About the Artist
Paige Tashner
Born in Portland, OR
Lives/Works in Point Richmond, CA
Paige Tashner, native Oregonian, East Bay California transplant and longtime Burning Man participant, has been sharing her sense of creativity and quirkiness for several years.
It started with an electric, single-occupancy, drivable cupcake car, followed by large-scale installations, Stardust, the Purr Pods and Trust, with a present-day focus on 3 ft. long metal cat sculptures.
Stardust a 9 ft. wide, 10 ft. high, glowing, flying saucer-shaped bench was created for Burning Man 2018 and went on to grace the snowy Portland Winter Lights Festival in Oregon in 2019 and the cozy Dark Room of the Bay Area Maker Faire in California later that spring.
Landing at Burning Man in 2019, the Purr Pods, inspired by the artist’s own pets, are interactive mild steel cat sculptures the size of a VW Bug. In addition to Burning Man, people have experienced the Purr Pods in several U.S. cities and Bristol, England.
The Underwater Psychedelic Disco Cat Box extended and combined her love of cats and 3D blacklight stuff for the delightful Golden Guy Gallery at Burning Man in 2022, followed by exhibitions at the Portland Winter Light Festival and Autumn Lights Festival, 2022-2024.
Her ongoing venture, the Demure Le Purr cat sculptures, are 1/3 scale of the Purr Pods. Her first one, Spring Kitten, sold at the Sotheby's auction, Boundless Space...The Possibilities of Burning Man in the fall of 2021. Exhibitions for UV-reactive versions of these sculptures include Oakland’s Autumn Lights Festival, the Portland Winter Light Festival and Garden of D'Lights at the Ruth Bancroft Garden.
Her 2023 Black Rock City Honoraria installation, Trust, debuted at Burning Man as a circle of 5 large metal cat sculptures with their hind ends and tails in the air, butts facing inward.
Trust exercises provided to visitors inside the circle of cats offered them fun ways to connect with strangers and possibly build new - or strengthen existing! - relationships.
Trust was also featured at the Reno International Art Show and several of the cats are on public display in Portland, Oregon until late spring, 2024.
Purr…
CV
Education
1964-Present: Figuring it out as I go.
Grants & Awards
2023: Black Rock City Honoraria,
Trust
2023: Ruth Bancroft Gardens/
Sculpture in the Garden Honoraria,
Demure Le Purr
2022: Ruth Bancroft Gardens/
Sculpture in the Garden Honoraria,
Demure Le Purr
2019: Black Rock City Honoraria,
Purr Pods
2018: Black Rock City Honoraria,
Stardust
Exhibitions & Festivals
Trust
2023-2024: Clean and Safe and Portland Winter Light Festival,
Downtown Portland, OR
2023-2024: Ruth Bancroft Gardens/
Garden of D'Lights, Walnut Creek, CA
2023: Reno International Art Show,
Reno, NV
2023: Burning Man,
Black Rock City, NV
Underwater Psychedelic
Disco Cat Box
2023-2024: Portland Winter Light Festival, Portland, OR
2021-2022: Autumn Lights Festival,
The Gardens at Lake Merritt,
Oakland, CA
2022: Golden Guy Gallery,
Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV
Demure Le Purr
2022-2023: Glow Cats,
Ruth Bancroft Gardens/
Garden of D'Lights, Walnut Creek, CA
2022-2023: Glow Cats,
Portland Winter Light Festival,
Portland, OR
2022-2023: Ruth Bancroft Gardens/
Sculpture in the Garden,
Walnut Creek, CA
2021: Spring Kitten, Boundless Space: The Possibilities of Burning Man,
Sotheby's, New York, NY
2021: Glow Cats, Autumn Lights Festival, The Gardens at Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA
Purr Pods
2019-2020, 2021-2022, 2023-Present: Vega and Luna,
Point San Pablo Harbor, Richmond, CA
2020-Present: Bristol Boo,
Ashton Court Mansion, Bristol, England
2020-Present: Scooby Doo,
American Museum of the House Cat, Sylva, NC
2022-2023: Vega and Luna,
Hesperian Triangle, San Leandro, CA
2020-2021: Vega and Luna,
Gallivan Center, Salt Lake City, UT
2019: Burning Man,
Vega, Luna and Scooby Doo,
Black Rock City, NV
Stardust
2019: Bay Area Maker Faire,
San Mateo, CA
2019: Portland Winter Lights Festival, Portland, OR
2018: Burning Man,
Black Rock City, NV
Devils Food Cupcake/
Space Muffin Mutant Vehicle
2019: Bay Area Maker Faire,
(Space Muffin), San Mateo, CA
2014-2018: Burning Man,
Black Rock City, NV
2015: “Sugar” OMSI After Dark,
(Devils Food Cupcake), Portland, OR
2014-2015: Bay Area Maker Faire,
(Devils Food Cupcake), San Mateo, CA
2014-2015: Portland Mini Maker Faire, (Devils Food Cupcake), Portland, OR