Friday, June 13, 2025

June 13 Vein vs Artery

Mako Miyamoto https://www.makomiyamoto.com/ is an ad man and an artist. He has been with Chefas for a time. IMO it falls into https://www.instagram.com/p/DKs-ZLxs7r5/.

This body of work, Vein of Salt, is abstract, in contrast to his Wookie and Jitaku projects. He uses infrared imaging to capture landscapes but lacks the gravitas of infrared imaging worker Richard Mosse.

A more extensive statement is https://www.stephaniechefas.com/mako-miyamoto-2025-preview t Stephanie Chefas gallery www.stephaniechefas.com 134 SE Taylor, Ste 203. Map. 5PM-8 Free


L' Atlier Yaffe is a very beautiful organic social scene built with care. They have a good art curation program which is independent of most of the rest of what is going on with Portland galleries, commercial and nonprofit.

Tonight they bring self-taught Xavier Raymond Kelley https://winston-wachter.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/2025/01/Kelley_CV_WW_2024_WithHeaderAndFooter.pdf from Seattle. He made his first show 4 years ago there at age 19. He lives in Portland today.

"My background is definitely in athletics — that really informs my art and the concepts and motifs that show up in my art," Kelley said. "Art and sports are very intersectional, and they're both very acute forms of self-expression. Just like dance is a form of art, I believe sports is also a form of art and self-expression."

His work reminds Basquiat. He samples themes from athletics, science, ancient Egypt, African culture, and social change. Some works include text. Bright colors. Afrofuturism. His portrait was painted by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe and is in the show at Russo now.

Recommended. At https://www.atelieryaffe.com/ 111 NE MLK BLVD, Suite 104. 5PM-9 Free

Sunday, June 08, 2025

June 8 Weird Nature Coasters

Nucleus has assumed the crown of mass individual multiple shows.

It began in Portland in 2001 with Charm Bracelet, organized by Brad Adkins and Chris Buckingham. It continued with Chris Haberman and Jason Brown in a variety of spaces, including the Pioneer Place Mall, now home to the ill-fated WeWork.

Tonight it is the 10th Aniversary Salut!, original art on drink coasters. Mass multiple shows are the zeitgeit for today, individual artworks, small, easy to move, and not necessary to have expensive framing.

Each artwork is $74. Cash/card and carry. A line will form, pre-the doors. They estimate the line will be down by 2:30 or 3. All sales final.

The 340 artists, each contributing several individual works for a total of more than 1000 are drawn from the global Nucleus stable: A.C. Esguerra, A.M.Sartor, Aaron Nagel, Aaron Piland, Adam Stoner, Adriana Lozano, Alex Brock, Alex Cabal, Alex Chiu, Alex Dos Diaz, Alex Kuno, Alexandria Neonakis, Alina Chau, Allie Yacina, Allison Black, Allison May Kiphuth, Alvaro Escobar, Amanda Grose, Amber Feng, Amelia Rozear, Amy Earles, Andi Soto, Andrea Kang, Andrew Brandou, Andrew Cadima, Angela Ramones, Angie Duran, Anna Gong, Anuj Shrestha, Ariel Lee, Athena Parella, Austin Reinkens, Aya Kneitner, Bags43, Bayo, Ben Hill, Ben McEntee, Benz and Chang, Beverly Arce, Bird Cvlt, brayniac, Brian Britigan, Brian Holderman, Brian Serway, Brianna Miller, Brigette Barrager, Bryce Wymer, Burger Babie, Burrito Breath, Caleb Sinchok, Camila Rosa, Candie Bolton, Cassandra Kim, Cassey Kuo, Cecelia Wilken, Chad Keith, Chan, Chelsea Blecha, Christian Leon Guerrero, Christine Almeda, Claire Merchlinsky, Crisselle, Crystal Barbre, Crystal Dawn Chaffee, Crystal James, D. Jeffrey, Dan McCarthy, Danielle Chenette, Dasdrew, David DePasquale, Dee Wah-Lung, Defectivepudding, Denis Dalesio, Derek Ortega, Devin Liston, Diana Ling, Diego Penuela, Dinara Mirtalipova, Dusty Ray, Edlyn Capulong, Edward Cao, Eli McMullen, Ellen Surrey, Em Randall, Emil Konishi, Emily Ding, Emily Neilson, Erica Rose Levine, Erick Martinez, Erika Kosmatka, Erikas, Eva Redamonti, Evah Fan, Evon Freeman, FARTSYLEE, Faunwood, Felicia Chiao, Floriane Marchix, Franco Zacha, Frank Forte, Franklin Lei, fulltimefish, G Yang, Gabby Zapata, Gasp Yikes, Gemma Correll, gentle thrills, George Park, Gina M. Contreras, Gino Whitehall, Gizem Vural, Graham Franciose, Graham Yarrington, Grayson Bear, Greg Kletsel, Grey Chen, Grimbytes, Guno Park, Haley Manchon, Hanna Jaeun, Hannah Tjia, Heather Lee Birdsong, Heidi Moreno, HerrSuite, Hollie Mengert, HookieDuke, ileanadraws, Izzy Abreu, Jack T. Cole, Jackie Brown, James Coffman, James Lipnickas, James Thistlethwaite, Jamie Green, Janice Chu, Jeannie Lynn Paske, Jeff McMillan, Jeff Sheridan, Jen Tong, Jenia Cher, Jenn Joslin, Jenna Andersen, Jenna Gibson, Jennifer Davis, Jennifer Wang, Jennifer Xiao, Jess Phoenix, Jessica Dalva, Jessica Hess, Jessica Luna, Jessica Roux, Jiayue Li, JObe, Jocelyn Tsaih, John Banh, John Rego, Joon the Goon, Joshua Minnich, JP Neang, Julia Peng, Julian Callos, Julie Benbassat, Julie Hang, Juliet Schreckinger, Juliette Toma, Justine Prebich, Kaela Han, Kaetlyn Able, Kamryn Tulare, Kanako Abe, Karen Kuo, Kat Hudson, kAt Philbin, Kate Liu, Kate O'Hara, Katherine Lam, Katie Mai, Kelley Sutphin, Kelli Flitton, Kelly Louise Judd, Kelly Thorn, Kelly Yamagishi, Kelsey Buzzell, Ken Keirns, Kenichiro Chaffee, Kerilynn Wilson, Kevin Cincotta, Kevin Gribbin, Kevin Jay Stanton, Kim Sielbeck, Kim Slate, Kim Thai Nguyen, Kimberli Johnson, Kimera Wachna, Kodi Bujard, Krissta Passanante, Krista Perry, Kristin Bell, Kristina Micotti, Kyle Fewell, Kyler Martz, Lachlan Herrick, Lauren Hom, Lauren Saxton, Lea Barozzi, Lena Fridman, Leo Matsuda, Lettie Jane Rennekamp, Lianne Pflug, Lily Qian, Lily Seika Jones, Lin Xinyi Huang, Lindsey Martin Gardner, Lisa Kogawa, Liz Clayton Fuller (ipaintbirbs), Lizzy Gass, MadebyEnger, Marika Paz, Marina Caro, Marisa Avila Sayler, Mariya Pilipenko, Mark Hoffmann, Marlowe (Odd Rabbits), Martin Ontiveros, Mary O'Malley, Mary Pham, Matt Midgley, Matt Schu, Matte Stephens, Matthew Aceves, Matthew Crumpton, McKay Felt, McMonster, Meadow & Fawn, Megan Buccere, Megan Wyreweden, Megguran, Melissa Lakey, Michael Powers Tarantelli, Michael York Gilreath, Michelle "Meng" Nguyen, Mike Egan, Mike Howat, Miranda Tacchia, Molly Mendoza, Momo Gordon, Mónico Chávez, Monique Aimee, Mwanel Pierre-Louis, Nadia Rausa, NAKI, Nana Williams, Naoshi, Natali Koromoto, Natalia Cardona Puerta, Nate Sandhart, Nathan Mckee, Nicomi Nix Turner, Niemo, Nikolas Ilic, Niky Motekallem, Onenhillion, Orlie K, Paper Puffin, Parakid, Patara, Patrick Mathews, Po Yan Leung, Preemoreno, Quathryn, Rachel Elese, Rachel Silva, Rain Szeto, Raymond Argumedo, Reuben Negron, Rose Wong, Rowan Kingsbury, Ryan Harris, rynoook, Samantha Mash, Sara Kipin, Sarah Walsh, Scion Illustration, Scott Mills, Shag, Shannon Purcell, Shawn Hebrank, Shelley Couvillion, Shelly Swann, ShinYeon Moon, Shogo Ota, Shoko Ishida, skullbashhero, Skye Becker-Yamakawa, Song Kang, Sophia Kiuchi, Sophie Margolin, Sorie Kim, Steve Martinez, Stevie Shao, Sunny Eckerle, Svetla Radivoeva, Sylvia Ji, Taegan Treichel, Tara Booth, Tara Nicole Whitaker, Taryn Knight, Teagan White, Tiffany Wei, Tim Furey, Tim Peacock, Tina Yu, tintist, TMRWLND, Tony Rodriguez, Tora Kozic, Tyler Bingham, Uijung Kim, Vahe Yefremian, Valeriya Volkova, Veronica Steiner, Victor Bizar Gómez, Victoria Orolfo, Victoria Ying, Vin Ganapathy, Vivian Le, VR Rivera, Wingchow, Wyatt Hersey, Yadi Liu, Yi Du, Yohey Horishita, Yumi Yamazaki, Yuuki Jia, Yvonne Herbst, Zach Mendoza, Zachary Oldenkamp, Zaine Vaun, Zienna Brunsted Stewart, and Zoe Persico.

The 10th Aniversary of Salut! https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/salut-10 at Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 1PM-4 Free


Public Nature is a performance series. Each event is a collaboration between a mover, a writer, and a sound artist, working together for the first time, one time. This one is Lucy Cotter, text; Jordan Isadore, movement; and John Niekrasz, sound.

