Local artist’s one-man ‘Archetypes and Essences’ exhibition ends Nov. 30

By Art Van Kraft for Ashland.news

A local artist who arrived in Ashland three years ago is having his first solo art show at the White Rabbit gallery in downtown Ashland. Micah Blacklight has been waiting for the chance to show the personal perspective of an injustice he has witnessed over decades.  

“This is the first solo exhibition where I am showing originals as well as prints, and people will be able to see how much detail actually goes into some of the larger ballpoint pen pieces in particular,” Blacklight said. 

But, more importantly, Blacklight’s work is fueled by a desire to shine a spotlight on a subject that he has championed at every opportunity. 

“I see mainstream fancy art where the majority of the characters are all white-skinned,” he said.  “I want to change that and add a component that is speaking to urban inner-city blacks, because many of them don’t feel spoken to, or that anyone cares.” 

“When they are spoken to or about, it’s often derogatory and the characters I’m creating are them in positive ways they’ve never seen. The Face Project is basically characters with multiple faces,” Blacklight said. 

Blacklight said he left Brooklyn and came to Ashland because his wife was born and raised here.  “Ashland is small; because of that, there’s ways in that I can’t get in a bigger city. I have access to venues,” he said. 

“It’s been over a series of three years cultivating relationships in Ashland. I think it’s a cultivation of relationships that’s given more exposure to my work,” he said.

One of the ways was Blacklight’s design of the plaque for the “Say Their Names” memorial at Ashland’s Railroad Park in April 2023.

“Painting has made me extremely grateful for the level of success I am cultivating right now. The relationships, the people who believe in me, who welcome me, the people who trust me. It’s very validating. I work with kids, I do coaching and mentoring and to have the validation from all of those realms — it’s deeply gratifying and I take nothing for granted,” Blacklight said. 

“People who have seen my work approach me here in Ashland, which is way different from being in New York where it’s extremely cutthroat and competitive,” he added. 

Krysten Kaminsky has followed Blacklight and has a collection of his work. 

“This is the second show of Micah’s we’ve been to and we follow his work. We bought three different prints at his last show and today we have another print we like. I think his art speaks to a lot of people and they can relate to it,” she said.

Alex Kaminsky said the images have a special appeal to him, one that he finds very unique. “What I love is the esthetic, the human element,” he said.  

Thor Muller operates the White Rabbit gallery. He said Blacklight’s show is the third gallery opening since they started. 

 “Micah’s work creates whole worlds. I discovered Micah because of the posters he did for the Rogue World Music Festival,” Muller said. 

“I tracked him down and we became friends. He was the emcee at our (artificial intelligence) conference. We want to see the art that you don’t see in other Ashland art galleries,” he added. 

“We decided we wanted a permanent place for creatives to be supported. And we found this place,” Muller said. “Even if you want to do a presentation, it’s difficult to find a place in Ashland.”

Art Van Kraft is an artist living in Ashland and a former broadcast journalist and news director of a Los Angeles-area National Public Radio affiliate. Email him at [email protected].

Related story: Ashland artist’s ‘Archetypes and Essences’ to be on display for First Friday Artwalk (Oct. 31, 2025)