August 20 Floating Sank

Feels Like Floating is a multi-city presenter of ambient and slow music. In LA they present Laraj. In Portland they send out music through the Leach Botanical Garden trees.

This afternoon you can tap the deep vibes of Carley Barton. Bring a blanket or lawnchair and a picnic if you like.

Unfortunately Leach Botanical Garden is closed today and the event canceled because of wildfire smoke.

August 19 Fifth Mass

The independent Biomass pop-up curated by Jeff Jahn hosts its fifth artist talk with participating artists V. Maldonado, Buq Corvidae-Schulte and Jeffry Mitchell. Biomass at 608 NW 13th, #102 3:30PM talk Free

August 19, 20, 26, 27 Sticks and Stones

Land art is a thing with a history, even before recorded history. Some residencies emphasize it like the Djerassi Foundation. Light artists James Turrell is a man with a plan in Roden Crater. The Seattle Horsehead weekend ran for a few years. Scott Wayne Indiana did an art on land at Mt Scott Park.

A new group is doing ticketed shows on private land. They did one last year with bus service. This one is in Troutdale with DIY transportation and limited street parking. More https://variablewest.com/event/other-terra-incognita/.

Terra Incognita at the Verdency Project https://www.verdancyproject.com/terra-incognita 10AM-4PM $10-25

August 17 Moon Obscura

Blue Moon Camera presents employee images they processed, selected for what they like. It is a unique and social show. This year they add an about 15 minute documentary, Blue Moon - Your First Last Camera Store. It was shot on 16mm to promote a Blue Moon.

Blue Moon documentary at St. Johns Twin Cinemas, 8704 N Lombard. 7PM, 7:30, 8, 8:30 Free

Show 45th Parallel Wines, 8527 N Lombard. 7PM-9 Free

August 12 Massive Love Pipes

The independent Biomass pop-up curated by Jeff Jahn hosts its fourth artist talk with participating artists Malia Jensen, Ralph Pugay and Bruce Conkle. Biomass at 608 NW 13th, #102 3:30PM talk Free


Rigmarole Elizabeth Arzani, Ahuva Zaslavsk opens.

"Pipes deliver and receive as conductors; they flow all sorts of materials to both of their ends. But what happens when the pipe clogs?

In this exhibition, Portland based artists Elizabeth Arzani and ahuva s. zaslavsky meet in a rambling garden to conduct a dialogue about the concept of ends and the spaces in between, discussing the role of pipes and tubes as mechanisms for transporting materials and connecting contrasting spaces.

The tunnels connect the functional and metaphorical: the inside and outside, the pleasant and repulsive and the vulgar and refined. These unseen intermediate spaces act as mediators between senders and recipients but can also cause disruptions and misunderstandings, similar to language and communication channels.

The audience is encouraged to wander through the forking paths of the garden, engaging in a dialogue about the visible and hidden, artificial and natural elements, in order to untie dysfunctional knots and foster new connection. "

At 1122 Outside Gallery www.1122gallery.com 7629 SE Harrison 4PM-8 Free


ILY2 Too closes their women annimation show with a party. It is part of the DARPA residency. At I Love You 2 Too - ILY2 https://ily2online.com/ In the Lloyd Mall, lower level far East down the hall by the abandoned Marshalls. 6PM-9 Free

August 11 Cutewood

Faunwood https://www.faunwood.com/ travels the stream of Northwest illustrators inspired by Northwest flora and fauna. Based in Eugene, Miranda Zimmerman is a professional illustrator, in her art she touches on the surreal while maintaining some kawaii. She has a stable print difusion arrangement with Nucleus. This show includes illustration outlines set slightly out from the wall, a small carpet in creature shape, and small, under 6 inch creature sculptures. At Nucleus House Gallery 1137 NE Alberta 5PM-7 Free

August 6 Synthetic Biomass

The independent Biomass pop-up curated by Jeff Jahn hosts its second artist talk with participating artists talk with Susan Seubert, Justin L'Amie and Laura Fritz. Biomass at 608 NW 13th, #102 3:30PM talk Free


Modular on the Spot #3 for 2023 occupies Kelley Point. It is one of informal series of modular synth concerts outdoors en plein air.

Synthers are Hemadaxis, Loner [with EMA], Abraham Ingle, Everything is Circles, Blaix, and Transients [sryforthe_delaney + Heather Knopf].

At Kelley Point Park, N Kelley Point Park Road 6PM sharp Free

August 5 Northside Art Openings+

Many of the Pearl galleries are favoring the Saturday after first Thursday.