At Ramona Atreet Ant Farm 12946 SE Ramona Gates 5:30PM show 6 $5-15 By donation cash, venmo, and paypal


Modular on the Spot reopens its songbook for our short season of weather tonight. It is an international series of modular synth concerts. In Portland, it is a poject of the Synth Library. It's free!

Tonight performers are Weird Things For Imaginary People, Ivan Jan, Amoja, Akemie, and Geoffrey PB.

At Overlook Park, 6PM Free

Saturday, June 07, 2025

June 7 Northside Art Openings+

For your +1 Society is the public space of a group of artist studios. They invited Lydia Rosenberg all the way from Pittsburgh to present Lamp Store, Grand Reopening. Maybe it echoes the famous Portland Table, Lamp, and Chair reimagined by artists.

Lydia Rosenberg’s Lamp Store, Grand Reopening at https://societysocietysociety.com/ 711 SE Grand upstairs above Mother Foucault’s. 5PM-7 Free


For your +2 The Broadway play, Good Night and Good Luck streams. It is topical, focused on Edward R. Murrow exposing Sen Joe McCarthy's investigation of Communist sympathizers and destroying their lives and careers by black lists. https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/entertainment/how-to-watch-good-night-good-luck 4PM Free


For your +3 A Sometimes Gallery opens the Dog Show and releases the Museum of Dogs book.

At A Sometimes Gallery https://asometimesgallery.com/ 3601 SE Division 5PM-8 Free


A new photography gallery and darkroom, Franklin Foto, opens I Will Not Hurt Myself/I Will Not Hurt Others, images by photographer Michele Thompson https://mthompsonphoto.art/. At Franklin Foto https://www.franklinfoto.org/ 8953 N Lombard 5PM-8 Free


Kyle Adam Kalev Peets brings Willy-Nilly, paintings inspired by his Estonian heritage.

"Estonia was one of the last European countries to be forcefully converted from Paganism to Christianity. Today Estonia is one of the least religious countries in Europe. Only a small percentage of Estonians believe in God, but most believe they can talk to trees. This body of work has something to do with that.

This project begins with a slow turn back to my Estonian roots to embrace pre-Christian magical thinking, animism, awe and wonder."

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


Ellen O’Shea and Will Zeng bring Ass, Grass, & Cash a meditation on fossil-fueled car culture.

At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free

Friday, June 06, 2025

June 6 Eastside Art Openings

All the Eastside events are at http://firstfridaypdx.org/ and their socials which list many shows and their times.


The big one tonight and to visit and throughout the show on their up time is the Lobby at Ellen Browning.

POV opens tonight. It is a selection from a noted private collection. It is focused on women artists including Lynda Benglis, Carmen Herrera, Jenny Holzer, Simone Leigh, Rebecca Manson, Wendy Red Star, Deborah Roberts, Joan Snyder, Sarah Sze, and Emmi Whitehorse. I have been a fan of Sarah Sze but I think her only work seen in person was at the Seattle art museum. The Lumber Room is another serious collector of women artists.

The opening includes a video of an interview with Carmen Herrara. She gained fame late in life with her 100 year respective at the Whitney.

More Carmen: from the Mori Art Museum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usKCWN5qFFU and from CBS https://www.cbsnews.com/video/101-year-old-artist-carmen-herrera-seeks-order-in-work/.

Herrara passed on at age 106 in 2022. Artist Herrara broke the 7 figure mark at auction last month, oh for droit de suite.

At The Lobby at Ellen Browning https://ellenbrowningbuilding.com/the-lobby/ 2871 SE Division Street. 6PM-8 Free


Also opening is Gemma Correll. At Nucleus House Gallery 1137 NE Alberta 5PM-7 Free

Thursday, June 05, 2025

June 5 Westside Art Openings+

First Thursday also includes the Saturday following in the afternoon. Urban Art Network occupies 13th with all their booths of stuff.


Illy2 & Adams and Ollman continue.


For your +1 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


For your +2 the Portland Art Museum, through a private grant, is open free first Thursdays. They are free the whole day 10AM-8PM.


Pippa Arend https://www.pippaarend.com/ is known as the founder of P:ear. She has moved on, leaving it in good hands. Tonight she shows her art in show Primordial Sounds. Included are paintings on goat vellum with pigments made from the wishbones of birds eaten for dinner, ground with linsead oil, and yards of cord made from urban grasses.

Tuvan Throat Singer Soriah performs at 5:30 and 6:30.

Guest artists Zhanna Tsytsyn from Siberia and Leah Kohlenberg show their work.

At the artist's residency Studio 239 NW 13th 5:30PM-8:30 Free


Fans Only shows its residents along with the PSU Photography Collective. It's an artist residency in an office building with First Thursday readouts. At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-7 Free


Mariette Pathy Allen has a 50 year retrospective of imaging the trans world in the US and internationally. Jesse Enger brings I want to See How Things Play Out playful and ironic queer portraits.

Ellen Greorge brings her small sculptures, The Heart Catches The Hand, to the Nine inside Blue Sky. At the Nine Gallery https://www.blueskygallery.org/nine-gallery

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-9 Free


Stelo brings a grand project of many events inspired by Oregon's geologic history, Oregon Origins Project. The art part opens at Stelo tonight with visual work by Michael Boonstra, Claire Burbridge, Christine Bourdette, Juniper Harrower, James Lavadour, Daniela Naomi Molnar, Sidony O'Neal, Sara Siestreem, Amanda Triplett, and Leah Wilson.

There are musical events, talks and soup on the way to the show closing July 12. You can find it all on the Stelo web and socials.

At Stelo Arts https://www.steloarts.org 412 NW 8th Avenue 5PM-8 Free


Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, born in Ghana, has a show, A Place I Call Home. He is here now, bringing a noted US and international CV. Related, look up Ghana Think Tank ironic and relevant.

At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


BlackOut is a group show curated by Donovan Scribes themed on the 2020 death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter in Portland.

At The Black Gallery https://www.theblackgallerypdx.com/ 916 NW Flanders 5PM-7 Free


PDX Contemporary opens Art for a New Consciousness by Christan Abusaid from Bogotá.

At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 1825 NW Vaughn Map 5PM-7 Free


Pat Boas brings Scripts, abstract paintings inspired by language. Jinie Park brings Exotic Animal, mixed-media paintings. Both are color for Summer

At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5:30PM-7:30 Free


Boo Johnson brings paintings, The Boat Show. They are paintings of sailboats on calm water. At Fine Art Fruit https://fine-art-fruit.square.site/ 925 NW 19th Ave Suite A 6PM-8


David Levinthal brings An American Portrait, large format Polaroids of maquette figures; along with prints by the late Royal Nebeker.

The Opening reception is Saturday, 1:30. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


Lauren Mantecón, nee Portland, now Santa Fe, brings abstract paintings Flash of Beauty. Along with Terrell James bringing Stanzas. At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free


Portland Arts Collective has a group show of their artists. At the Portland Arts Collective https://www.portlandartscollective.org/ 122 NW Couch 6PM-9 Free


Katherine T Jacobs presents Swimming Without Limbs. At After | Time Collective Gallery 730 SW 10th (enter on 9th) 6PM-9 Free


Ozymandias are granite sculptures by Benjamin Mefford. Glimpses is a group show of mobile device photos. Justin Auld has Quantum Works.

All at Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Writers Block brings Dynamic Stillness by Nancy Larson & Edward Running. Musical stylings by the Lincoln High jazz combo.

At Writers Block. 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8 Early Close Free


This Must Be the Place is a show by artist friends Nancy Wilkins and Martha Pfanschmidt. At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Chess Club is doing a pop up at Frances May. Drop in at Frances May 521 SW 10th 6PM-9 Free

June 5-7 Public Domain

PSU Art and Social Practice presents their annual Assembly. This year Assembly activates downtown after a kickoff at King School in NE Portland.

Thursday

KSMoCA Artist Talk and Exhibition Opening: Xavier Pierce, a local artist and teacher, collaborated with his students on art projects. Xavier Pierce and his first-grade class at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Museum of Contemporary Art 10AM-11:30 Free

The PDX Hour: Conversations as Social Practice: Manfred Parrales at PSU in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art 4PM-5 Free

Friday - All at the Portland Building 1122 SW 5th

Permission to Leave: Simeen Anjum presents an interactive, fictional travel consultancy where participants apply for an exit visa from their own country. 1PM-2 Free

In Our Ways: Dom Toliver, Gwen Hoeffgen, Adela Cardona, and the Watershed Community 2:15PM-3:15 Free

Happiest Hour: Clara Harlow 3:45PM-4:45 Free

Art+Social Practice Graduate Lectures: Midori Yamanaka and Manfred Parrales 5PM-8 Free

Saturday

Songs Against Dark Times: PDX Edition: By Lou Blumberg and Simeen Anjum. Participants will sing protest songs while walking through downtown Portland, stopping at historical protest sites. Progressing from Pioneer Square and ending at PSU Smith Union 10AM-11 Free

Diaspora Kitchen: Sarah Luu. Participants share family recipes for a collective cookbook. At 800 SW Hall St, 11:30AM-12:30PM Free

At 827 SW Columbia, in the South Park Blocks at the tail of the farmers' market

Give Me Shelter: Gwen Hoeffgen and Dom Toliver, 1PM-2:00 Free

Monument Speed Dating: Nina Vichayapai, 2:15PM-3:15 Free

Friday, May 30, 2025

May 31-June 1 Marine Layer

The Unkles family is one of Portland unsung art patrons. They rent space for artist studios. They parlayed the family business into buying warehouses. In the 1990s warehouses were plentiful and inexpensive. But city regulation, and the lust by tech for warehouse offices, ended that. The Unkles family maintains the tradition, only raising the rent when the studio changes artist.

