Christopher Rauschenberg: Backstage

April 30 - May 31, 2025
First Thursday: May 1, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Elizabeth Leach Gallery is pleased to present Backstage, an exhibition of photographs by Christopher Rauschenberg. Drawn from Studio Photography, Rauschenberg’s longest-running series, Backstage gives viewers a glimpse into an essential aspect of the art ecosystem, the artist’s studio. As the child of artists and a curator himself, Rauschenberg has frequented studios for his entire life, and thus is particularly well-situated to draw the curtain aside for his audience.

Born of a feeling that the public isn’t shown behind the scenes often enough, these works invite viewers into the studios of Portland-based artists, as well as that of Rauschenberg’s mother, Susan Weil. Through individual images and combinations that create fictional spaces, Rauschenberg sets the stage to allow for discovery of these places of creation. With his deep involvement in Portland, Oregon’s art scene, Rauschenberg extends a welcome, allowing us to look over his shoulder and engage with the artists around us.

Artists whose studios are featured in Backstage include Katherine Ace, Ebenezer Galluzzo, Malia Jensen, Joanne Radmilovich Kollman, Henk Pander, Laura Ross Paul, Marie Watt, and Susan Weil.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Christopher Rauschenberg received his BA from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. His work has been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA), the Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL), the International Center of Photography (New York, NY) and the George Eastman House (Rochester, NY), among many other major institutions. An exceptionally active leader in the Northwest arts community, Rauschenberg co-founded both Nine Gallery and the photography nonprofit Blue Sky Gallery (Portland, Oregon).