Sunday, May 12, 2024

May 14 Books are Magic Presents

Writer, performer, and movie-maker Miranda July is known to Portland. She has a new novel, All Fours. She is doing her book tour. Books are Magic, local Brooklyn bookseller, is broadcasting it live. She will visit Powells-Beaverton May 22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPLOTgOM4tg 4PM Free

Saturday, May 11, 2024

May 11 Bizarre Motion Volt

St Johns used to get no respect. Now it's got indy cred. They have a street fair, parade and music today. They have dubbed it the St Johns Bizarre. Parade noon, music schedule https://stjohnsbizarre.com/entertainment/, not state fair vintage music, just our version you might enjoy. www.stjohnsbizarre.com 10AM-7PM Free


The late stop motion animator Will Vinton put Portland on the stop motion animation map. A Museum of Stop Motion Animation is in the startup stage here. They have a fundraising party for their vision.

It's the future https://www.mosmapdx.org/ Their fundraiser is at 630 NE South Shore Rd. Good for them, the tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mosma-art-auction-fundraiser-tickets-886929418767?aff=oddtdtcreator are sold out. 6PM-9:30


Volt Divers was an analog synth night accompanied by live visualists. It's in our back catalog. The primary mover, a video artist from UO, moved on to more creative projects, and the night lay dead. Meanwhile the Inversion collective organized a variety of synth shows.

Now, as fitting the venue, Inversion revives Volt Divers, officially for one night, we shall see.

Cult Quartet I, Vyger, -ist, Synth Witch, Cult Quartet II, Production Unit Xero, Alani, Anna Sitko/Anon perform 20 minute sets with visualist Ember Veil.

At the Coffin Club early start 7PM-10 Free

Friday, May 10, 2024

May 10 Somewhere Light Overlapping Memory

The Lobby At Ellen Browning opens group show Somewhere in the Middle.

They get the copywriting award for the month:

""Artists habitually want the viewer to decipher what the artwork means to them, often rebuffing any attempt at an explanation. Jasper Johns, the celebrated American artist, is famously elusive. He once joked that, of the dozens of books that have been written about his art, his favorite one was written in Japanese. What he liked is that he could not understand it.

The art works included in the exhibition, Somewhere in the Middle, allow just that. Instead of simple explanation, the viewer is thrust into narratives, be it abstraction or representation, without explanation, placing them squarely in the midst of a story that is currently unfolding.has been doing excellent curation. They are a very chill space to stop by for a quiet viewing limited hours.""

The project is a notable admixture of real estate development and art. Another notible example was the Queens West gentrification in Toronto. It was a low rent neighborhood I walked and met with artist studios. The condo developers bought art from displaced artists. Then each new condo buyer had a choice to own from the collection on signing.

Kids day is Saturday Noon-2PM

At The Lobby At Ellen Browning https://ellenbrowningbuilding.com/the-lobby/ 2871 SE Division Street. 5PM-7 Free


Mia Farrington brings Creatures of Light, abstract paintings. Morgan Bak brings Overlapping Memories impressionist drawing-style paintings.

At Stephanie Chefas gallery www.stephaniechefas.com 134 SE Taylor, Ste 203. Map. 5PM-8 Free


Matrilineal Memory is a solo show by Mikaela Shafer (Hopi, Coyote Clan) It includes textile work and her writing.

She is one of the LIFT cohort of early-career artists. https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/programs/lift That program is a notable artist program.

At the Center for Native Arts & Cultures https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/ 800 SE 10th (old YU building with a waterfall in the basement) 5PM-8 RSVP to https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/matrilineal-memory Free


Poems out the window continue at sunset tonight.

Sunday, May 05, 2024

May 5 Spectral History

Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr brings An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum.

"An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum offers a view into Michael’s ongoing activities at Jefferson High School, which swirl around the 2020 Modernizations Bond that voters passed in the efforts of “transforming the historic Jefferson High School into a modernized 21st century center of learning.” How do we care for the history of Portland’s historic Black high school? What is the archival language of a high school? And most important to Michael, how can art offer young people access to tools and technologies for their future?

Since 2022, Michael has created situations for students to encounter and relate with Jefferson High School’s past via yearbooks and other material culture. These gatherings have never been just about the past, but how Jeff’s students can imagine future selves and impact the new school. An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum shares a slice of results in process. Sculptures that malfunction as Jefferson High School’s archives, yet hold the ideals of honoring and preservation. Through transformations of historic photos to architectural ceramic tiles and 3D scans, to 3D prints, to bronze casts, the objects on display utilize the process and materials of public monuments for those who are either willfully ignored or purposefully forgotten."