Cross Quarters Merry Meet by Paul Swenbeck from Boston is an installation with cactus-like shapes, abstract animals, flower motifs, and relief blocks. All fantastical. It is much more eloquently explained on the gallery website. At Adams and Ollman Gallery, the second of two members of the New Art Dealers Alliance www.newartdealers.org, www.adamsandollman.com 418 NW 8th 1PM-4 Free


You can get your soft cute with Cat Rabbit all the way from Melbourne or Naarm in the Woiworung language. At Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 4PM-6 Free


Lull is Sarah Umles from LA and and Jenn Sova from here. The "exhibition explores themes of loss, grief, and the weight of expectations. With overlapping interests in the materiality of death and the emotionality of life, Umles and Sova carve out moments of pause and provocation, wherein rituals of resistance and healing can take place. Their respective works strike a delicate balance between overwhelm and absence, the corporal and the cerebral, the ceremonial and the everyday." At 1122 Outside Gallery www.1122gallery.com 7629 SE Harrison 4PM-8 Artist talk 5 Free


Oregon Contemporary has an art picnic on their lawn, so bring it. The rest of the space has some loan works. At Oregon Contemporary nee Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.oregoncontemporary.org 8371 N. Interstate Map Books 2PM-8 Free


Tyler Stoll has Greased explained on the website. At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Michael Espinoza has self-referental imagry and Allan Pichardo has something to do with media & tech. Their website explains it. At Carnation Contemporary www.carnationcontemporary.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. 5PM-8 Free

August 4 Friday Enchantment

Pushdot has Erinn Kathryn, Lands of Enchantment. At Pushdot Studio www.pushdotstudio.com 2505 SE 11th Avenue Suite 104 6PM-8 Free



ADX Has their colaboration show, works by 2 or more artists. At adxportland.com 417 SE 11th x Stark Map 4PM-8 Free


More at 1FPDX FB, their FirstFridayPDX Insta and individual space socials.


The interesting event is a variety show at the Republic. Great DJ too on 34th by Stumptown for an outdoor with admission.

August 3 Westside Art Openings+

The art world in The City and here usually closes for the dog days of August. Not here now though. And at the end of the month, Converge 45 starts.


Storm Tharp has Ensemble / Variable, prints. At W+K www.wk.com 224 NW 13th Map 5PM-9 Free


Blanchard House provides homleless services with private money, not Multnomah County or Metro money. They have an art show this evening at the Honey Late Cafe, a low key cultural mecca. Artists include Ali Yacina, Julie Lopez, Amy Howard, Olivia Serril, Beth Kerschen, Daren Todd, Eric Gendron, Charles Moody, Preston Gravitt, Cole Lyons, Katie Reim, Keelan Booth, Carola Penn, Madeline Ford, Tamara Lion, Ryan Bubnis, Maho Garner, ZoB, Bryan Aptekar, Jeremy Okai Davis, Elaine Daggett Aye, Neeraj Narayan, Latoya Lovely, Susan Seubert, and Sarah Landwehr. https://www.bhontheledge.com/exhibitions-2023 at Honey Late Cafe 1033 SE Main 6PM-8 Free


ILY2, usually on their own opening cycle, continues And Down Below The Earth Shown Bright by Rae Davis, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Eve Fowler, Sidony O’Neal, Nicole Ondre, Paige Powell, Ido Radon, Sara Rahmanian and Davina Semo. At I Love You 2 - ILY2 https://ily2online.com/ 925 NW Flanders 11AM-7 Free


Painter Terrell James is at Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free


George Johanson (1928-2022) has paintings and works on paper includinghis last. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:30 Free


Peter Gronquist brings Manifest and Ed Bereal, Wanted: Ed Bereal for Still Disturbing the Peace. At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5PM-7 Free


Continuing is Rebecca Marimutu from Baltimore brings Portraits, Adhered, multi-image portraits and Erik Östensson all the way from Norway, brings surreal framings, Tjärnen. Later in the month, Blue Sky brings Richard Mosse as part of Converge 45.

