Now on view in the South Concourse Connector Display Case, a fantastical and imaginative group exhibition featuring artists Marsha Mack and Jessie Weitzel Le Grande. With distinct artistic practices, both artists explore ideas of perception, playfulness, nostalgia, and mystery in their work.
Marsha Mack’s artistic practice seeks to construct her evolving fantasy of paradise. Sculptural ceramic vessels and suspended stoneware and glass work pull from a growing catalog of personal symbols and imagery that capture the artist’s interest in candy and commercial foodstuff, formation of identity, and the mysteries of human connection and attachment. Realized in a lush, decidedly femme aesthetic, Mack’s embellished objects play to the subconscious, honoring playfulness and introspection as equals.
Working primarily in ceramic and installation, Marsha’s artistic practice blurs the line between sculpture and grocery shopping as she investigates her cultural experience as biracial Vietnamese-American.
Marsha Mack holds an MFA in Ceramics and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, and a BFA in Ceramics from San Francisco State University. Mack was a recent exhibiting artist in the GLEAN Artist in Residence Annual Exhibition in Portland this year and has exhibited widely throughout the country. She is the Assistant Director of Galleries & Exhibitions at the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University. She is currently based in Portland, OR.
Jessie Weitzel Le Grand’s work blurs lines between art, artifact, and technology. Interested in exploring how we perceive reality and questioning the certainty of what we see, Weitzel Le Grand embeds natural elements – such as orchids, moths, or bits of coral – in computer motherboards and rotary dial phones in disorienting and overwhelming configurations.
Utilizing an eclectic array of materials ranging from ceramics to thermoplastic, flashe paint, and even items used in fishing fly creation, Weitzel Le Grand’s work beckons observation and discovery. By fantasizing nostalgic devices in playful and unfamiliar ways, she pushes those who encounter them to reconsider the functionality of her devices and encourages them to construct their own narratives around their possible uses.
Jessie Weitzel Le Grand (b.1987) was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where she currently still lives and works. She holds a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and a MAT from Marylhurst University. Her work has been recently exhibited at Galerie Lefebvre & Fils (Paris, France), Outback Arthouse (Los Angeles, CA), Oregon Contemporary (Portland, OR), and with Lazy Oaf’s “Take A Break” (London, UK). She is a co-founder of carnation Contemporary, a collective of emerging and mid-career artists from the Pacific Northwest who champion critical and contemporary artwork, and Well Well Projects, an artist-member gallery situated in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. In 2025, Weitzel Le Grand was selected as a featured artist for Create!Magazine’s Issue #49. Weitzel Le Grand is currently represented by Chefas Projects.
For inquiries on Marsha Mack’s work, please contact marshachristinemack@gmail.com
For inquires on Jessie Weitzel Le Grande’s work, please contact hello@chefasprojects.com