Kit Kat Club: An Art Form Reimagined
A Collaborative Exhibition by Ramon Shiloh and Scott Erwert
Opening Summer 2026 / Hosted by Rhythms PDX/Portland, Oregon
Dates to Be Announced
Curated by Ramon Shiloh
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK
There are moments that stick with you. They do not pass
quietly or fade with time. They shape how you see the world and, eventually,
what you feel responsible for saying.
For me, this began years ago, but it came into sharp focus
during the 2016 election. When Trump's 2005 recording resurfaced, I remember
sitting with the weight of it. The language around power and consent was not
new, but hearing it so plainly, so publicly, shifted something. Then the
country, in more than fifty cities, thousands of people took to the streets.
What many initially framed as a women’s issue revealed itself as something much
larger. It was a human rights issue, and it demanded to be acknowledged.
I carried that moment with me. I did not immediately know
what to do with it, but I knew it mattered. I knew it was not something to
ignore or move past. I understood this was a moment to hold people accountable
to their actions. Words have an enormous amount of power, and Trump was a
decisive component in stirring words into chaos. This was not a liberal
democrat response. It was a response to let the world know that politicians who
enforce the law should be aware that people hold values that matter.
At the same time, I was watching how artists, writers, and
activists were responding. Voices like Jessica Bennett, Amanda Duarte, and
Stella Marrs, along with communities like Female Collective, were reclaiming
narrative in real time. They were turning anger into imagery, dialogue, and
action, even directing support toward organizations like RAINN. That mattered
to me. It showed me that culture does not just absorb moments like this. It
responds to them.
This exhibition is my response.
Choosing to begin with strip culture was not accidental. It
is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized spaces we have, yet it holds
an incredible amount of complexity. It is a place where power, vulnerability,
performance, autonomy, and perception are all intersected. It is also a space
that is often dismissed, rarely given the dignity of serious artistic
consideration.
I wanted to challenge that.
I also recognize the tension in doing so. As a man
collaborating with another male artist on a subject so deeply tied to women’s
bodies and lived experiences, I am aware that this perspective can be
questioned. It should be questioned. That awareness has been central to how I
have approached this work. Not to define these experiences, but to create space
for reflection, to listen, and to engage with care and respect.
This intention is at the core of Kit Kat Club An Art
Form Reimagined, a collaborative exhibition with Scott Erwert opening
Summer 2026 at Rhythms PDX.
I bring a narrative driven and symbolically rich approach to
the exhibition. My work explores cultural identity, systemic history, and
emotional landscapes through surreal and layered storytelling. Scott’s
paintings capture the physical and atmospheric presence of the club with
cinematic precision, emphasizing light, movement, and the structural beauty of
performance spaces. His work is shaped by a multidisciplinary career in art
direction, graphic design, and illustration across agency, publishing, and independent
practice. As former Art Director of Marketing at Lucasfilm, he helped evolve
the global visual identity of the Star Wars brand ahead of Episode II. His
portfolio also includes award winning packaging for Rose City Distilling and
acclaimed publications such as The Cinema of George Lucas and The
Making of Indiana Jones, underscoring his command of visual storytelling.
Together our collaboration functions as an equal and
unapologetic dialogue, merging realism with surrealism and documentation with
reflection.
We are exploring performance culture through twenty works
organized into four themes: Safety and Consequence, Spectacular Themes,
Architectural Attraction, and Powerful Women. The work moves between realism
and surrealism, documentation and interpretation, with the goal of creating an
experience that invites people to look closer and think deeper.
But this exhibition is not about past work. It is about what
feels necessary now.
We are living in a time that is complex and often
uncomfortable. Because of that, I believe the work needs to meet that reality.
Not avoid it. Not soften it. But engage with it directly. It also means holding
ourselves accountable as artists, acknowledging the responsibility that comes
with interpreting experiences that are not our own. We strive to listen more
than we speak, to respect lived realities, and to center the voices of those
most impacted.
This is the first in an ongoing series of exhibitions that
Scott and I are committing to. Together we plan to explore subjects that are
often left unspoken. Topics that are sensitive, controversial, and sometimes
difficult to sit with. Not for the sake of provocation, but because these are
the conversations that shape culture and, ultimately, change it.
This is where it begins.
And it will not be the last.
Images Details:
sneak peak of new work
title: Superheroes
medium: acrylic on canvas
size: 30 x 15
by: Scott Erwert