Pour the Water as I Leave: Installation, Vol II: Film in Progress by Daniela Repas and Simone Fischer is at the Nine Gallery inside Blue Sky Gallery)

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-7:30 Early Close Free


PNCA has closes their low residency in visual studies show. At PNCA www.pnca.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free


Ghosts in the Machine by Modoc artist Ka’Ila Farrell-Smith, monochromatic abstracts including pigmants made from Southern Oregon soil. Willie Little has moved to Russo-Lee for his first show, I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got, with them. At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


Ash Stone and Tom Manzanarez collaborated to make Home as a Hole. At After / Time gallery, located at 735 SW 9th #110 6:30PM-8 Free


Blackfish has Aaron Johanson Points of Interest, exposed between 1980 and 2007, the show is monochrome photographic prints modified in the darktoom. Sphere of Influence from The Artist Union, ia a group photo show. Merridawn Duckler has Object/Text inspired by AI. She has long been active in book and word art. At Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Free


Susan Harrington has botanical paintings, Our Attention Creates The World, at Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Coworking space the Writers' Block has Francisca Lauren Carrera 3d, oil and encaustic. At Writers Block Studio curatingthewriterblock.studio 818 NW Flanders 5PM-8 Free


In their Mind's Eye by Molly Mendoza and Matty Newton is way up on Alberta. At Walk-In Gallery 4946 NE 13th #104 5PM-8 Free

August 3-9 Sneaks

Portland Sneaker Week is a week of ticketed events. You can get it all at https://www.sneakerweekpdx.com/.

July 30 Wandering Floating

The Daipan Butoh Collective in Seattle present their annual outdoor, Wandering & Wondering, in Seattle's Kubota Gardens.

Kubota is the original family home and nursery of Fujitaro Kubota. https://kubotagarden.org/fujitaroremembered.html It is now a city park and free. If you are in Portland, the Portland Japanese Garden curator has been advising them and his rock work is identifiable by sytle.

The butoh players have a favorite spot and usually signs to guide you to it. Parking can be fierce, so share those rides. Bring a blanket or lawn chair, sunscreen and a hat.

The companion performance is August 3 in the Seattle Japanese Garden in Washington Park.

Daipan Butoh present Wandering and Wondering https://www.daipanbutohcollective.com/event-details/wandering-wondering-by-kogut-butoh-at-kubota-garden at the Kubota Garden https://kubotagarden.org/ 55th Avenue South, Seattle, WA  Map  12:20PM-3 Free


Feels Like Floating is a multi-city presenter of ambient and slow music. In LA they present Laraj. In Portland they send out music through the Leach Botanical Garden trees.

This afternoon you can tap the deep vibes of Spencer Doran of Visible Cloaks alongside noted Portland music curator Jed Bindeman of Tunnels. Bring a blanket or lawnchair and a picnic if you like.

Tickets & more: https://www.feelslikefloating.com/rsvp?recordId=recniee2StQxGex83

July 29-30 Lumber Rose

Photographer Justine Kurland is a strong protagonist in the Yale School.

Gregory Crewdson was a Yale photography grad who returned to teach. He gracfully narrated his arc in an art talk arranged by Matthew Stadler in collaboration with Stephanie Snyder and the late Ripe Family dinner. From that talk, you can understand the Yale School of observation and fiction. Crewdson has continued to build elaborate sets and scenes as would a movie, making momentary images suggesting a narrative before and after that time zero.

Crewdson, with collaboration by Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, famously promoted some students in the Another Girl Another Planet show in 1999. In that show, Kurland launched her narrative of women in landscape. We all know the Mark Twain story of Tom Sawyer and Huckeberry Fin, young vagabonds living freely and having adventures. What if women did the same with no fear?

Kurland was part of the late Linda Ferris' Seattle Contemporary Art Project. Kurland has shown in Portland galleries, most recently the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. She collaborated with Jon Raymond on a small book Old Joy in 2004 and was guested by old PICA in 2005. In the pandemic, she created a new body of work, SCRUM Manifesto, sutting up photo books in her personal collection. It's a peowerful observation worth reader's look. Today she generously has curated a show, The Rose, with the Lumber Room.

"The Rose considers collage as a subversive action and a feminist strategy. The title borrows its name from Jay DeFeo’s seminal painting and refers to her iterative practice, where one thing turns into something else, gathering rotational gravity as it orbits."

The artists include Ruth Asawa, Natalie Ball, Lee Bontecou, Vija Celmins, Philo Cohen, Jay DeFeo, Mary Beth Edelson, Tatiana Florival, Vanessa German, Bean Gilsdorf, Janice Guy, K8 Hardy, Leslie Hewitt, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, AK Jenkins, Baseera Khan, Kiki Kogelnik, Tarrah Krajnek, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Jacky Marshall, Aspen Mays, Qiana Mestrich, Helina Metaferia, Shala Miller, Joiri Minaya, Rachelle Mozman-Solano, Wangechi Mutu, Yamini Nayar, B. Ingrid Olson, Frida Orupabo, Gina Osterloh, Olivia Reavy, Deborah Roberts, Martha Naranjo Sandoval, Sally Saul, Keisha Scarville, Gwen Smith, Pamela Sneed, Lorna Simpson, Lau Wai, Della Wells, Hannah Wilke, and Francesca Woodman. Strongly recommended.