At PPSTMM 323 NE Wygant #203. 4PM-6 Free

Saturday, May 04, 2024

May 4 North Art Openings+

In addition to the Westside Art Openings Saturday afternoon there is more.


Portlander J.A.W. Cooper has two styles now, clean line, and lines and shading. They have a lot of concepts. Harmonic with common Nucleus themes. At Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 4PM-6 Free


Tammy Jo Wilson has Figuring It Out. At Souvenir Arts https://souvenirartspdx.org 1233 NE Alberta 4PM-7 Free


Horatio Law has a closing reception for his residency. At Portland Chinatown Museum, 127 NW 3rd 3PM-5


The Lan Su Chinese Garden is free to all today with performances hourly. It honors the Portland Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. At the Lan Su Garden 239 NW Everett 10AM-6PM Free


As mentioned Thursday, PNCA-Willamette has the main school and satellite locations open on the weekend for their graduating shows.


The big ad agency guests the PSU graphic design show Be Honest. At W+K 224 NW 13th. 5PM-8 Free RSVP required - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/15th-annual-psugd-be-honest-tickets-884539179497?aff=oddtdtcreator


All we’ve got is each other by Anthony Roberto are posed 3d computer models of figures in the form of sculptures and renderings. At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Carnation has a group show from an open call on lived intersections. Artists are Sally Finch,,, Frankie Krupa Vahdani, Yuyang Zhang, Dante Carlos, Ahuva S. Zaslavsky, Nancy Floyd, Francis Dot, M Prull, Hale Ekinci, Chris Ticas, Ebenezer Galluzzo, Jennifer Rabin, Erin Fox, Safiyah Hassouneh, Hyun Jung Jung, Latoya Lovely, Christina Martin, Elise Azam Mravunac, Joshua Sin, Victoria Smits, Ash Stone, Noa Taylor, Wayne Bund, and Forest Svengard-Lang.

At www.carnationcontemporary.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. 5PM-8 Free


The big event this evening is the Oregon biennial of contemporary art.

It has had many homes and curators. Out of town curators can shake up natural insular patterns and provide a path to show out of town in the future. This year the curators are Jackie Im and Anuradha Vikram. Vikram took her degree in critical studies at CCA, then for 20 years has operated worldwide, in addition to teaching at UCLA. Im is based in the Bay Area and was a visiting faculty member at PNCA-Willamette which has given her some familiarity to artists in Oregon.

Artists are Carla Bengtson, Meech Boakye, Srijon Chowdhury, Epiphany Couch, Megita Denton, Michael Espinoza, Marcus Fischer, Bean Gilsdorf, Patricia Vázquez Gómez, Anne Greenwood, Bridgette Hickey, chimæra/project, Horatio Hung-Yan Law, Maxx Katz, Rainen Knecht, Methods Body, Morgan Ritter, Sarah Rushford, Tyler Stoll, UwU Collective, and Vo Vo.

At Oregon Contemporary nee Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.oregoncontemporary.org 8371 N. Interstate Map 5PM-8 Free

Thursday, May 02, 2024

May 3 Eastside Art Openings

More at http://firstfridaypdx.org/ and their socials list many shows and their times.

May 2 Westside Art Openings+

First Thursday also includes the Saturday following in the afternoon.


For your +1, Passenger Seat Records is the experimental world foil to Mississippi Records trad. Realistic Moment brings Moment #4 DJs to accompany Diego Gaeta from LA. He is an excellent keyboardist. At Passenger Seat Records https://passengerseatrecords.com/ 4922 NE 20th 7PM Free


It is Spring, so for your +2 you can experience Flamenco music with guitarist Brenna McDonald and guitarist/vocalist Yeshe Wingerd. A project of Espacio Flamenco, it repeats on first Thursdays. At Bar Botellón 606 NE Davis 7PM-9 Free


Adams and Ollman and ILY2 continue. No idea on Landdd, or the Everett Lofts.


Ryan Pierce brings Impossible Springs. Pierce is known for schematic social process sculptures, then map-based work. Impossible Springs are schematic imaginary landscapes from a process work. "Improbable Springs is primarily inspired by a six week hike Pierce went on in 2018, traveling from Phoenix, AZ to Silver City, NM. The natural springs scattered along the way were his primary source of water on his journey through the Southwest. The aesthetic of these secluded springs - sometimes marked by wayfinders such as fence posts, stacks of rocks or nothing at all - significantly influenced this new body of work. Water is depicted in many of the paintings, its significance undeniable. The imagery hints at the possibility of past flooding, lingering puddles, possible drought, spartan spigots amidst the wildflowers. There is something hopeful in a future where these springs still exist, that nature continues to persist in these significant ways despite the accelerating climate crisis."