Today is a rare opportunity to look inside one, the NW Marine Art Works. For these events, the artists usually straighten their studios. And, for this one, guest artists will bring work from the Seed Building, River Studios, the Boathouse, and Carton services deemed not suited for large events by the City. They have also invited artists and crafters from outside the Unkles family studios.

The big list of some of the participating artists, fod, drink, and music is https://www.nwmarineartworks.com/summer25.

Of course you are encouraged to buy art direct and experience the narratives of each artist. It's family friendly with live music, food and drink. Open studios at NW Marine Art Works 2516 NW 29th. 10AM-4PM Free

May 30 Photo Society Lamp Store

Fans Only guests the PSU photography gaggle with Until We Find It for an opening tonight. At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-7 Free


Society is the public space of a group of artist studios. They invited Lydia Rosenberg all the way from Pittsburgh to present Lamp Store, Grand Reopening. Maybe it echoes the famous Portland Table, Lamp, and Chair reimagined by artists.

Lydia Rosenberg’s Lamp Store, Grand Reopening at https://societysocietysociety.com/ 711 SE Grand upstairs above Mother Foucault’s. 5PM-7 Free.

Monday, May 26, 2025

May 27 Midnight Variety Hour

Midnight Variety Hour is "an interdisciplinary performance collective existing somewhere between channels on cable access and the midnight hour that never ends." One of the collective is https://www.mindmarrow.com/bio. Tonight they screen some of their video projects.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

May 23 Gayaki Ang

Most people will have some familiarity with Classical Indian Music. Full pieces and concerts take a little work to find. They are widely available on YouTube and streaming. Many musicians are from multigenerational musical dynasties; they began with ear training as infants, really the formation of the auditory cortex, then studying as small children. Like European classical music, or America's classical music, jazz, it has a vast encyclopedia of melody, rhythm, scales, and improvisation.

Kalakendra brings noted artists from India to Portland.

Tonight Ragini Shankar https://raginishankar.com/, violin, plays with Mukundrao Deo https://agakhanmuseum.org/bio/mukundraj-deo/, tabla. The program is Gayaki Ang style; the violin emulates Indian vocal music.

Ragini Shankar is grandaughter of violinist N. Rajam and daughter of Dr. Sangeeta Shankar whose two daughters continue that style as seen in this mother-daughters concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AuyhKeMTQA. She has a degree in mechanical engineering.

Ragini Shankar https://kalakendra.org/etn/hindustani-violin-by-ragini-shankar/ performs at the First Baptist Church, 909 SW 11th. 7PM $35 door, $30 advance, $20 students, $15 children 3-12 years

Monday, May 19, 2025

May 19 Windmills are Our Friends

Founding Boathousers were part of the filmmaker van tour tradition booking shows in college towns. Tonight the Boathouse guests traveling filmmaker Paul Smart screening his feature film, Don Barry: A Quixotic Exploration.

"The work places real-life 85-year-old experimental filmmaker Barry Gerson into the Quixote role, and filming him in Guanajuato, Mexico during its annual Cervantes festival and Day of the Dead celebrations."

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

Friday, May 16, 2025

May 17 Flying Quilt Postcards

Paper Quilts & Flying Dogs is a show by Annie Rose Macer & Raf Spielman.

At Lowell https://www.lowellshopgallery.com/ 2136 E Burnside 3PM-5 Free


Postcards from the Night is a show of ceramics by Ginny Sims all the way from Minneapolis.

At Nationale www.nationale.us 15 SE 22nd Map Recommended 2PM-4 Free

May 16 Fathom Wood

Cat Ross https://www.sothseier.com/ brings Fathoms. Ross is a multiartist in VR, performance, sound, painting, and poetry.

The paintings and poems were inspired by studying David Hockney's pool series along with internships and residencies with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. NOAA studies climate change and runs the Global Forecast System and other air, land, and sea computer models. Those are the basis of weather forecasts. It is being cut because science and truth is deemed dangerous.

At PPSTMM 323 NE Wygant #203. 6PM-8 Free


Artspace is the Lake Osewgo Arts Council gallery. They are ably curated now by Morgan Ritter. They are a bit far afield, so we don't likt their every show. Of course the Marylhurst Art Gym is deeply misssed too. Thet Have show Woodcore, contemporary work which sets itself apart from traditional craft. The artists are Megita Denton, Bobby Mercier, Leroy Setziol, Monica Setziol-Phillips, Julian Watts, Ben Young, and Adam Zeek.

At the Arts Council of Lake Oswego https://artscouncillo.org/artspace 380 A Avenue, Suite A, Lake Oswego 5:30PM-7:30 Free


Viktor Kobylianski opens paintings Hiddi. At One Grand Gallery www.onegrandgallery.com 1000 E Burnside 6PM-9 Free

Thursday, May 15, 2025

May 15 Periphery Comes Home

The PSU BFA and MFA graduates read out tonight. Https://www.pdx.edu/art-design/events/2025-bfamfa-showcase has events throughout its run following tonight's opening.

At the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University https://www.pdx.edu/museum-of-art/ 1855 SW Broadway 5PM-7 Free

Monday, May 12, 2025

May 12 Old Portland

Tonight is vintage Portland found footage and cultural archeology by Bryan Boyce and the Stephen Slappe Dead Media Hour.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

Saturday, May 10, 2025

May 10 Butterflies in Flight

There is a memorial celebration for David Eckard at PNCA at 2.


Martha Daghlian brings Papillon. Her recent work has been an admixture of text and textile.

At False Front Studio www.falsefrontstudio.com 4518 NE 32nd Map 3PM Free

Friday, May 02, 2025

May 4 Lolita Friends of Doom

John Brodie, gallerist, book shop purveyor, artist studio space creator, and music supporter is an artist among all of that. He has a show Friends of Doom.

Old Fashioned Gallery makes future history in the past history of garage galleries, in the context of current garage galleries, in Portland.

It is a residence. They don't want their address published. Look them up and follow the directions to message them for the address, or go with a friend already going, or later message them for an appointment.

Old Fashioed Gallery opening show Noon-3 Free


Kira Imai is a Japanese illustrator of lolita cosplay. https://www.kiraimai.com/ Her show is alongside copacetic artists from the gallery: Bennett Slater, Cat Rabbit, Chizu Wada, Debbies Grahl, Ellie vs. Bear, Hanna Jaeun, Heikala, Jared Andrew Schorr, Kim Baise, Miso, Mizna Wada, Naoshi, and Nengiren.

A fun film is Kamakaze Girls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTR4gBMmqC8 themed on lolita fashion, moped gangs, and social dynamics in Japan. With the sad ultra casual state of Portland fashion, it's nice to see people trying. You see the lolitas out and about from time to time in Portland. It's always more fun in a group. Visitors are encouraged to dress the cosplay, but it is not necessary.

Kira Imai and friends https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/kira-imai at Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 3PM-6 Free

May 3 Northside Art Openings+NW

Judy Pfaff https://www.judypfaffstudio.com/ age 79 is a UK artist, making paintings, installations, and prints. Today opens a print show, Interior Landscapes, "woodcut, photogravure, collagraph, and encaustic with the unexpected: glitter, leaves, resin, and digital elements." It's a good show for Portland with our history of Gordon Gilkey.

At the Schnitzer Family Collection https://www.jordanschnitzer.org/schnitzer-collection/ 3033 NW Yeon Noon-5 Free


Wall scrolls are a print medium found in Japanese anime pop art. They are easy to move with and fit into the otaku culture. Artists are Boya Sun, Choo, Junko Mizuno, Kehasuk, Kelly Sux, Maruti-bitamin, Natalie Andrewson, Patrick Mathews, Perry Maple, Matias Bergara, Mengxuan Li, Shintaro Kago, Samuel Rodriguez and Sibylline Meynet.

Https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/ani-may at Nucleus House Gallery 1137 NE Alberta Noon-4 Free


Chorus is a large survey of figurative work from the collection. You will see Janine Antoni, Olga Balema, Lynda Benglis, Forrest Bess, Wynne Greenwood, Ann Hamilton, Lonnie Holley, Suzanne Jackson, Martha Jungwirth, Hayv Kahraman, Kiki Kogelnik, Justine Kurland, Simone Leigh, Tau Lewis, Alice Mackler, Jenine Marsh, Ana Mendieta, Senga Nengudi, Christina Quarles, Lee Relvas, Pipilotti Rist, Betye Saar, Hiraki Sawa, Rose B. Simpson, Diane Simpson, Tecla Tofano, Kaari Upson, Erika Verzutti, and Rebecca Warren. The Lumber Room openings are fabulous and social.

At The Lumber Room https://www.lumberroom.com/exhibitions/565/566 419 SW 9th, above Liz Leach Map  2PM-5 Free


PNW Dirt: Insider’s Perspectives is a show by Kevin Brown, Rebekah Johnson, Marne Lucas, Man Red (Diné ), Brad Rogers, and Grace Weston.

At the Portland Arts Collective https://www.portlandartscollective.org/ 122 NW Couch 2PM-5


Portland artist and musician Morgan Buck brings Love, Light and the Thrill of Imminent Distraction. Buck states "The most exciting thing that a painting can do is to give a “you can’t make this shit up” type of vibe. This vibe has a tendency to present itself in reality tv, weird internet trash and social media as passing glimpses into a stranger world. These media sources become the raw source material for my paintings. Aggregating, combining, and altering screenshots from many web media sources."

At I Love You 2 - ILY2 https://ily2online.com/ 925 NW Flanders 2PM-4 Free


James Lavadour presents Home Ground. He is a self-taught abstract landscape painter and printmaker. His work is informed by his life as Walla Walla in Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and he cofounded the Crow's Shadow printmaking studio.

At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 1825 NW Vaughn Map 3PM-5 Free RSVP by email to info at pdxcontemporaryart.com


Painter Tatyana Ostapenko, born in Ukraine, and living in Portland, presents Inside My Eyelids. Her paintings include sampled photographic and drawing elements.