Sunday Kurland speaks with artist Keisha Scarville and gallery director of Higher Pictures https://higherpictures.com/ Kim Bourus. Higher Pictures, operating since 2007, is now in Brooklyn.

They are friends in the art world and real life with a strong perspective on photography now.

Seating is limited. The event will be recorded and available for viewing on the Lumber Room website in due time.

Talk at 2 Sunday. Opening Saturday 4-7.

At The Lumber Room  https://lumberroom.com/exhibitions/2023/the-rose 419 SW 9th, above Liz Leach Map  4PM-7 Saturday 2PM-3 Sunday Free

July 29 Massive Projects

The independent Biomass pop-up curated by Jeff Jahn hosts its second artist talk with participating artists Eva Lake, Epiphany Couch and Kendra Larson. Biomass at 608 NW 13th, #102 3:30PM talk Free

Sator Projects has a big day today in collaboration with Wave Contemporary, Walk In Gallery, Stelo Arts, and Aftertime Collective.

3PM-4 there is a panel discussionfollowed by a paper mache workshop. From 5PM-10 is a party. Deets on their socials including insta credit drops.

At Sator Projects https://www.satorprojects.com/ 1709 SE 3rd. 5PM-8 Free

July 29-30 Mermaid Croquet

Una the Mermaid presents the Portlandia Mermaid Parade. It starts at Noon at Poet's Beach and travels along the waterfront to the Japanese memporial in Waterfront Park. Mermaids are very intelligent and they like to be close to the water, especially on heated days! Family friendly. Mermaid Parade https://www.portlandiamermaidparade.com/ Noon Free


The 26th annual Croquet World Championships and Mad Hatter Picnic brings its wonderland to the Park Blocks. The croquet is played with sledgehammers and bowling balls. The costune theme is proper whites, light colors of steampunk, or Alice themed. Think tea and cucumber sandwiches. The Croquet World Championships and Mad Hatter Picnic https://mondocroquet.com/2022/09/2023-mondo-croquet-world-championships-and-mad-hatter-picnic-july-30th-2023/ NW Park and Everett Noon-5 Free

July 27 Northeast Art Openings+

Antler hosts Just Like Honey, a group painting show on hexagonal panels. Ceramic works by Corinne Lent and painters Herb Smith and Anthony Solano fill the space. Talon has Chicago paintern Pizza in the Rain, folky urban landscapes and message realism printings by Ariel Parrow. At Antler & Talon Gallery www.antlerpdx.com 2714 NE Alberta 6pm-9 Free


Blind Insect has a group show Stories Untold. At Blind Insect 2841 NE Alberta 6PM-9


Nucleus continues their current show. At Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 3PM-8:50 Free


Pianofarm drops another Poems at sunset out a window. Israel Nebeker joins from Astoria. Bring chairs and blankets. Livestream @themoraledept. At 3425 SE Yamhill 7:58PM Free

July 27-30 Seattle Art Fair

Seattle has more money so it has more art. They are far down on the great art chain of being. But they have their own art fair child of the Allen family.

Seattle galleries, some Portland ones, and a few national/international galleries present. It is privatey curated by the individual for-profit galleries, unlike a nonprofit group show.

Portland galleries Atler, PDX Contemporary, Russo-Lee are there. Portland artist Sharita Towne has an offsite event. Forest For the Trees has a residency in Seattle so they are hosting an after party. Converge 45 is hosting an event. That and more is at https://seattleartfair.com/2023-around-town/.

Many of our Portland projects offer free passes on request. If you want to experience a commercial art fair, this is probably the closest. It's about a quarter mile walk from Amtrak.

The Seattle Art Fair https://seattleartfair.com at Lumen Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle Thurs 6PM-9, Fri/Sat 11AM-7, Sun 11-6 $65 to Free

July 23 Tomorrowland Yesterday

Nam June Paik, 1932-2006, is a revolutionary gentleman of the neo-Dada Fluxus and a world citizen of Seoul, Tokyo, many cities in Germany, New York, and Miami. He studied 20th Century music, and applied that aesthetic to video as art.

He remixed content, circuit bent the box, built sculptures of TVs, incorporated television into performance, and built TV art robots. He was in the downtown art crowd of the 1960s; influenced, influencer, and collaborator.

