more than handed down memory, a thing of legend, as the last of the great trees died off mid-century. Today hardly growing to the size of a branch before beginning to wither and perish.
In the foreground, its prey, of the last of its kind. Below the creature, a swath of victims.
Young-Ji Cha
Sea Element
12"x12", Acrylic on Wood Panel
$1600
“Sea Element”
Approach with vigilance, for a gift or curse will be bestowed.
Approach with vigilance, for a gift or curse will be bestowed.
Tripper Dungan
U is for Unicorn
15"x13.5", Acrylic on Salvaged Wood
$345
This piece is inspired by the famous ancient Unicorn Hunt tapestries of the late 1400s early 1500s. The truth behind the tapestries are almost as interesting as the lore they portray, and here is my humble interpretation of the 7th and final tapestry.
Birdie Dungan
SEROG
12"x12", Mixed media on cotton watercolor paper mounted on wood
$85
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This is a Serog. It stands on its hind legs and is as tall as a human. It can also levitate things. They live in caves and are created when an earthquake erupts. When that happens 10-20 come out at a time!
Nikoo Bafti
Huma
11"x14", Acrylic Gouache on Wood Panel
$650
The Huma is an ancient mythical bird originating from Iran, who was said to fly eternally above the earth, never landing or coming to rest, and similarly to the later Phoenix, dying and rebirthing out it’s own flames every 100 years. It is said that those who catch a glimpse of the sacred Huma’s shadow will come into great fortune, and that killing one will bring death to the perpetrator in 40 days.
Evan Lovejoy
Study of a Cockatrice
20"x30", Oil on Canvas
$2800
At full moon a toad may heed the unholy call of an egg unfeasibly laid by a cockerel. The toad nestles atop the egg, incubating a barely formed life that broods within. As dawn breaks the toad is nowhere to be seen but a new undulating form twists and writhes...
