SE Cooper brings Blonde on Blonde by Margaux Ogden and Tess Bilhartz.
"Our Blonde on Blonde started as a friendship, a way to live, a way to survive. As roommates, as studiomates, as a one-time design duo. We painted bathrooms, decorated weed dispensaries and wrapped wooden chairs in yarn for money. We filmed rambling critiques, late at night, which we’d post on our grad school’s facebook page. We made a zine to commemorate those posts. We went to Marfa. We went to Miami. We went to Portland. We drove from Boston to Houston in a recalled car. Ate as much Mexican food as we could along the way. We drank margaritas. Stopped at a casino, a museum, a karaoke bar, several gross motels. We opened multiple credit cards to pay for things. We went to plays – bad ones, good ones – a ballet we had to leave immediately, comedy shows, bars, bookstores, parks. Of course, we went to Bob Dylan concerts, together and separately. We got him tattooed on our sides, together. We made fun of those tattoos, together. We painted side by side, sharing a studio wall, for over a decade. An informal call and response. Not actively responding to each other, but observing each other’s work closely, over time. The most important kind of looking: sustained. There have been days when we work simultaneously, blasting Bob. Or weeks when we’re ships passing in the night. We’ve each admitted to entering the other’s studio when sick of looking at our own work. Needing to look at something different. And these worlds couldn’t be more different, despite being birthed within feet of each other. Kind of like siblings. When you see them side by side you look for their similarities, but when you meet them separately they could be from different planets."
At at SE Cooper Contemprary https://www.secoopercontemporary.com/ 6901 SE 110th Map 1PM-4 Free
Nucleus brings a two person show of cute illustration work by Betty Jiang and Kimera Wachna.
Https://www.nucleusportland.com/blogs/future-exhibitions/betty-jang-tba-2-person-show at Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 4PM-6 Free
Way out in the Gorge at the Maryhill Museum, former Portland, now Artoria artist, Elise Wagner has Celestial Currents.
Wagner is an encaustic artist, paintings of wax media, a technique going back to Greece and Rome. The paint is worked hot from dishes on hot plates. The Northwest has a history of encaustic painters. Joseph Goldberg in rural Washington at Kucera polished his paintings unleashing luminosity; Linda Robertson and Jef Gunn are longtime Portland encaustic workers. Many of the artists do workshops.
Wagner has been inspired by science in her work. Some themes have been astronomy, weather, and particle physics experiments. The show is up until the end of July.
The Maryhill has several permanement and other exhibitions. Nearby are Brad Cloepfil's Maryhill Overlook, a running minimal sculpture, and a replica Stonehenge.
Today is a reception https://www.maryhillmuseum.org/events/elise-wagner-celestial-currents-opening-reception. At Maryhill Museum 35 Maryhill Drive, Goldendale, Washington. Museum 10AM-5, reception 2-4. $23
The Lumber Room has a delicate group show Chorus on now, so no big reception. But they do guest harpist Mary Lattimore this evening.
You should see the show by Janine Antoni, Olga Balema, Lynda Benglis, Forrest Bess, Simone Fattal, 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, Amy Sillman, Rose B. Simpson, Diane Simpson, Tecla Tofano, Kaari Upson, Erika Verzutti, and Rebecca Warren.
At The Lumber Room https://lumberroom.com/exhibitions/565/chorus 419 SW 9th, above Liz Leach Map Doors 5:30PM show 6, limited capacity. Free
Sonia Kasparian https://www.soniakasparian.com/ is a gifted clothing designer, kids, bathing suits, athletic wear, and couture. She knows the body, so is a gifted painter and sculptor on that theme. I think I first saw her wire armature figures floating in the abandoned substation on Alberta. She has a gift reviving distressed plants into thriving landscapes too. She is doing a show with architect Bob Oshatz https://www.oshatz.com/. Oshatz has a individualistic style combining curve and linear shapes, particularly on steep topographies. Here he brings ceramics. This combination is a rare groove. Recommended.
Unusual location. At Urbanite modern vintage mall https://www.urbanitepdx.com/ 1005 SE Grand 6PM-9 Free
