Page 10 June 5, 2019 State Farm R Arts & ENTERTAINMENT Michael E Harper Agent Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomingon, Illinois 61710 We are located at: 9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR 503-221-3050 • Fax 503-227-8757 michael.harper.cuik@statefarm.com New York-based artist Mark Aghatise manip- ulates photo- graphs to create, ‘What Lies Under- neath.’ Gioncarlo Valentine designs art to explore the hyper masculin- ity within black culture. Avalon Flowers 520 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204 • 503-796-9250 A full service flower experience Cori Stewart-- Owner, Operator • Birthdays • Anniversaries • Funerals • Weddings Open: Mon.-Fri. 7:30am til 5:30pm Saturday 9am til 2pm. Website: avalonflowerspdx.com email: avalonflowers@msn.com We Offer Wire Services Artists on Black Culture Gallery to kick off exhibit with the artists Two international artists who create art related to black culture will kick off a month long exhibit with First Thursday and Saturday receptions at the nonprofit Blue Sky Gallery, 122 N.W. Eighth Ave. Mark Aghatise, a London-born, New York-based artist, manipulates photographs to examine the bi- furcation of self that occurs in contemporary urban life, “Through photographing other black bodies, I began to better understand my own and ultimately how to contort and queer the space it inhabits,” he said. Gioncarlo Valentine, a Baltimore-city born and New York based artist, is a documentary portrai- ture photographer and writer. His work focuses on issues faced by marginalized populations, most of- ten focusing his lens on the experiences of black/ LGBTQIA+ communities. Aghatise will appear for a free artists talk at the gal- lery on First Thursday, June 6, at 5 p.m.; and Valentine will do an artists’ talk on Saturday, June 8 at 3 p.m.