Peter Gronquist uses gestures with a light source to expose photo paper for Light Record. Both at Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5PM-7 Free


Terry Toedtmeier combined photography with landscapes of geologic features. He was a cofounder of Blue Sky, curator, and taught. Tonight is a selection Arches (and Apertures). The UO Schnitzer Museum opens a show of more of his work, up 3 months -https://jsma.uoregon.edu/TerryToedtemeier. Accompanied by Nancy Lorenz.

At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 1825 NW Vaughn Map 5PM-7 Free RSVP by email to info at pdxcontemporaryart.com


The Portland Art Museum, through a private grant, is open free first Thursdays. They are free the whole day 10AM-8PM.


V. Maldonado has Ojo de Aguila (eagle's eye) - abstract expresionist drawings. Seiichi Hiroshima has No Fish Today It's a Good Day for Printmaking, color mezzotint prints. And there is a show by other gallery artists Yoshihiro Kitai, Takahiko Hayashi, and Ritsuko Ozeki.

At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free 5PM-8


Kayla Marie Carlson has Natural Formations, large color blocks on a brown background. Brown is back everywhere! At Fine Art Fruit https://fine-art-fruit.square.site/ 925 NW 19th Ave Suite A 5PM-8 Free


In the Nine Gallery Jerry Mayer sculpts paper and cardborad into quiet minimalist forms.

Sol Neelman has Weird Sports, photos of adult play in a surealist and dada vein. Dylan Hausthorhas What The Rain Might Bring explained better on the website.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Portland artist Nathaniel C Praska has rough drawings By the Skin of Our Teeth, themed on collapse. At After/time Gallery 730 SW 10th (enter on 9th) 5PM-8


Split Decisions are abstract paintings by Betty Merken. Daniel Robinson has landscape paintings Some Kind of Lonesome. Lisa Occhipinti has drawings In the Office. At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


The Willamette PNCA 2024 MFA thesis exhibition is spread across venues. At
Expensify, 401 SW 5th
Stelo Arts, 412 NW 8th
Maddox, 1231 NW Hoyt

5PM-9 Tonight, 1PM-5 Saturday and Sunday Free


The Willamette PNCA 2024 BFA thesis exhibition is in the main building along with mural painting, a photo booth, DJ Tic Toc, and DJ Lapaushi.

The Watershed Print Center archive show continues. Included are Northwest artist editions they printed.

At PNCA www.pnca.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5-9 Free


The Emancipation of Isaka Shamsud-Din: A Liberated Archives Exploration of Fine Art is a retrospective of the now 79 year-old Portland artist. He lived the change of those years and expressed it in many media. He was part of Insitar Abioto's Black Artists of Oregon show at the Museum. This is a deeper look. Other than tonight, and a talk Saturday at 2PM, an appointment to see the show is required. https://www.theblackgallerypdx.com/ 916 NW Flanders 5PM-7 Free


May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander month and there are a variety of connected events in town. The big ad agency's own employee group has a show themed on the domestic environments of the Asian diaspora.

At W+K www.wk.com 224 NW 13th Map 5PM-8 Free


Writers Block hosts the Blackfish 25th aniversery. At Writers Block. 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8


Waterstone has Indigo Memories, tree ring-like patterns on paper by Mini Giri. At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Suns, Stars and Cosmic Tree are painted mixed media constructions by Kanetaka Ikeda. Founding Blackfish member Stephan Soihl has botanical paintings Instances of Art. Corey S. Pressman has Return, Return, abstract paintings. Christopher Shotola-Hardt has surreal paintings involving birds in Elegies.

At Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Free


Sharon Bronzan has portraits Lost in Reality. They are almost all sold. She is a late career regional painter from UO, sometimes attached to magical realism. Along with a retrospective by Dorthoy Goode who passed away in 2020.

At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


RACC has an open house with works from the substantial public collection they manage. At RACC.org 411 NW Park. 5PM-7 Free


Heléna Dupre Thompson has Detritivore, macrophotographs from a variey of artist studios. At Laura Vincent Design and Gallery www.lvdesignandgallery.com/ 824 NW Davis 5PM-8 Free


The Urban Art Network is back with their sprawling carfts and art show on 13th.