At Souvenier Gallery https://souvenirartspdx.org/ 1233 NE Alberta 5PM-7 Free


Each Step Pronounced is a show by Renee Couture and Ebenezer Galluzzo. Respectively they are personal narratives on motherhood and trans queer identity.

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


Anthony Roberto has In Spite of One's Self, 3d printed figures.

At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Oregon Contemporary continues.

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

May 2 Eastside Art Openings

All the Eastside events are at http://firstfridaypdx.org/ and their socials which list many shows and their times.

Thursday, May 01, 2025

May 1 Westside Art Openings+

First Thursday also includes the Saturday following in the afternoon. This First Thursday is May Day so there may be demonstrations out and about, and the Urban Art Network occupies 13th with all their booths of stuff.


Fine Art Fruit, Froelick, The Black Gallery, and Adams and Ollman continue.


For your +1 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


For your +2 the Portland Art Museum, through a private grant, is open free first Thursdays. They are free the whole day 10AM-8PM.


Backstage is a show of photographs by Christopher Rauschenberg exposed in artist studios. This show includes the studios of Katherine Ace, Ebenezer Galluzzo, Malia Jensen, Joanne Radmilovich Kollman, Henk Pander, Laura Ross Paul, Marie Watt, and Susan Weil.

Vo Vo brings a mixed media show, topical, and explained at https://www.elizabethleach.com/exhibition-blog/2025/vovo

At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5:30PM-7:30 Free


Fans Only shows its residents along with guests. It's an artist residency in an office building with First Thursday readouts. At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-7 Free


Sara J Winston has photographs Our Body is a Clock themed on her own medical journies. It has a very nice artist statement to explain it all. https://www.blueskygallery.org/exhibitions/archives/2025/sara-j-winston Leah DeVun has Resemblance, portraits of her trans queer family and its normal family values.

Jerry Mayer is a long time minimalist mixed media sculptor and maker of 2d wall work. At the Nine Gallery https://www.blueskygallery.org/nine-gallery inside Blue Sky.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-9 Free


Erin Bodfish is a member of the small After / Time collective. This month she brings At the Altar of My Own Love. At After | Time Collective Gallery 730 SW 10th (enter on 9th) 6PM-9 Free


Whitney Nye brings Trip, an evolution of her repeating units painting style. You will find units, new dense units, and some different than her previous work. Laura Domela brings Defense Mechanisms paintings in a graphic style with a strong drawn line motif.

At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


The late Thomas Wood has Pleiadies, detailed prints with a surreal quality. Alongside Ripert Jasen Smith with Warhol-style screen prints on commercial themes.

The Opening reception is Saturday, 1:30. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


PNCA Willamette has their graduating student thesis show. It is spread across Building 5, Stello, and their main building.

At PNCA | Willamette University www.pnca.wilamette.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free

At Stelo Arts https://www.steloarts.org/ 412 NW 8th Avenue 5PM-8 Free

At NW Marine Art Works https://www.nwmarineartworks.com/ Building5 https://www.buildingfive.org/ 2516 NW 29th Friday 5PM-8 Free


Cuentos, Casas y Vestidos is a show by Monica Mitchell and Angenette Escobar on Mexican folk art themes from their upbringing. Malgré Tout (Despite Everything) is a show of paintings themed on politics and justice incorporating photographic images by Eddie Reed. Barbara Black has mixed media paintings.

All at Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Writers Block brings Shobha Jetmalani, Todd Elliot, David Brandt, Julie Rail, Bear Madina, Deanna Schuerbeke, Michelle Suchland, Francesca Lauen Carrera, Marry Lee, Lindsey Fox, Clement Lee, and Susan Harrington, all from the Unkles studios, and on fiew at their big twice yearly open studios at the Marine Art Works. At Writers Block. 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Kayla Marie Carlson is the latest recipient of the Stumptown Artist Fellowship. She opens paintings I Want to Remember Everything.

At Stumptown www.stumptowncoffee.com 128 SW 3rd 5PM-7 Free


Lisa Onstad brings Familiar Patterns inspired by quotidian fabric patterns such as tablecloths. At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Chess Club is doing a pop up at Frances May. Drop in at Frances May 521 SW 10th 6PM-9 Free

Monday, April 28, 2025

April 28 Viewer Discretion

The Boathouse Microcinema is back. It is a live-work studio in the Unkles artist warehouse portfolio. It is very small.

Tonight Rose Bond https://www.rosebond.com/ and Zak Margolis https://zakmargolis.com/ show work. Included is Animate Symphonia which was scheduled for the Oregon Symphony, but canceled by COVID. "Viewer discretion is advised for a few of tonight's videos."

It is in an industrial area. Do not park on, or overhanging the width of a train, the railroad tracks. They are active. The mass of a train is several thousand times the mass of your car. Your car will either be smashed to bits, towed, or both.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

Saturday, April 26, 2025

April 26 Nut Conversation

Nut Job opens with Morgan Ritter, Maggie Chen and Katya Kirilloff.

At Helen's Costume https://www.costumeintl.com/ 7706 SE Yamhill Street 2PM-5 Free


Small Talk Collective is a photography collective. Tonight they show images from their participants in a cycling projection. It is their 5th annual Light Conversation.

Photographers are Kristina Barker, Zemie Barr, Megan Bent, Amanda Brown, André Buenacosa-Brooks, Ezra Carlsen, Alice Christine Walker, Kassandra Eller, Yalda Eskandari, Marico Fayre, Jon Feinstein, Dot Glenn, Sarah Grew, Mick Hangland-Skill, Jessica Harvey, Leslie Hickey, Kristina Hruska, Stephan Jahanshahi, John Kirkley, Riley Kizziar, Liz Kuball, Jiageng Lin, Doug Lowell, Mara Magyarosi-Laytner, Landry Major, William Mark Sommer, Briar Marsh Pine, Blake Martin, Jake Nelson, Eleanor Oakes, Audra Osborne, Sue Palmer Stone, Mason Pittenger, Marc Ripper, Roo SaBell, June T Sanders, Megan Sinclair, Jennifer Timmer Trail, and James Toftness.

Bar, DJ, and photobooth for your enjoyment.

At the Small Talk Collective in the Disjecta dance studio www.smalltalkcollective.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate#1 Map  7PM-9 Free

Thursday, April 24, 2025

April 24 The Fifth Element

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana presents Quinto Elemento, the fifth element. Portland has a vibrant flamenco community and this is an example.

Flamenco Vivo is homed in New York City, they teach and tour. Patricia Guerrero chorographs the dancers to live music by Francis Gómez.

Ancient science postulated elements earth, water, air, and fire. Aristotle added ether, comprising the universe beyond earth: space. Physics has been curious about it since, now settling into the standard model of 12 particles and 5 forces. Maybe the ether is the space-time continuum, which stars as a new explanaton of gravity itself?

Of course the ether is invisible; Guerrero is interested in making the ether underlying flamenco visible to the audience in performance. It is nu flamenco beyond the traditional rules.

Quinto Elemento https://thereser.org/event/flamenco-vivo-carlota-santana-quinto-elemento/ at the Patricia Reser Center 12625 SW Crescent paid parking in the attached garage or go by TriMet MAX 7:30PM $35-55

April 24 Lasting History

Last Thursday on Alberta continues with some of the remaining galleries open this evening.

Donna Guardino, who founded her namesake gallery, passed April 9. https://www.orartswatch.org/donna-guardino-gallery-owner-and-a-force-behind-the-alberta-arts-district-dies-at-age-81/.

In honor, some history. (long)

The art journey of Alberta Street is attributed to Guardino and her late husband with their gallery, designer Roslyn Hill who developed properties, and Magnus Johannesson who rented space for artist studios inexpensively in the 1990s.

Artists are the shock troops of gentrification. They seek inexpensive space and tolerate diversity and adversity. Artists occupying cheap studio space in inner NW in the 1970s to 1980s brought cafes, galleries, and the big ad agency. The rail yard shown in the late 1980s movie opening credits to Drugstore Cowboy was torn up and the neighborhood became the Pearl District. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtX03U-jt7A.

Seattle had its own low rent district, Pioneer Square, with artist studios and galleries. They founded a First Thursday gallery opening evening on the first Friday of the month in 1981. Portland followed in 1986 in the Pearl District. Emerging artists, self-taught artists, and art students set up art sale stands to show and discuss their work with art enthusiasts. That was too hoy polloi for the galleries and newly occupying bars and restaurants.

So the artists selling on the street decamped to Alberta Street on the last Thursday of the month. Once a month, especially in fair weather, Alberta unfolded as a home for individual artists and performers from the Burning Man art festival.

It grew organically, eventually the City of Portland stepped in, requiring permits, it peaked, and declined.

The die was cast for gentrification of Alberta from 1997 by the design of the Oregon property tax limitation of 1997. The California property tax limitation reassesses the valuation on sale, Oregon does not, creating a property tax gentrification subsidy. https://projects.oregonlive.com/taxes/property/map.

Many galleries maintain an enduring presence and actually sell art to collectors. Some are open late tonight, some are not.


Antler+Talon has painters David Rice, Taylor White and Yelena Bryksenkova. It is also the birthday of Antler+Talon's late founder Susannah Kelly. Antler+Talon was founded in 2012, maintains a worldwide community of collectors for their prints, and represents in Miami.

At Antler & Talon Gallery www.antlerpdx.com 2714 NE Alberta 6pm-9 Free


Alberta Street Gallery was founded in 2004. They have paintings by Gabe Wolfe, metalwork by Thomas Hynes and a group paper show. At Alberta Street Gallery https://www.albertastreetgallery.com/ 1829 NE Alberta 6PM-9 Free


Jill McVarish has Small World, paintings; Cheryl Quintana has extremely detailed ceramic sculptures of the heads of animals; Reed Clarke has portrait paintings. At Guardino Gallery https://guardinogallery.com/ 2939 NE Alberta 5PM-8 Free


Dannika Sullivan has portrait and still life paintings, Illuminate. At Blind Insect 2841 NE Alberta 5:30PM-8 Free


Souvenier, Flight64 may be open, Nucleus House and Nucleus may not be open - they have their own very successful opening evenings.