Paik's Robot K-456 participated in many performances. https://cyberneticzoo.com/robots-in-art/1964-robot-k-456-nam-june-paik-korean-shuya-abe-japanese/


Based on the Intergalactic Network idea of J.C.R. Licklider in 1962, the concept of the Internet emerged. Portlander Ivan Sutherland, seminal in computer graphics, was in that mix at MIT. Sutherland was advisor to Alan Kay, originator of the Dynabook concept we use today. In 1969, the first 3-location Internet was completed by a small team; a friend of mine made the hardware. Contemporaneouly, Gene Youngblood's Expanded Cinema, published in 1970, included Paik as an influence. In turn, Youngblood's ideas were an influence on thinking of the Internet, pre-its scale-out, as a cultural and artistic, medium and force. If you can find it, Youngblood's Mass Media and the Future of Desire, 1977, is a read on the topic. That essay mentions a book, never completed, in collaboration with Maturana and Varela who incluenced Flores. Flores collaborated with Winnograd, AI pioneer. Winnograd was the faculty advisor of Larry Page. As a coda, Paik is credited with coining the phrase "electronic superhighway."


Unfortunately post-his death, a split developed between the estate and Paik's gallery, the Carl Solway Gallery. Fortunately his works have been cradled by museums, he has been the subject of many retrospectives, and has been reprised in documentaries.

A new one, 2023, is Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV .

It is in the collection of Movie Madness and the Hillsboro Library. It's on the big screen tonight too https://hollywoodtheatre.org/tickets/21795/ at Hollywood Theater 7:30PM unfortunately Sold Out

July 22 Massive Bio

Biomass is an indepentently curated pop up. It includes direct animal themes. It opened as the international Animal Behavior Sociaty conference closed here. Artists Sean Healy, Morgan Buck and Renee Zangara speak there today. Curated by Jeff Jahn and Lark Lo Sontaghe, the show runs July 12 - August 27 and open 12:30PM - 5 Saturdays or otherwise noted on the Jahn Insta. Unique, no roster, no labels, direct experience. Biomass at 608 NW 13th, #102 3:30PM talk Free


One Grand opens their Gardent Gates show. 6PM-9

July 9 Mod Butte

Modular on the Spot #2 for 2023 occupies Rocky Butte. It is one of informal series of modular synth concerts outdoors en plein air.

Trust Anchor, Production Unit Xero, Jill and Thomas Fang, Meagan Jane Marron, Limanjaya and Akemie.

No restrooms or water. Parking can be a challenge. At Rocky Butte summit, 6PM Free

July 8-9 Marine Art

The Unkles family is one of Portland unsung art patrons for renting space for artist studios.

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 and Carton services deemed not suited for large events by the City. 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--4 Free

July 7 Eastsdte Art Openings

Dan Lam opens drippy sculptires along side abstract pintings by Emily Wise. At Stephanie Chefas Projects www.stephaniechefas.com 134 SE Taylor, Ste 203. Map. 5PM-8 Free


All the other First Friday are on their respective social media.

July 6 Westside Art Openings

Leach, The Writers' Block, and A&O continue.


Cuban painter, Orlando Almanza, has his first show here, along with painter, Andrew Alba, from Salt Lake. At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free


Eric Rue has abstract paintings, Immersive Echoes. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:30 Free


Notes for Tomorrow, is an international show by ICI - https://curatorsintl.org/learning/categories/59-curatorial-intensive. 30 curators in 25 countries bring it. At Parallax Art 516 NW 14th 5PM-9 Free


Rebecca Marimutu from Baltimore brings Portraits, Adhered, multi-image portraits and Erik Östensson all the way from Norway, brings surreal framings, Tjärnen

Painter Laura Ross-Paul has the the Breast show. At the NINE Gallery (inside Blue Sky Gallery) 122 NW 8th Avenue She is at the Nine Gallery inside Blue Sky.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-7:30 Early Close Free


PNCA has openings and talks. At PNCA www.pnca.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free


Ko Kirk Yamahira has The Front to the Reverse to What is in Between and James Allen Has Human / Nature. At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


WAVE Contemporary and After / Time gallery have Generative Performance System by Nicholas Moler-Gallardo and Chris Ticas having to do with mobile phone location services. At After / Time gallery, located at 735 SW 9th #110 6PM-8 Free


Blackfish Drawing The Line a group show of line. Hot Pink Justice Gia Whitlock is mixed media on family stuff. ’s searing portrayal of an acutely painful childhood seduces with vibrant color and collaged childhood artifacts, including Teddy bears, dollhouses and balloons, that belie her serious subject matter. Corey Pressman has Dusk, waxed powder paintings. At Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Free


Ephemera by Angelita Surmon, landscpae paintings, are at Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free

