Home Artist Programs Supported Artists Brenda Mallory

Brenda Mallory

Portland, Oregon

Old Homeplace is a large abstract diptych, more than twice as tall as the person standing in front of it. On left, is a textured red wax panel, with incised dark outlines of rivers and creeks. On the right, is a grid of white maps showing allotment lines in the Cooweescoowee District of Cherokee Nation, railroads, names of people, crudely sewn together with hog rings, overlaid with the same waterways.

Old Homeplace

2024

Precession is a square artwork with a radial white form composed of linear white ceramic rays intersected with short connecting bars, over a black background.

Precession

2022

Thirteen Moons is a vertical textile artwork, composed of of 13 rows of 28 irregular waxed white cloth rectangles, in rows of variable heights stitched together using metal black hog rings.

Thirteen Moons

2021

Proximate Parcels is a rectangular vertical textile artwork featuring vertical rows of mixed tones of red textured threads with small dark circular accents arranged in vertical, spine-like evenly spaced lines.

Proximate Parcels

2019

Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.

About Brenda Mallory

Brenda Mallory stands with a hand on her hip, wearing a large silver panel necklace and a black blouse in front of a abstract sculpture composed of bundled netted textiles. She is a citizen of Cherokee Nation, with long grey hair pulled back and a light skin tone.

Brenda Mallory lives in Portland, OR. She grew up in Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She received a BA in Linguistics & English from UCLA and a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Mallory has received grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, Ford Family Foundation, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Mallory’s awards include the Hallie Ford Fellowship, Eiteljorg Contemporary Native Art Fellowship, Native Arts and Culture Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship, Ucross Native Fellowship, and the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship. Her residencies include Crow’s Shadow Institute, Bullseye Glass, and International Studio & Curatorial Projects. Her work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Portland Art Museum, Heard Museum, and Hallie Ford Museum, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Program Participation

Joan Mitchell Fellowship, 2025

Website / Social Links

“ Texture and repeated rhythmic forms are instrumental to my abstract compositions. By ‘sewing’ together soft, reclaimed materials with industrial hardware, I explore ideas of dominion, disruption, repair, and interconnections.”