A few weeks back, Juxtapoz was up in Portland, Oregon visiting for a few days, and everyone we ran into told us to check out Natonale. With exhibitions, housewares, prints and other artist-made goods, its definitely a good spot to check out. And now, they are showing one of our favorite emerging artists, Lilian Martinez, who aside from being a fine artist has the great housewares brand, BFGF. Her new show, Soft Shades, is now on view through March 11, 2019.

Martinez says of the new work, via Nationale, "I do feel like lately I have been thinking about occupying space more. Particularly in spaces that were not designed for me. Like many people of color, I experience nuances of racism on an everyday basis. Occupying space feels empowering and delightful to me. Possibly these personal feelings are being projected on to my work. It is important to me that the subjects I paint emanate a sense of comfort even if they occupy the whole frame. I think for me that has to do with the composition of the frame and the colors surrounding the subjects."

Read her full interview with Nationale here.