<p>"After Wales," an acrylic painting on panel by Jody Katopothis at Imogen Gallery.</p>

ASTORIA Imogen Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition for Portland based artist Jody Katopothis. Katopothis brings a series of acrylic paintings, exploring through color and texture a sense of lineage and connection to place.

“Looking For Home” is a personal study of the artist’s own interest in family history and the relationship to landscape. Through painting, she creates a narrative tapestry of ancestry and family finding home.  

All are invited to attend an artist’s reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 12 during Astoria’s Second Saturday Art Walk. Katopothis will be available to answer questions about her work and process. She, along with her husband, will also perform original music. Light bites and beverages will be provided by the Astoria Coffee House and Bistro. The exhibition will be on display through May 6.

Within this series of paintings, where vibrant layers of saturated color blocks overlay subtle nuance of past history, Katopothis creates luminescent narrations. She looks to nature’s organic beauty and the occupation and organization of nature by our human relationships to the environment, to illustrate an “archaeology” of the human experience. 

When considering the content of this series, Katopothis thought about family lineage and paths followed through migration. She began to look at the series as a symbolic expression of individual pieces coming together, like a weaving. Inextricably linked to form a whole, linked through blood, marriages and common cultural histories all leading to how each of us ends up where we are. She then began to explore the meaning of home,” a physical place made up of people we love, places we love because of natural features, such as rivers that provide essential things to exist.

Katopothis is an artist who follows her passions. Being successful in dual careers, as a painter and a musician, she finds one career nurtures the other, and like her paintings they become a woven metaphor dedicated to a connection to the human spirit. Her own exploration of music and visual art have taken her far, including several years living abroad and studies in Europe, primarily in Wales. She has exhibited her work internationally resulting in awards, such as First Place for Best Work in all Shows at the Fishguard Arts Festival in the United Kingdom and an Award of Excellence from Contemporary Abstracts at the Alameda Art Center in California. She has also been featured on OPBs ArtBeat program, her paintings have been selected twice for use as wine labels to Paro Wines of Sonoma, as well as being published in Sunset Magazine. Besides representation at Imogen Gallery, Katopothis work can be found at the Portland Art Museums Sales and Rental Gallery.

Imogen Gallery is located at 240 11th St, on the vibrant block shared with Cargo and Astoria Coffeehouse & Bistro. For more information about Imogen Gallery or its represented artists, call 503-468-0620 or stop by in person to enjoy the collection. Imogen Gallery can also be found at www.imogengallery.com