On March 6, 2025, The Residency Studio and Art Gallery in Portland’s Pearl District unveiled its inaugural First Thursday exhibition, Grapefruit, a collection of works inspired by Yoko Ono’s unique artistic vision. The exhibition features creations by the 239 NW 13th Portland studio resident artists, Leah Kohlenberg and Pippa Arend, alongside guest artist Yasmina Nysten.
The title Grapefruit pays homage to Yoko Ono’s 1964 book of the same name, which is a seminal piece in conceptual art literature. Ono’s Grapefruit is a collection of event scores—short instructions that blur the line between art and life, encouraging imaginative participation from the audience. This thematic influence is evident in the exhibited works, which invite viewers to reflect on the intersection of instruction, art, and experience.
Guest artist Yasmina Nysten was introduced to Grapefruit right after completing her MFA—the perfect timing to unlearn classical structure and invite a fourth dimension. She claims that Grapefruit gave her the freedom to break from the conventions of painting. “It is a remedy for control.” When at an impasse, she quotes the book: “Hit a wall with my head” [(1962, Winter) Wall Piece for Ochestra to Yoko Ono]. Since then, her practice has become all meditative play. In the exhibition, Nysten’s pieces explore various facets of feminine figures, each imbued with a hidden narrative beneath the surface. These stories resonate personally with Nysten and extend to any viewer who sees themselves reflected in the artwork.
Leah Kohlenberg, known for her evocative cityscapes and landscapes, brings forth Jurassic-like greenery that seems to create a surreal setting within the artistic buzz of the Pearl District. This contrasts with her cityscapes, such as a gloomy traffic light captured during the blue hour after a rainy day—very Portland: active yet quiet. Her pieces explore the nuances of urban life and natural scenery, rendered with mastery in acrylics.
Pippa Arend, known for her evocative portraiture, delves into themes that resonate with Yoko Ono’s conceptual frameworks. With the backdrop of her workspace, filled with little treasures, every artifact and piece of paper intentionally placed and meticulously organized, seemingly guided by a brilliant and peculiar mind, her works include a portrait of Ono, a self-portrait, and a piece that invites viewers to see themselves reflected in the glass frame. Arend challenges conventional perceptions, finding significance in the grapefruit as a hybrid fruit—seeing herself existing between two spaces in a similar way. In her own words: “Yoko loves her some grapefruit—a hybrid of pomelo and orange. She found a kinship in it, a thing born of two sources, a woman between two worlds, East and West, a concoction of color and taste. I often feel this way. Between two worlds. Here and not here. Drawn and not drawn. Sweet and tart. A thing born to be adorned with a maraschino cherry.”
The Grapefruit exhibition at The Residency Studio provided an experience exemplifying the space’s dedication to fostering artistic exploration and strengthening connections not only among art lovers but also among the participating artists. One would even be so visionary as to say that it’s the “beginning of a beautiful friendship,” just as Yoko would have intended through one of her artistic prompts in Grapefruit.