Artist

From Dec. 6th through  Dec. 30th , Blue Sky, 122 NW 8th Avenue, will present “Isolated Gesture” by Bil Zelman of San Diego and “Isleton” by Kirk Thompson of Berkeley.  An opening reception will be held on First Thursday, Dec 6th from 6 - 9 pm.  

Bil Zelman and Kirk Thompson will present artist lectures on Saturday, December 8th,  at 3pm. These lectures are free of charge and open to the public. Blue Sky is open at its new location in the DeSoto Building, on the east side of the North Park Blocks between Davis and Couch, from noon to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday.  For further information call (503) 225-0210.

Kirk Thompson’s lush and colorful photographic elegy depicts Isleton, California as it stands today, before creeping economic development and big-city sprawl threaten to eradicate the historical, cultural and environmental uniqueness of this peaceful delta town on the Sacramento River.

Just as a 40-acre housing tract under construction and a second project of about 650 homes will more than double the current population, Thompson’s images concentrate on remnants of a bygone era. Thompson writes, “I hope the series will be what Walker Evans called an “evocative document” and will stand as a portrayal, both historical and nostalgic, of an environment and a way of life that aren’t likely to endure.”