July 1 Bunnies are everywhere

Guava is a group show with Bunny Presse! reading poetry. Artists Zach Ozma, Kristen Diedcrich, Robert Fernandez & Ashley Yang Thompson. Are there with readings from Jessie Carver, Kristen Diedcrich, Ashley Yang Thompson and Arda Collins. At 1122 Outside Gallery www.1122gallery.com 7629 SE Harrison 6PM-10 Readings 7 Free

July 1 Northside Art Openings

Oregon Contemporary has an art book fair Form.a. Many bookshops are tabling, check the Oregon Contemproary socials. Friends of noise bring the Noche Libre DJ collective. Stello brings a satellite screening of their Una Palabra de Lucha project. At Oregon Contemporary nee Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.oregoncontemporary.org 8371 N. Interstate Map Books 2PM-8, DJs 4PM-8 Free


Ondrea Bell Levey has drawings and sculptures. Sally Jablonsky has paintings. At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Friend of a Friend is a group exhibition by members of Wave Contemporary and their friends. At Carnation Contemporary www.carnationcontemporary.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. 5PM-8 Free


Jeanne Steffan has paintings opening. At the Red-e Cafe 1006 North Killingsworth 4PM-7 Free

June 25 Garden Music

Patricia Wolf, Francisco Botello, and Cyrus perform ambient and downtempo in the Leach Botanical Garden. It is the first of a Summer series. Bring a blanket and picnic if you like.

Tickets & more: https://www.feelslikefloating.com/rsvp?recordId=recEaWx1zmqlBZgTN

Music at Leach Botanical Garden https://www.leachgarden.org/ 6704 SE 122nd 3PM $22 Advance

June 24 Labyrinth Below Music

ILY2 opens show And Down Below the Earth Shown Bright by Rae Davis, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Eve Fowler, Sidony O’neal, Nicole Ondre, Paige Powell, Ido Radon, Sara Rahmanian, and Davina Semo. Recommended. At I Love You 2 - ILY2 https://ily2online.com/ 925 NW Flanders 2PM-5 Free


Lowell has settled into a large space around the corner from Nationale. They open Labyrinth This Way by Momo Gordon. The show includes graphite drawings on handmade paper & custom furniture paired with vintage metalwork & objects. At Lowell https://www.lowellshopgallery.com/ 2136 E Burnside 4PM-7 Free


If you would like some music, PlaygroundPDX is free at Cathedral Park Noon-9.

Future Museums, Pulse Emitter, Eltond and New Frontiers perform at Leven Community Center 5431 NE 20th Doors 7:30PM show 8 $10-25

June 17-18 Synth Pedal

Portland brings its second synth expo and adds pedals. It's https://delicious-audio.com/portland-synth-and-pedal-expo. At Briq Studios 209 NW 4th Ave #3 Saturday 12PM-6, Sunday 11AM-5 RSVP requested https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-portland-synthmodular-expo-2023-tickets-622162764577 Free

June 17 Fighting

Una Palabra de Lucha is a group show by Latino artists, local and beyond. It is happening in multiple locations. Show https://www.steloarts.org/pb-present-events/una-palabra-de-lucha-exhibition-opening at Stelo Arts https://www.steloarts.org 412 Northwest 8th Avenue 2PM-6 Free

June 11 Coasting

Salut! 8 is the Nucleus small works on coasters. Their website links all the artists. $70 each makes them easy to collect.

At Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 3PM-6 Free

June 10 Predux

This is a preview for Richard Mosse's Broken Spectre. It is a continuation of his connection to Portland.

Mosse presented Enclave in the 2013 Venice Biennale. PAM Director Ferriso brought it soon after for an installation at the museum. A first for the artist. It tells part of the story of the war of warlords terrorizing Eastern Congo. It is a continuation of the Rwandan war of 1994. I was in Eastern Congo in about July 1994.

The Congo warlords are fueled by primitive mining including tantalum. The tantalum is smuggled to China where it is made into an electronic component, a tantalum capacitor. They are an electrical shock absorber to make the bit signals electronic systems actually work. Every electonic device uses large numbers of them.

Mosse is a product of the Yale School. Many graduates of that program do great work in the Arbus gaze. Mosse puts Yale's documentary approach to much more potent use.

Mosse is now engaged with the Converge 45, presenting art this Summer. Converge 45 was a response to the decline of PICA. PICA was a response to disinterest by the Portland Art Museim in Art on the Edge.

As a preview, the NYT talks Broken Spectre. There are many articles and videos on the project you can find. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/arts/design/richard-mosse-film-amazon-brazil.html

Brazil also has a mining problem, leading to a violence problem, and a pollution problem as outside miners use cyanide to separate gold from mud. The cyanide is, of course, poured in the river.