Saturday, April 19, 2025

April 20 The Subconscious Art of Old Portland

The Boathouse Microcinema is back. It is a live-work studio in the Unkles artist warehouse portfolio. It is very small.

Tonight Matt McCormick Revisits Old Portland. He is a filmmaker and lived and had his studio in the boathouse for a long time. It was a social center in the local movie community. He is now based in Spokane.

McCormick is known for quiet films and slow reveals. Tonight he brings his famous The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal, Vyrotonin Decision, The Deepest Hole, and other shorts from the 2004 Core Sample.

It is in an industrial area. Do not park on, or overhanging the width of a train, the railroad tracks. They are active. Your car will either be smashed to bits, towed, or both.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

Friday, April 18, 2025

April 18-19 Burnout

Building 5 at the NW Marine Art Works welcomes resident artists. Look at what they have done and bring your proposals to fill the large space.

Burnout is a colorful installation of tufted yarn by Felicia Murray https://www.feliciajmurray.com/. I first came across her work at the late Gallery Go Go child of the Jailbreak Collective. Burnout has a soundscape by Mikey Rogers.

Murray uses tufting guns, a medium I'm noticing other friends and artists I follow adopting. You can think of it as 2½D embroidery, and some apply it to 3d stuffed shapes. Acrylic yarns in bright colors are a common magnet.

The show is up a night and a day.

At NW Marine Art Works https://www.nwmarineartworks.com/ Building5 https://www.buildingfive.org/ 2516 NW 29th Friday 5PM-8, and Saturday 12-5 Free

Thursday, April 17, 2025

April 17 Glean

The modern American waste stream is epic. That cuts both ways. I remember that solid waste was the first environmental issue I became aware of and thank my parents for supporting me exploring that concern. I have a vivid memory much later of an unintended detour in the aftermath of a coup into a neighborhood in Lagos were people were hand sorting a giant heap of waste. Across the world, landfills are similarly mined by the poorest in society. There is a lot of plastic waste escaping from them, ultimately into the environment, and subsequently into our bodies too.

In Portland, the Oregon Metro is responsible for solid waste. And here, as in many other cities, artists mine the waste stream to make art. Artist Chris Jordan http://www.chrisjordan.com/ is another artist documenting waste, and in his wide shot photographs and movie Albatross. http://www.albatrossthefilm.com/

This year's GLEAN artists are Epiphany Couch, Mai Ide, Diane Jacobs, Chris Lael Larson, and Marsha Mack. Their show of the result opens this evening.

GLEAN artists www.gleanportland.com at 322 NW 8th 5PM-8 Free.

Friday, April 11, 2025

April 11 God Life Body

Peter Gallo, all the way from Vermont, brings Gods, Sluts & Martyrs. It is outsider-syle mixed media with oil paint. At Adams and Ollman Gallery, the second of four members of the New Art Dealers Alliance newartdealers.org/members, www.adamsandollman.com 418 NW 8th 5PM-7 Free


Betsy Walton brings Wheel of Life, 12 paintings on metaphysical themes. At Stephanie Chefas gallery www.stephaniechefas.com 134 SE Taylor, Ste 203. Map. 5PM-8 Free


Clay Bodies is a ceramics show with James Alby, Savannah Baker, Miranda Karson, and Calvin Wong. At One Grand Gallery www.onegrandgallery.com 1000 E Burnside 6PM-9 Free


After/Time reprises their dance performance with the current show.


Lewis & Clark opens their graduating student show by Sophie Abbassian, Stuti Behari, Knicaid H.G. DeBell, Elly Encell, Allison Gabelman, Elias Guerrero-Reach, Ella Jones, Nuria Nimue Kiesebrink-Pareick, Will Merchant, Josephine Parker, Elliot Pfieffer, Eliza Roberts, LIla Roehr, Ella Ruark, Hollis Sansing, Emilie Schaefer, Grace Schurtz-Ford, Sam Starks, Zoë Steele, Aiden Wilkson, Astea Yajoda, and Siana Sweetpea Yohai.

Wednesday, April 09, 2025

April 10-13 Portland Butoh Festival

Butoh is a postmodern improvised dance form from Japan, and now established worldwide in niches.

Some say it is inspired by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Its initial founding was not, though some later performers taped that source. Portland performer Meshi Chavez and artist Yukiyo Kawano are examples.

In fact, it was founded by Tatsumi Hijikata, age 31 at the time, in 1959. 1959 and 1960 was a great public rebelion against the renewal of the US-Japan Security Treaty. The protests drew one third of the entire population to the streets. With that, the generation who had never served in the armed forces, particpated in street theater and the arts. It was a movement like Paris and the US in 1968, BLM, or the Arab Spring.

In that crucible, Hijikata with collaborator Kazuo Ohno created a new dance form in opposition to Western ballet and modern dance. He gathered collaborators who formed the root of the butoh family tree. Toward the end of his life, Hijikata founded Hakutobo, an all women group.


Seattle is rich in its own butoh family tree with Joan Lagge working with Hakutobo's second unit, then training many in the West. San Francisco is also rich with Koichi Tamano, an early Hijikata collaborator. He is retired, his wife Hiroko Tamano still does workshops. They operated the famous Country Station https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/country-station-sushi-san-francisco in the Mission where anything could and did happen after hours.

Seattle has an annual butoh festival and performances throughout the year under the umbrella of Daipan Butoh https://www.daipanbutohcollective.com/. NYC has a butoh festival organized by Vangeline https://www.vangeline.com/ who has been collaborating with neuroscientists to study the brain while performing. Portland had a butoh node and festivals with Mizu Deserto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DuLsbcnbcQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVxjHA5b2JA. Good for her, she closed shop and literally rode off into the sunset following love.

You find workshops in LA under Min Tanaka's student Oguri under the Body Weather Laboratory. One of my favorites, Akaji Maro with his Dairakudikan, 大駱駝艦, is active performing and with a week long workshop. There is always a new generation of performers, like Kana Kitty, self-taught, independent of the butoh family tree, https://www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_culture/dancing-with-death-kana-kittys-anarchic-transcendent-butoh-dance/ and her unit Wozme, though their work is a bit pop-y to me. Several of the surviving members of Sankai Juku are active active teaching. Workshops may be found in Germany and Sweden.


Now comes the Portland Art Collective with its second annual Portland Butoh Festival.

It has 4 nights of performance and 4 days of workshops.

Performence are:

Thursday April 10th

Nicole Walters with musician Eric Jordan
Rachel Goldman
Salty Xi Jie Ng & Crystal J Sasaki with musician Brian Pfeiffer
Vanessa Skantze with musician Matt Hannfin

Friday April 11th

Minja Mertanen with musician Carl Annala
Emily Haygeman
Aida Miró video screening
Paula Helen with musician Michael Perry

Saturday April 12th

Carl Annala with musician Ice Queen
Hank Logan Peterson
Carlos Cruz - video screening
Helen Thorsen

Sunday April 13th

Ash Pillar with musician Andrew Anderson
Wicking Ground with musician Green Heron
Vicky Filippa - video screening
Amapola with musician Vanessa Skantze

Worshops are Thursday & Friday by Vanessa Skantze from Seattle, and Saturday and Sunday with Minja Mertanen https://www.minjamertanen.net/cv from Finland.

The performances are $25 per night and the workshops are $25 per day, which is inexpensive for a dance workshop.

At the Portland Arts Collective https://www.portlandartscollective.org/ 122 NW Couch Tickets and schedule https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-portland-international-butoh-festival-tickets-1273197862079 Performances 7:30 each night $25

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

April 10 Ode to the Ecobaroque

We don't review every college gallery show and the greater the distance the lower the probability.

Bruce Conkle https://bruceconkle.com/ is a long time Portland artist in installation, sculpture, and 2d work. His work has a sense of wry humor. He is artist in residence at the Clark College Archer Gallery and the work has a reception today.

"Bruce Conkle declares an affinity for mysterious natural phenomenon such as snow, fire, rainbows, crystals, volcanos, tree burls, and meteorites. He examines contemporary attitudes toward the environment, including deforestation, climate change, and extinction. Conkle's work often deals with man's place within nature, and frequently examines what he calls the "misfit quotient" at the crossroads."

The opening reception is today and there are workshops and a talk over a month you can find on the gallery website.

At Archer Gallery www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/archer/index.php, Clark College 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA Noon-4 Free

April 10 Meet Arab Grandma

The big ad agency has an art event tonight, Why Haven’t You Called, Habibi? in the frame of meet Arab Grandma.

Since humans emerged in Africa, we have been moving around the world. A illuminating account is by Bruce Chatwin in The Songlines, his last book. It has a brief segment too, set in Arab North Africa.

There is a great struggle between modernism and traditionalism in the world. Traditionalism is immediate family first, then extended family, then tribe, often nation does not register at all. Less focus on amusing ourselves to death and material consumption. Modernism is the opposite. Margaret Mead said she did not mourn the passing of the nuclear family because the nuclear family required everyone to like each other. Of course each approach has its extremes, and the ideas can be combined. An ad agency has a self interest in exploring how to communicate in every country to sell sugar water and shoes, so like ethnographers, they have the resources and mission to study culture.

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

Sunday, April 06, 2025

April 6 & April 11 Homeless Prints

Gather Make Shelter https://www.gathermakeshelter.org/ is a homeless and poor persons art project by Dana Lynn Louis founded in 2017.

