A wave occurs when a body of water is disrupted. Small disruptions can grow exponentially outward, affecting powerful change on a large area. WAVE Contemporary borrows its name from this phenomenon, seeking to enact small, but effective, change on the art community in Portland. 

In Wave - A Provocation, WAVE Contemporary members present gestures of incitement, large and small. These provocations are situated, not within each individual's practice, but within the practice or ethos of WAVE as a whole. As a dedicated collective, new gestures grow from our collaborative discussions. The process of critique becomes a focal point, and the work from each member highlights this process across various mediums. Just as art is a provocation, critique is also a provocative act, challenging the artist to reach beyond their normal habits, concepts, and thought-patterns. Through critique, WAVE artists seek to both provoke and be provoked, a reciprocity of expansion. 

Transgression is always an integral part of artmaking. Wave - A Provocation proposes community as a catalyst for provocation, asking how communities challenge, support and transgress together. Each artist will present a piece that highlights the collaborative efforts of WAVE, an individual work shaped or influenced by critique and conversation within the larger collective. Within Wave - A Provocation, we invite viewers into the critique process and a community of provocation.

Exhibiting Artists: Claire Elliott / Marcelo Fontana / Asa Mease / Midgray, Nicholas Moler-Gallardo / Hannah Newman / Katherine Spinella + John Whitten / Kelda Van Patten / Rachael Zur