Mosse is articulate, passionate, and humble. Don't miss his work.

June 9-11 Assembly

The Assembly social practice event is distributed and free! See psuartandsocialpractice http://psusocialpractice.org/assembly/

June 8 Grief

Derek Franklin, principal at SE Cooper, presents his own work tonight. They are vaguely plant like sculptures and paintings entitled Grief is on my calendar everyday at 2:00 p.m. At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 5PM-7 Free

June 4 Electronic Overlook

Modular on the Spot begins 2023 sound making. It is one of informal series of modular synth concerts outdoors en plein air.

Knob twisters include Casual Decay, Musique Mystique, Enzo Caselnova, Molly Miner and Yunsumz.

At Overlook Park, 6PM Free

June 3 Always Lost Alchemical Magic Future Flow Omens

They Always Have, and Still Do are bright paintings on a floral theme by Amy Bay. At Nationale www.nationale.us 15 SE 22nd Map Masks required 3PM-5 Free


False Front is back. Ryan T. Riss has Do you believe in magic? At False Front Studio www.falsefrontstudio.com 4518 NE 32nd Map 6PM-9 Free


Lost on Purpose is paintings and installation by Ree Artemisa. At Sator Projects https://www.satorprojects.com/ 1709 SE 3rd. 5PM-8 Free


Alchemical Transformations by Brian Bartz, Blue McCall x Proof of Body, Kelley O’Leary are at Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


Chris Lael Larson has colordul Product Flows. At Carnation Contemporary www.carnationcontemporary.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. 5PM-8


The Smalltalk Collective finishes their gallery run with Old Futures Gone. The collective continues. At the Small Talk Collective Strange Paradise Gallery www.smalltalkcollective.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate#1 Map 5PM-8 Free


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

June 2 Friday We're in Love

ADX Has their skate deck painting show and aniversary party. At adxportland.com 417 SE 11th x Stark Map 4PM-9 Free


More at 1FPDX FB, their FirstFridayPDX Insta and individual space socials.

June 2 Somewhere

Bill Rebholz has Somewhere Around Here, schematic figurative work. At Nucleus House Gallery 1137 NE Alberta 5PM-7 Free

June 1-3 Big Feet Speak

The Bigfoot Regional Poetry Festival Slam runs across times and venues. You can get your big ears on - https://www.bigfootpoetry.com/event-schedule.

June 1 Westside Art Openings

Blue Sky has a longtime relationship with Lithuanian photographers going back to Jeffrey Crater visiting in person. The country has long running photography societies which even in Soviet times brought film and paper into the country when that was very difficult. They created discussion and photography book libraries before the Internet.

Rimaldas Vikšraitis (1954-) lenses the rural poverty of his country in transition from the Soviet era and young people moving to cities.

Safi Alia Shabaik has Personality Crash: Portraits of My Father Who Suffered from Advanced Stages of Parkinson's Disease, Dementia and Sundowners Syndrome.

Jerry Mayer brings his minimal paper sculpture works.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 6PM-8 Early Close Free


Lindsey Fox has paintings in a new literary coworking space. At The Writers Block 818 NW Flanders 6PM-9


Blackfish has a show of many of their artists. At Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 6PM-9 Free


Lost/Found by Nancy Wilkins opens. At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Synth Library Portland sets up for hands-on. At P:ear Mentor 338 NW 6th 5PM-8 Free


Alex Stone and Cassie Ferguson open Solus / Solace. At After / Time Collective 730 SW 10th Suite 110 Look for the entrance on 9th 5PM-8 Free

May 31 Silent Ether

Wes Mills brings Silent Twig and Megan Murphy brings Ether. Silent Twig is small watercolors on paper and two and a half dimensional pieces of wood with paintings on them. Ether are Murphy's well known panels with regular patterns of marks suggesting writing on glass substrates with wax softening the pattern.

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

April 22 - May 27 Uniform Conduct

A long time ago Andrea Zittel spoke in Portland about her work. Her themes have been DIY domestic existence including clothing.

She described living in a room for a month with no sense of time - clock, daylight, or external communications. She has built unit interiors to live in, their furnishings, and eatware. A big project was AZ West in Joshua Tree.

The funniest story was an account of her work in NYC as an art gallery assistant. It always has a visible-invisible dynamic in high end commercial galleries. Because she was poor, she sewed two little black dresses. After 2 years working there on the second last day of work, the gallery owner asked if she had worn that dress before.