Another similar long-running project is Hospitality House founded in San Francisco in 1967. One homeless research project is the podcast interview series the Outsiders https://www.knkx.org/podcast/outsiders. Recorded in 2019 and 2020 it seems quaint today. It was before COVID, before BLM, and before fentanyl. If you look at the history of the Opium Wars, China may see fentanyl and precursers as payback. The episode Inside Outsiders encapsulates the series, it's a good start point for listening. Gather Make Shelter runs parallel to P:ear Mentor https://www.pearmentor.org/ doing art and job training for homeless youth in Portland since 2002.

Impressions from the Collective is a show by Gather Make Shelter artists Aileen, Blue, Faera, Fahd, Fawn, Gloria, Jaycaob, Madrone, Marz, Tonnisha, and Violet. The artists worked with Mullowney Printing printmakers over a year to develop their art and learn printmaking. The prints are on display at Sator Projects Sunday April 6 and at the Gather Make Shelter space in NW on April 11.

Gather Make Shelter prints. https://www.gathermakeshelter.org/news/qgq4jh7rh8oiv2l34mmnyw4fthhye9

On April 6 at Sator Projects https://www.satorprojects.com/ 1709 SE 3rd 1PM-3 Free

On April 11 Gather:Make:Shelter Gallery https://www.gathermakeshelter.org 1335 NW Kearney 5:30PM-7:30 Free

Saturday, April 05, 2025

April 5 Northside Art Openings+

Amanda Wojick, professor at UO, brings sculptures, Higashiyama Spring. The work of canvas, maple, paper, and paint was developed at her residency in a 200 year old house in Kyoto. Briar Marsh Pine brings Rare Earth. "Rare Earth explores the material consequences of our digital age. The term ‘rare earth’ refers to the mineral elements used to make electronics, magnets, and US military weapons systems. This project investigates the extraction of rare earth material from Mountain Pass Mine, the only rare earth mine in the United States."

At Ditch Projects https://ditchprojects.com/ 303 S. 5th Ave #165, Springfield OR Map 5PM-7 Free


The Portland Synth Library is a beautiful example of DIY hospitality open to all. They have found a nice home in the Lloyd Center Creative Mall. They have an open house today. Synth Library open house at the Synth Library Portland https://www.synthlibraryportland.org/ in Llovd Center 2nd floor by Dicepool. RSVP required at https://withfriends.co/event/23016204/synth_library_open_house. 2PM-5 Free, donations accepted


Anya Roberts-Toney has The Echoing Green, impressionistic landscapeish printings. At Nationale www.nationale.us 15 SE 22nd Map 2PM-4 Free


Jamin London Tinsel https://www.jaminlondontinsel.com/ has ceramic sculpture Homemades. It is more personal than the domestic projects of, for instance. Andrea Zittel. There is a better explanation at https://www.pcc.edu/galleries/2025/03/28/jamin-london-tinsel-homemades/. At the PCC Sylvania Northview Gallery www.pcc.edu/about/galleries/sylvania/ 12000 SW 49th Ave. Portland, OR 97219 CT Building, Rm 214. 2PM-5 Free, parking on weekends at PCC is Free


A new photography gallery and darkroom, Franklin Foto, opens Our Streets by Sai Stone. It images the Black Lives Matter movement in Portland. At Franklin Foto https://www.franklinfoto.org/ 8953 N Lombard 5PM-8 Free


Davor Gromilović, Heartslob, and Taegan Treichel bring varied work

https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/3-person at Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 4PM-6 Free


Ondrea Bell Levey & Madeline Staurseth bring Signal Fire. It is inspired by progressive survivalist bunkers. Of course the oligarchs are building bunkers. In an article on them, the question of guards and servants was raised. A security consultant for one of the projects commented "I'm not worried about an army at the gate, I'm worried about a starving mother and baby at the gate." Then there is the case of the tomb of Ghenghis Kahn. The story is that the people that built the tomb were executed, and the people who executed them were executed. So the tomb has never been found. Strange days.

At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Megita Denton, Sarah Pagliaro, and Jeremy Rotsztain bring Bodies in Blotter. It is all explained at https://carnationcontemporary.com/Bodies-in-Blotter-Megita-Denton-Sarah-Pagliaro-and-Jeremy-Rotsztain.

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


Outer Voice is a performance residency. Tonight, Trajectories includes performances by Marcus Fischer and KT Kusmaul/Body Home Fat Dance at 6PM and 7. At Outer Voice https://www.outervoicepdx.com/ in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. Free


Oregon Contemporary has Ben Buswell with This Land. "This Land presents new work by Ben Buswell which continues his inquiry into place and self, in part, as a response to the notions of both American Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism. The centerpiece of the exhibition is an expansive floor piece, a mirrored landscape that despite its reflective surface disallows the viewer to catch sight of their own image. As in the artist’s past work, reflection, or more specifically, the denial of reflection, creates a metaphorical space questioning the relationship between location and how one sees oneself." Timely.

In the Special Art on Loan Gallery are Reggie Burrows Hodges, Kieth Haring, Manoucher Yektai, and Josef Albers.

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


Erin Espelie all the way from UC Boulder, where she teaches, has curated a collection of movies by Anna Kipervaser, Kamila Kuc, Madison McClintock, Emma Piper-Burket, Stacey Steers, and her own on a theme of From the Sweat of the Spider. Recommended.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free


The yearly CAP Art Auction and afterparty are tonight. They are encouraging creative clothing. I think it sold out. More at https://www.capartauction.org/.


If you are down in LA, Suzanne Ciani performs live in Doug Aitkin's Lightscape. https://www.lightscapeart.org/events/lightscape-activation-by-doug-aitken-workshop-kcrw-suzanne-ciani at the Marciano Art Foundation 2PM sold out

Friday, April 04, 2025

April 4 Eastside Art Openings+

For your +1, After/Time has their opening tonight of Jeff by Ahuva S. Zaslavsky. It is video having to do with the sea, a golum, and a laviathan.

Later in the month are Leviathan, a dance performance, Friday, April 11 7PM, Washed Ashore, a Cento poetry workshop led by Ash Good, Sunday, April 13 2PM-4, a poetry reading, Sunday, April 13 4PM-5, an artist talk hosted by V Maldonado, Saturday, April 19 6PM-8, and life drawing, Sunday, April 27 1PM-4.

At After/Time Collective https://www.aftertimecollective 735 SW 9th Ave #110 6PM-9 Free


For your +2 The Reser center in Beaverton has an art gallery. Tonight they open two shows.

Infinite Possibilities is a show by Mika Aono, Isami Ching, Yoonhee Choi, Menka Desai-Crawford, Sabina Haque, Yuji Hiratsuka, Sandra Honda, Helen Liu, Tien-chu Loh, Kanani Miyamoto, and Satoko Motouji. More at https://thereser.org/gallery/infinite-possibilities/

(UN) Belonging by Sabina Haque https://thereser.org/event/infinite-possibilities-opening-reception-un-belonging-live-performance/ is a performance by Sitara Razaqi Lones and Jordan Isadore within a projection installation.

There are events throughout the month at the link above.

Infinite Possibilities at the Patricia Reser Center Gallery. 12625 SE Crescent Street, Beaverton. See the parking suggestions on their website or go by train on the TriMet MAX. 6PM Free


Nucleus has a big mushroom show, Cluster 3. By Andrea Guzzetta, Bill Mayer, Bird Cvlt, Briana Hertzog, Candie Bolton, Cheyenne Barton, Deb JJ Lee, Dusty Ray, Gina Matarazzo, Kimera Wachna, Maggie Chiang, Matt Schu, Michael Camarra, N.C. Winters, Paper Puffin, Stevie Shao, and Taryn Knight.

https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/cluster-3 at Nucleus House Gallery 1137 NE Alberta 5PM-7 Free


All the Eastside events are at http://firstfridaypdx.org/ and their socials which list many shows and their times.

Thursday, April 03, 2025

April 3 Westside Art Openings+

First Thursday also includes the Saturday following in the afternoon.


Adams & Ollman, Stelo, Froelick, Ily2, and Leach continue.


For your +1 Lewis and Clark College has a 16 speaker performance venue, Experimental Art Research Forest - EAR Forest, in a forest on campus. https://college.lclark.edu/departments/art/ear-forest/

Drumer John Niekrasz performs their composition Civilipoli for percussion and 16 channels. It reminds Stockhausen's Kontakte.

Civilipoli at EAR Forest space at Lewis and Clark College https://college.lclark.edu/departments/art/ear-forest/directions/ (and parking) 615 S Palatine Hill 5:30PM-6:30 Free


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


+3 The Portland Art Museum, through a private grant, is open free first Thursdays. They are free the whole day 10AM-8PM.


+4 The Schnitzer Collection is open First Thursday and other limited hours. They have long running theme shows and occasional events. At the Schnitzer Family Collection https://www.jordanschnitzer.org/schnitzer-collection/ 3033 NW Yeon 3PM-8 Free


+5 Painter Aldo Valdez opens Transfigurations. He started his career in LA and is now based in Portland. At Souvenir Gallery https://souvenirartspdx.org/ 1233 NE Alberta 5PM-8 Free


Dinh Q. Lê: A Survey, 1995-2023 is strongly recommended at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Lê attracted attention upon completing his BFA at UCSB in 1989, and maintained trajectory through his MFA at SVA and beyond. Leach brought him to PICA's founding art show in 1996. He was an excellent gentlemen who passed of a stroke.

Lê has many eloquent artist obituaries. He left Vietnam in 1978 in the great diaspora, and later in his career worked in Vietnam supporting contemporary artists there.

At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5:30PM-7:30 Free


Kristen Diederich has energetic colorful paintings Special French Blue. At Fine Art Fruit https://fine-art-fruit.square.site/ 925 NW 19th Ave Suite A 6PM-8


Nykelle DeVivo brings Tha Crossroads, photos with manipulated highlights. The artist statement is a fantastic read. https://www.blueskygallery.org/exhibitions/archives/2025/nykelle-devivo

The Critical Mass curatorial project brings Laura Beth Reese with #influenced. She prints 2d cutouts of influencers, arranges them in a still life tableau, glams and accessorizes them, then photoraphs that in a collage-like treatment.

