December 29 Western Tone

Keith J Varadi has Concorde: A Western Tone Poem opening this afternoon. He maintains a busy internatonal show schedule in a variety of media and styles. At Chicken Coop Contemporary www.chickencoopcontemporary.com 12400 SE Knapp 1PM-4 Free

December 23, 24, 25 NTVTY IX

A long time ago, it is said, immigrant-refugees Joseph and Mary gave birth to Jesus camping out in a stable. It parallels current events. So it compels artists to comment by reinterpreting it, including creating a distance from the commercial orgy.

NTVTY IX drops three nights. It is the 9th year artists have made their own version here. It's a multi-artist creative collaboration.

Musicians Saloli, Geological Creep + Ryan Carlile perform Sunday; Joel Shanahan, Chloe Alexandra, Tuesday; and Maxx Katz, Car Blinker Satellite, Wednesday.

The repurposed tiny church will have a techno-futurist vibe with sculpture and interactive light works.

At Xhurch xhurch.net 4550 NE 20th. Map 7PM-9 Donations encouraged

December 14 Sound of Dust

Material World is a show by Ryan Mitchell Boyle, Rachel Duvall and Vince Skelly. At Dust to Dust http://dusttodust.space 3636B N Mississippi - inside Beacon Sound Map 6PM-9 Free



Bicoastal artist Andrea Sisson has been an artist in residence at S1. She presents that work in progress tonight. It is a "focus on the sounds associated with my material interests while working with the S1 facilities. I ask questions in consumption, recognition, memorialization, and the death cycle of material." She is working on her MFA at Bard and has a recent film, Everything Beautiful Is Far Away. Portland is attracting some fine artists for residencies and this is an example. At S1, formerly Multiplex, www.s1portland.com 7320 NE Sandy Map 6:30PM-9:30 Free

December 13 Scion

The Publication Fair is a small sale by small bookmakers and art book shops. They include Ampersand Gallery & Fine Books, About a Bicycle (AAB), Anthology Booksellers, Big Big Wednesday, Book Arts Editions, Bridge Lab by MediaSurf Communications, Container Corps, Couch Press, Division Leap, Floating World Comics, Future Tense Books, Gobshite Quarterly / Reprobate Books, Know Your City, Mini Chapbook Press, Monograph Bookwerks, Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, Nationale, Octopus Books, Passages Bookshop, Perfect Day Publishing, Personal Libraries Library, Poor Claudia, Portland Museum of Modern Art, Publication Studio, Reading Frenzy, Sidebrow, Sincerely Analog Press, Two Plum Press, University of Hell Press and Whitewall of Sound Publications. Portland is a book town, but we don't usually cover it because others do it better. But here is an exception. At the Cleaners at Ace Hotel 1022 SW Stark Noon-6 Free



Katy Knowlton has launched the smallest gallery in Portland, the Scion Gallery. It takes place entirely in the passenger seat of a vehicle; the artwork is on a platform in the dashboard. The Scion Gallery may be found tonight on SE Ankeny at 6th at 6PM Free



Our favorite Tuvan throat singer, Soriah, is part of an early show this evening with dark punkers Christ vs. Warhol and Dead Cult. The show is followed by Portland's dark Hive dance party. At the Star Theater, an old burlesque theater once owned by Gus Van Sant, 13 NW 6th. 8PM $8

December 7 Eastside Art Openings

Some of the Eastside galleries have craft shows or are hibernating.



Lincoln Kwan Miller has Undocumented Credentials, self-portraits. At Pushdot Studio www.pushdotstudio.com 2505 SE 11th Avenue Suite 104 6PM-8 Free



No Budget Too Small is a mid-year readout by students in the joint PNCA-OCAC MFA program. At the The PNCA www.pnca.edu Bison Building, the MFA in Applied Craft and Design Studios 421 NE 10th 6PM-9 Free



Mark Copino, Kidlat, has a show The Red House. At Stephanie Chefas Projects www.stephaniechefas.com 305 SE 3rd Ave #202 - the City Sign Building, formerly a low cost artist space Map. 7PM-10 Free

December 6 Westside Art Openings+

There is a lot of somnambul in shows this month for various reasons. First, people spend less on art in December. Second, gallerists and collectors may be sunning at Art Basel Miami. Third, laziness. If they had something to say, we would say. But otherwise:



Many galleries are continuing November shows. They are in our November post.



An early kick off is at Downtown Stumptowm. Amy Bernstein is an abstract oil painter making colorful, minimal works. She is also a great writer, bringing a poetic tone to critical art writing. She is the latest Stumptown Artist Fellow, and the show of her work opens tonight. It's a great early start to First Thursday's gallery happenings. At Stumptown www.stumptowncoffee.com 128 SW 3rd 5PM-7 Free



Portland-made painter Molly Vidor is always worth a look. At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 925 NW Flanders Map early close 8PM Free



PNCA is recommended to stop in. They have long time cycle shows and pop ups distributed throughout the building. PNCA www.pnca.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 6PM-9 Free



Everett Lofts are recommended as always. It's easier for you to see them all than for me to write suggestions. But Dolphin Midwives may be interesting at Variform. Some close as early as 9PM. At the Everett Lofts 625 NW Everett. Bounded by NW Everett, Broadway, Flanders and 6th Map closing ranges from 9PM-10ish Free



The Precipice Fund is a program of small grants to small art spaces, publications and arts collectives funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation and the Furlotti Family Foundation. The grants have been running from about one thousand to five thousand dollars. Awardees can only reapply in 2 year cycles. The total amount in 2018 was about $75,000 - an efficient bargain for the impact!

The 2019 selectees will be announced tonight with a short description of their projects. These events are a great networking event for Portland contemporary artists. And there is a party after, though its intensity has been diminishing over the years. The scheduling is also problematic, competing with First Thursday gallery openings.

Precipice Fund Award announcement, 15 NE Hancock. Awards 6PM, party 8. Free

December 1 True North

You can spend an evening arting tonight, if you like, in North Portland.



The Falcon Art Community occupies the basement of a large apartment building. Artists are curated in; many do large realistic landscapes and portraits in oil. Other artists include musicians and theater performers. Once a year they open their studios. Open studios at the Falcon Art Community 5415 N Albina 5:30PM-1130 Free


I’ve known rivers: I’ve Known Rivers Ancient as the World and Older than the Flow of Human Blood in Human Veins is a show by Carolina Caycedo and Sky Hopinka selected by the new curator in residence Suzy Halajian. Her cycle of a year curating is themed on The Politics of Landscape. There is a longer writeup on the Disjecta website and pointers to C3:Initiative and NW Film Center projects by the artists. The curator speaks at 6PM. At Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.disjecta.org 8371 N. Interstate Map 6PM-9 Free



Blue Moon Camera curates an annual show of its customers from around the globe. This year's photos, selected democratically by staff are up at Parallel Wines. Previous year photos are up at Anna Bannana’s and Leisure Public House. There is a dance party, 9PM-11 at 45th Parallel Wines. Show 7PM-9ish, Party 9PM-11. At Anna Bannana’s 8716 N Lombard, Leisure Public House 8002 N Lombard and 45th Parallel Wines 8527 N Lombard 7PM-11 Free



Provende is a show of drawings, prints and photographs by Boston artist Georgina Lewis and Portland artist Sarah Rushford. There is an eloquent description of the ideas within the work on the Grapefruits web. At Grapefruits www.grapefruitsartspace.org 2119 N Kerby, STE D. 6PM-9 Free