Exhibit by Ophelia Easton
This body of work is about how it feels to be a young woman, born in the windblown plains of North Central Montana, facing an era of great change and pressure from all sides.
Jessie Wilber Gallery
December 13 – January 31, 2025
Reception
During the Art Walk on Friday, December 13th from 5:00-8:00pm
Exhibit Statement
These pieces are about survival, saying ‘hell no,’ and standing up for what I love. Growing up in Montana, most of the art I have seen is rooted in desire, fantasy, and possession: a wild horse that would soon be broken, a life of camping under the moonlit sky, a group of stereotypically picturesque American Indians. Though easy on the eyes, these pictures never felt like an echo of home to me.
Sure, I’ve spent days fishing a clear creek, making camp in the backcountry, hunting for game in the hills. But Montana has always had another side to it, rooted in poverty, addiction, violence, and exploitation. The Montana I grew up in didn’t have remote jobs, Teslas, or fashionable workwear. It had $1.39 lg. fountain pop, 4 inch blades in pants’ side pockets, and piles of sawdust to catch the blood of the elk carcass hanging in the garage.
Since the great influx of pandemic Yellowbellies playing cowboy, the subsequent housing crisis, and amplified political division, life in Montana has changed for everyone. My home, my family, and my body, things I used to feel free with, have become something I now feel the need to defend. Montana women have a reputation for being fiercely independent and self-made. Now, more than ever, we all need to apply our strength to togetherness, clarity of vision, and radical joy.
Artist Bio
Ophelia was born in Great Falls, Montana. She likes collecting rocks, gardening, and pepperoni pizza (with ranch). She does not like asparagus, pants without pockets, or profiteering land developers. Her inspiration draws from a life of exploring the outdoors, gardening with her mom, hunting and fishing with her dad, and developing a relationship with her sister; all of which have cultivated a strong sense of independence and fierce protection over what she loves. What she creates in the studio is based on that tremendous love of her homeland and family, and often presents a critical eye for those who wish to change or underestimate the inherent power of such things.
Ophelia earned a BFA in painting and ceramics in 2021 as well as a minor in art history and will have finished her teaching degree at the time of this event. Her mission is to support others in their personal journeys, using art as means to heal, explore, celebrate, and share stories.