Nines LeBrie Rich https://www.lebrie.com/ brings 2- and 3-D sculptures, Crackers (& Cookies) - they are brand snacks and their packaging magnified into quilted, embroidered and felted objects. https://lebrie-rich.square.site/ Giant snacks in the Nine Gallery inside Blue Sky.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-9 Free


The Edge of Eden are paintings in a new direction by G. Lewis Clevenger. He previously did geometric abstracts, these are landscapes in a variety of styles.

Stephen O’Donnell brings 95 / 25: A Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition. A self-taught painter he brings luminous realist approach to a range of subjects: portraits, still-life, and wildlife.

At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


Sally Cleveland brings landscape printings.

The Opening reception is Saturday, 1:30. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


PNCA has a myriad of shows. It is easier for you to just go than to list them all. At PNCA | Willamette University www.pnca.wilamette.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free


Philip Stork has pastel and pencil drawings, Connections. Hannah Theiss has mixed media collages, Qualia. Noah Alexander Isaac Stein has abstract paintins with a fire theme in Luminous Fire from a Broken Machine. In collaboration with 2025 Ekphraestival, Blackfish artists have reimagined book covers from existing books.

All at Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Early Close Free


2025 Ekphraestival is an art project combining poetry and visual art. Intertwined are the resulting collaborations between poets and visual artists. At Writers Block Studio curatingthewriterblock.studio 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8 Free


Sabina Haque has The New Abnormal 2.0, collage, painting, and video themed on climate disaster. www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Love is the Power is a show of dense graphic patterns in the Tom Cramer style by Saleam. The artist moved here from Atlanta. He would easily fit in with Fisk and is bringing his murals here too.

At The Black Gallery https://www.theblackgallerypdx.com/ 916 NW Flanders 5PM-7 Free


Clive Knights has abstracts combining color with slashes of black in show Incomplete Paperwork. At Laura Vincent Design and Gallery www.lvdesignandgallery.com/ 824 NW Davis 5PM-8 Free


Fans Only shows its residents along with guests. It's an artist residency in an office building with First Thursday readouts. At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-7 Free


The Portland Arts Collective has a group show of nude figures by Tom Hardy, Laura Ross-Paul, Arnold Pander, Stephanie Joy, S. Dyer, Max Lobato, and Bear. At the Portland Arts Collective https://www.portlandartscollective.org/ 122 NW Couch 6PM-9 Free

Saturday, March 22, 2025

March 22 Stone Field

The Lumber Room has a group show from their collection, and are open this afternoon. They did not do a big opening because some of the sculptures would not do well with a crush of people. Otherwise check their website and make an appointment to see it.

A Stone in a Field includes Jo Baer, Lynda Benglis, Louise Bourgeois, Sarah Braman, Mary Corse, Moira Dryer, Suzan Frecon, Luchita Hurtado, On Kawara, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Robert Mangold, Anna Maria Maiolino, Agnes Martin, John McCracken, K.R.M. Mooney, Betty Parsons, Sarah Rapson, Dorothea Rockburne, Michelle Stuart, Stefanie Victor, Erika Vogt and Evelyn Taocheng Wang.

At The Lumber Room https://lumberroom.com/exhibitions/2024/549 419 SW 9th, above Liz Leach Map  Noon-5 Free

Saturday, March 15, 2025

March 16 Modulating Mystic Radiant Gourd

It's apropos that Susan Ciani, https://www.sevwave.com/gallery?pgid=j9dy07n9-5efc3014-6871-4538-a329-d85a413ba514 https://www.sevwave.com/bio veteran synth musician, played Berghain Friday, at age 78. This afternoon, Modulations: Cinema for the Ear shows at the Synth Library.

It is a 1998 documentary on electronic music including EDM. The topic is vast and this is a good introduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4df3YTGfV9s.

The Synth Library was started by Felisha Ledesma after her Multiplex Gallery in the Everett Lofts. Originally S1, it was driven from place to place by Portland Fire Department regulations. It has operated since as a collective, bringing hands-on synth opportunities, and hosting Portland's instance of the worldwide Modular on the Spot free concerts.

Modulations https://www.synthlibraryportland.org/events/synth-cinema-modulations-1998 at the Synth Library Portland https://www.synthlibraryportland.org/ in Llovd Center 2nd floor by Dicepool. Tickets are required: https://withfriends.co/event/22903580/synth_cinema_modulations_1998 4PM $0-10


The Oregon Painting Society, an artist collective http://oregonpaintingsociety.org/about.html was birthed in 2007. MSHR, Mission Statement Human Radiance, performing on electro-optical synths of their own design, evolved from that in 2011. Today they perform worldwide. They just completed a tour of China, and touch down for an intimate performance tonight, releasing recording Live In Wuhan.

The evening includes White Gourd (Psychic Sounds | Belfast, Maine), Trigger Object (EMS/Sige Records/An Out Recordings), and Kelli Frances Corrado (Grimalkin Records mystic songstress).

Arrive promptly at Virtua_Gal nee Xhurch at Lloyd Mall Suite B216. Park, bike, or walk, entering from the Halsey Street side by Barnes and Noble, the mall is locked to the outside after 7PM. Virtua is in the former Lady Foot Locker, second level, above Zumiez and Hot Topic. 6PM-9 $15 at the door

Friday, March 14, 2025

March 15 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow Secret Water Memory

Donald Lloyd Morgan is the cofounder of Ditch Projects and professor at the UofO. If you know Ditch, his usually abstract drawings would fit right in there and he does playful sculpture too.

The show: "Tomorrow was Yesterday includes recent drawings and a sculpture that create a visual language of corroborating evidence, pulled from the overflowing storage locker of information that lives behind our eyes. Morgan often starts drawings by tracing the outlines of the cover of a paperback book, providing a familiar form to anchor viewers. Tools, shapes and signs, known to the artist, accumulate like notes or a tune in an improvisational context. They are then let loose on the page, like giving over to the impulse of just doing without overthinking. In this compressed time frame, there are often forms that have a visual connection to the structure of short-form stories, poems or three-minute songs. In other instances, a more imaginary and chaotic adaptation is applied to the pieces.

Drawings not intentionally responding to the structure of poems or emphasizing visual alignment with the mood of a short story develop in ways where such connections to the source material are less evident. These works explore figure-ground relationships, creating contrasts between different patterns and textures, and the interplay of flatness and illusory depth. This consistent push-and-pull builds a lyrical quality or syntax into the compositions, leaving viewers questioning how they perceive the page.

The themes in Morgan’s work—including humor, mortality, and superstition—are extensive but have a unique ecology that shepherd us toward exploration. This sense of discovery and uncertainty is part of understanding what it means to be human while acknowledging that human-ness is ever shifting and never gospel."

At at SE Cooper Contemprary https://www.secoopercontemporary.com/ 6901 SE 110th Map 1PM-5 Free


Lowell is a shop with art shows. Today Water Memory, paintings, by Jesi Jordan & Nick Carter, opens.

"Nick Carter approaches his work from a fiber, craft, & sculpture background, using traditional methods like Shibori dyeing & machine embroidery as a framework for abstract painting. Nick hand-works familiar materials into vibrant, patterned pieces that are at once comforting & psychedelic, balancing between object & image.

Jesi Jordan creates surreal, figurative paintings through a process of automatism & metamorphosis. Jesi’s works connect vivid imagery of the cosmos & nature with emotional introspection & psychic transformation in repeating forms of women, celestial bodies, fruit, & flowers.

shown together, Nick & Jesi’s divergent mediums continually shift our perspective & vision, while reciprocating color & form in delightful & surprising ways."

At Lowell https://www.lowellshopgallery.com/ 2136 E Burnside 4PM-6 Free


Secret Room Press is a zine, small press, and Riso shop. They are having their aniversery celebration and a book release and reading of Sleepy's Delay by Erin Tanner. At Secret Room Press 3225 SE Division 6PM-9 Free

Thursday, March 13, 2025

March 14-16 Coastal Art Weekend

Sou'Wester Lodge is a vintage trailer hotel. In Seaview, Washington, they are on the fault line and wipeout by tsunamis from the Really Big One https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one. Friends of mine survived the 2004 tsunami in Asia, many did not. Friends provided relief Tohoku 3-11.

A long time ago, friends created Spaceness at Sou'wester, a week for artists to make work themed on aliens and the paranormal. The last three years a new curtorial team has moved from that theme, and this year are curating in Seattle artists.

The Sou'wester Lodge art weekend has expanded to support an art space in Ilwaco, a very low budget hamlet in the Southern Long Beach penninsula by the bridge.

For this project a curatorial committe on the project website collects artist residency applications. You could be one!

The artists work for a week at a minimal hotel fee. They guest you me and everyone we know to experience the work and meet the artists. It is family friendly. Some events are children workshops.

Sou'Wester Art Weekend https://www.souwesterlodge.com/artsweek2025/. https://www.souwesterlodge.com/arts-week-2025-program-draft/ March 14th at Ilwaco Artworks 109 1st Ave N, Ilwaco, March 15th at The Sou’wester 3728 J Place, Seaview, March 16th at Wave Preschool | 1306 39th Pl, Seaview. Free

March 14 You Me and Everyone We Know

Miranda July is known to many Portlanders. I met her at Tidbit and promoted her to PICA. Her artistic track is a deserved triumph of lady DIY. If you are not familiar she has many books and videos. Tonight she has a showing and talk at the Portland Art Museum Tomorrow Theater.

Carte Blanche: Miranda July https://tomorrowtheater.org/movies/carte-blanche-miranda-july/ at the Portland Art Museum Tomorrow Theater 3530 SE Division 7PM $65 Sold Out

Monday, March 10, 2025

March 12 Dolphin Love

The Boathouse Microcinema is back. It is a live-work studio in the Unkles artist warehouse portfolio. It is very small, and Willamette Week, unwisely in my opinion, promoted it. Over promoting small events breaks the natural process of gradual face-to-face community building. An example was the Pander studio show in the Modish Building. There will be a line and only a few will get in, think 60. Maybe in the Summer they can move outside.

