Bodies in Blotter

April 5 — 27, 2025

Opening Saturday, April 5, 5–8 PM
Hours: Sat–Sun, 12–5 PM & by appointment

Carnation Contemporary is pleased to present Bodies in Blotter, a multimedia and multi-sensory exhibition featuring works by Megita Denton, Sarah Pagliaro, and Jeremy Rotsztain. This reconception of the Carnation space invites respite via all the senses, an installation in which the body is supported, celebrated, and simultaneously dissolved into another, softer, world. 

Drawing on both the visual elements and context of the works, the artists hope that viewers will drop in to the environment and give permission for the colors, textures, scents, and sounds to alter their reality, if only for a little while. By invoking the psychological freedom of a hallucinogenic trip, Bodies in Blotter holds space for mesmerizing visuals, sensory stimulation, and the imagination of alternate realities. 

Jeremy Rotsztain’s kaleidoscopic 3D lenticular images are inspired by a glitchy water fountain display at PDX. The fountain’s motherboard was fried and spewing out a psychedelic sequence of symbols—0ȴĺ0 0@0Ꮅ—which gave rise to abstract virtual worlds filled with exuberant gestural shapes. The lenticular technology employed in these images creates an optical illusion that pulls viewers into their depths.

Megita Denton’s glass and soft sculpture objects combine the architectonic with the organic: geometric shapes and fluid textile forms, abstracted photogrammetry and objective representation, solid materiality and energetic vitality. For Denton, Bodies in Blotter is a direct homage to her first safe, protected, yet freely experimental time dosing “Orange Sunshine Acid” and the blotter culture that supports healthy exploration and engages the six senses of humanity.

Sarah Pagliaro's work celebrates the sacred feminine through the mediums of ceramics and fiber. In an effort to come to terms with her diagnosis of endometriosis she began a material exploration of the womb and cultural ideas connected to our creation stories. Her work invites the viewer to an alternate reality where the depiction and veneration of women's wombs as the cradle of life are prolific objects of respect and awe.

ARTISTS

Megita Denton, Able Farms PDX, IG megitadentonart

Sarah Pagliaro is a self taught artist based in L.A. who uses textile and ceramic elements to explore issues of women's reproductive health and illness. She works against the patriarchal perspective that our physical, hormonal, and emotional cycles are something to be ashamed of and diminished. She produces images of veneration and repair using natural fibers and dyes, clay, metal and abandoned textiles to emphasize and celebrate the strength and beauty of women's bodies,  processes and connections to the larger ecosystems of earth and thought. anthem_and_object /IG

Jeremy Rotsztain (b. Toronto, Canada) explores abstraction using code and computer graphics. His work manifests as augmented & virtual reality artworks, 3D animations and lenticular images. Jeremy’s projects often engage with the physical environments that they're presented in, playing with history, experience of space and color. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon. @threevertices and www.mantissa.ca.