Eva Lake: “Her Highness” at Modernism

Modernism presents its first exhibition of collage works by Portland-based artist Lake through February.

A longtime student of ancient art history and archaeology, Lake has been especially interested in reshuffling images and ideas that she had to memorize and theorize about.

This was the case for Egypt, Greece and Rome, and in the Her Highness series, the sculpture of India.

Says the gallery: In the spirit of Hannah Höch [1889-1978]—who appropriated and recombined images from mass media to critique popular culture, and the socially constructed roles of women—each of Eva Lake’s collages is a striking, often playful, amalgamation of ancient sculpture and the mid-century modern woman. Lake makes stone come to life, and with her background in the fashion and beauty worlds, she condenses time via the modern woman, who had her own stony, etched-in experience of life.