Tonight is a program of shorts: Roland Dahwen – TBA, Leslie Hickey – Phone / Memory, Lily King – November 20, 2024, Brandon Marcoux and Mariana Mora – Two, Fernand Rudolph – music videos, Matthew Nash – Leaving it Behind, Kai Nealis – Queen and Sarah Turner – But… You’re a Dolphin.

Sarah Turner was half of the Mobile Projection Unit, went to grad school, and is producing unique humorous work with the online sex industry as an ingredient. Her dolphin short relates to John Lilly's famous dolphin love projects.

It is in an industrial area. Do not park on, or overhanging the width of a train, the railroad tracks. They are active. Your car will either be smashed to bits, towed, or both.

At the Boathouse Microcinema www.boathousemicrocinema.com 822 N River Doors 7:30PM show 8 Free

March 12 - September 7 Dissident Art

Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei is a retrospective in Seattle. He has taken many risks in his work, and has arguably been the most effective modern art activist.

Portland's Contemporary Craft Gallery had early the Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995 in 2010. The Film Center brought fimmaker Alison Klayman with Ai Weiwei Never Sorry in 2015. That film is not hard to stream today. That was adjacent to a loan to the museum under the Oregon sandwich tax scheme of Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold. Weiwei is probably out of Portland's price range now.

Weiwei's autobiography 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows is encyclopedic in its sadness and injustice. It is well worth a read. The artists has continued his activist art project with a focus on refugees. That has been much more intense in Europe than the US with the foolish and expensive "Axis of Evil" wars. It has brought down several European governments, and more may yet fall.

The Seattle Art museum mounts a retrospective of Ai Weiwei's work. It includes 130 works and spans the downtown museum, the Volunteer Park Asian Art Museum, and in the Olymic Sculpture Garden, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Bronze, from May 17, 2025–May 17, 2027.

Throughout the show, the museum shows just about every film on the topic of the artist, many free.

Ai Weiwei at the Seattle Art Museum https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/whats-on/exhibitions/ai-weiwei Timed tickets required in advence. $37.50, lesser price tiers, Free for members

Saturday, March 08, 2025

March 8 Fragile Secret

Susan Seubert came from PNCA and has charted a solid career including idea-based art photography. https://www.sseubert.com/ Today she opens photographs Fragile Beauty: Images of icebergs from the last decade (2014-2024.) They were exposed in the Arctic and Antarctic. Though scenic, they have serious conceptual layer today.

Fragile Beauty https://pdxcontemporaryart.com/fragile-beauty at PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 1825 NW Vaughn Map 3PM-5 Free RSVP by email to info at pdxcontemporaryart.com


Bring Me the Head of Susan Lamond is a comic set in high school by Connor Brown. It is also the title of a new show opening by Sophie Danner, Aaron Fairchild, Delta Vasquez, Sabine Rear, and Connor Brown.

Commic and Zine show at Secret Room Press 3225 SE Division 7PM Free

Friday, March 07, 2025

March 7 Strange Pastimes

Jodie Cavalier brings Strange Overtones, found object assemblages.

At PPSTMM 323 NE Wygant #203. 6PM-8 Free

March 7 Eastside Art Openings

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

Thursday, March 06, 2025

March 6 Westside Art Openings+

First Thursday also includes the Saturday following in the afternoon.


Adams & Ollman continues.


For your +1 Daniellea Gatt is a Stumptown employee and new recipient of the Stumptown art fellowship. The show is True Happiness Will Find You in the End energetic gestural abstracts. 5PM


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


+3 The Portland Art Museum, through a private grant, is open free first Thursdays. They are free the whole day 10AM-8PM.


+4 The Schnitzer Collection is open First Thursday and other limited hours. They have long running theme shows and occasional events. At the Schnitzer Family Collection https://www.jordanschnitzer.org/schnitzer-collection/ 3033 NW Yeon 3PM-8 Free


Dinh Q. Lê: A Survey, 1995-2023 is strongly recommended at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Lê attracted attention upon completing his BFA at UCSB in 1989, and maintained trajectory through his MFA at SVA and beyond. Leach brought him to PICA's founding art show in 1996. He was an excellent gentlemen who passed of a stroke.

Lê has many eloquent artist obituaries. He left Vietnam in 1978 in the great diaspora, and later in his career worked in Vietnam supporting contemporary artists there.

At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5:30PM-7:30 Free


The big ad agency brings show and nonprofit fundraiser, PDX Loves LA, for the LA fires. Proceeds will be distributed to nonprofits. 100 artists exposed 100 images and they are printed in editions of 5 for sale at $100 each.

At W+K www.wk.com 224 NW 13th Map 5PM-9 Free


Fans Only shows its residents along with guests. It's an artist residency in an office building with First Thursday readouts. At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-7 Free


Mary Luzycki https://www.marygluczycki.com/ is a photographer and stylist. Her photography stands on its own and fits well with the shop.

At Fine Art Fruit https://fine-art-fruit.square.site/ 925 NW 19th Ave Suite A 5PM-7


Stelo has a participatory story making project for a week in collaboration with P:ear. That takes place their normal hours and tonight. At Stelo Arts https://www.steloarts.org/ 412 NW 8th Avenue 5PM-7 Free


Lost Landscapes is a show of manipulated and collaged landscape photographs by Debra Achen and Charlotta María Hauksdóttir.

Zeinab Saab has Girls Just Wanna Lay the Smackdown, screen prints. The narrative is documented on the Nine website, https://www.blueskygallery.org/nine-gallery. In the Nine Gallery inside Blue Sky.

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


After Image 003 is a large group show curated by Luiza Lukova. Artists include Andrea Bagdon, Megan Bainbridge, Brooks Cashbaugh, A.J. Cincotta-Eichenfield, Carolyn Hazel Drake, Bryce H. Frimming, Häsler Gómez, Thomas Huston, Viktor Kobylianski, Eso Malfor, Isaac McKenna, Ruth Meijer, S. Proski, Sydney Milan Roberts, Jacob Romero, John Walker, Nicole Williford, Ahnika Wood + Karina Rovira, Wang Yiming, and Yuyang Zhang

At After | Time Collective Gallery 730 SW 10th (enter on 9th) 6PM-9 Free


René Rickabaugh has schematic still lifes of flora and fauna, Mementos. Chris Russell has landscape and interior paintings.

At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


George Johanson who passed in 2022 has a show of saturated color paintings City Rhythms / The Art of City Life.

The Opening reception is Saturday, 1:30. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


PNCA has a myriad of shows. It is easier for you to just go than to list them all. At PNCA | Willamette University www.pnca.wilamette.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free


Adventures in Abstraction are paintings by Carol Benson. Forms Open or Dense - Spaces Variable is by Stephan Soihl. Cosmic Leaves - Miniatures and Giants is by Kanetaka Ikeda. Longtime Portland artist Michael Knutson continues a retrospective.

All at Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Rebecca Boraz, new artist to the gallery, has flat schematic paintings and ceramic works. At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free


Don Gray, Nanette Wallace, and Liz Borowski have monotypes. At Writers Block. 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8 Early Close Free


Intact is a show by MF of collaged photographs. At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free

Saturday, March 01, 2025

March 1 Northside Art Openings Semi 404

Pete Hoffecker Mejía brings material collages Semi-Learned Borrowings.

At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


File Not Found is a collaboration in painting, print, and sculpture between Quinha Faria and Elizabeth Arzani.

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


Oregon Contemporary contunues its shows. At Oregon Contemporary nee Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.oregoncontemporary.org 8371 N. Interstate Map Noon-8 Free

March 1 Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned is often used as a dimunitive adjective. I'm missing old fashioned rule of law, an indepensent judiciary, separation of powers, an educated populace, and science. Old fashioed bodily autonomy is always good. Old fashioed honesty. The problem with lies is that they are always discovered. An instructive film is The Nasty Girl. It may take time, but the lies are always found.

Jodie Cavalier and Alley Frey open a new independent space, Old Fashioned Gallery. Their first show is Dina No. No crafts tablewear. For this show she has ceramic artworks.

Old Fashioned Gallery makes future history in the past history of garage galleries, in the context of current garage galleries, in Portland. The past, not exhaustive, have been Car Hole Gallery, Appendix, Little Field, Surplus Space, Cherry & Lucic, Homebase, and 1122 1.0. Current garage galleries inlcude Helen's Costume and SE Cooper, now Old Fashioned Gallery.

It is a residence. They don't want their address published. Look them up and follow the directions to message them for the address, or go with a friend already going, or later message them for an appointment.

Old Fashioed Gallery opening show 2PM-5 Free

Friday, February 28, 2025

February 28 Paintings

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue is a large group show. Artists are Katherine Bradford⁣, Gina Fischli⁣, Alfred Jensen⁣, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt⁣, Ingrid Yi-Chen Lu⁣, Ian Miyamura⁣, Marlon Mullen⁣, Ralph Pugay⁣, and Bill Traylor.⁣

At Adams and Ollman Gallery, the second of four members of the New Art Dealers Alliance newartdealers.org/members, www.adamsandollman.com 418 NW 8th 5PM-7 Free


Nate Ethington has abstract paintings Book of Matches and Kyle Lee has narrative figurative paintings New Moon.

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

Thursday, February 27, 2025

February 27 Pubic Nature

Public Nature is a performance series. Each event is a collaboration between a mover, a writer, and a sound artist, working together for the first time, one time. This one is Katherine Longstreth, mover; Carolyn Supinka, poet; and Stephanie Lavon Trotter, a singer and looping artist.

At Flock www.flockpdx.com in the Marine Art Works Studios Building 5 2516 NW 29th Map Doors at 7PM Show 7:30 By donation cash, venmo, and paypal