Regen Projects https://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/andrea-zittel8 has gathered the second retrospective of the uniforms Zittel has sewn as her art of life. It is a fertile project. We see uniforms daily and some have worn them in their work life. We also have freeform uniforms, a set of conventions to compose in for work and play.

https://spruethmagers.com/exhibitions/andrea-zittel-a-z-uniform-series-1991-2002-munich/ (2003)

https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s1/andrea-zittel-in-consumption-segment/ (2001)

http://www.mit.edu/~allanmc/zittel1.pdf (2004)

https://wwd.com/feature/uniforms-are-essential-in-zittel-s-critical-space-545612-1988429/ (2006)

https://thegentlewoman.co.uk/library/andrea-zittel (2015)

https://www.vogue.com/article/andrea-zittel-a-to-z-personal-uniforms-third-decade (2023)

At Regen Projects 6750 Santa Monica Blvd, LA, CA Free

May 27 Touch

Helens Costume opens Touch ‘em with Love by Shelley Turley.

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

May 26 Bulbous

Benjamin Ewig opens When We Met, bulbous sculptures and paintings. At One Grand Gallery www.onegrandgallery.com 1000 E Burnside 6PM-10 Free

May 21 Creative Growth North

North Pole Studios is in the family tree rooted in Project Grow. Project Grow, created my Natasha Wheat, is firmly centered in what I term "socially conscious social practice art."

Wheat found an existing program for intellectually disabled adults who were paid a penny a piece for the therapy of sorting clothes hangers. That's much too boring. She brought in artists to create a studio and gallery, Street Yoga, and created a CSA farm for the clients. The clients were participants in decision making along the ideas of RD Laing. Wheat went on to CCA and wrote about the history of psychiatric institutions.

Sadly an individual who had been involved in a scandal at the library moved over as the executive director of the parent nonprofit and crushed it. The struggling remnants were further mutulated by a Trump order that all such programs be redesigned to lead to paid permanent work. Freed of that, North Pole Studios has a participatory art program similar to the famous Creative Growth in Oakland.

They are active on Instagram and they are opening their studio today with RSVP by noon - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-open-house-tickets-634922368897. At NW Marine Artworks 2526 NW 29th 11AM-4 Free


Making the Earth Cool is having a meetup for families today at Parallax. 10AM-noon Free

May 20 Imprecise Skin

Todd Norsten opens An Imprecise Recollection of an Inaccurate Memory. At Adams and Ollman Gallery, the second of two members of the New Art Dealers Alliance www.newartdealers.org, www.adamsandollman.com 418 NW 8th 1PM-4 Free


Beckey Kaye has an artist talk followed by a music performance by Sara Heise. Kaye will be discussing her exhibition Second Skin, the current show of sculptures. Heise will be performing acoustic versions of songs by The Gits. At Souvenir Gallery https://souvenirartspdx.org/ 1233 NE Alberta 2PM Free

May 20-21 Plant Rock Plane

Rare Plant Research is a rare plant nursery which sells rare plants on the Internet. They are open just one weekend year to the public for plant sales. They are open this weekend. It really is a special place. You can visit Rare Plant Research www.rareplantresearch.com

11900 S Criteser Rd, Oregon City. Do not park on Criteser road, parking in their field. 11PM-4 Free


It's also the Mt Hood Rock Club rock show. https://mthoodrockclub.com/annual-rock-show/


And another unusual event is a rare performance of 1000 Airplanes on the Roof by Philip Glass. The play is a deranged monolog perhaps sugesting alien abduction.

Third Angle did a lot of work to reconstruct the score which was in disarray. They are playing it under the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Air Museum https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/. 1000 Airplanes on the Roof https://www.thirdangle.org/2223-season#airplanes 500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, McMinnville, OR 8PM $60/$25 students

May 19 Protection Adaptation Resistance+

The Center for Native Arts & Cultures opens a new traveling show Protection: Adaptation & Resistance all the way from Alaska.

It envelops three themes: Land and Culture Protectors, Activists for Justice and Sovereignty, and Resilient Futures. Those all sound great! It is documentation of native-created artwork and social practice art.

Show https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/events/alaska-exhibit at the Center for Native Arts & Cultures https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/ 800 SE 10th (old YU building with a waterfall in the basement) Curator & artist talk 6PM, reception 7-9 Free


Shawn Creedon, Sarah Baker, and Nora Colie bring playful climate discussion in Making Earth Cool. Tonight they guest Jenstar Hacker for a forest bath in the form of wild animal field sounds, Cochlea Cocoon, accompanying a guided meditation on the occasion on a new moon. At Parallax Art 516 NW 14th Doors 7:30PM event 8 Free

May 12 Harmonic Convergence

The curation of the Stumptown art fellowship and downtown show of it has transitioned from May Burrel to Wendy Swartz, long time Eastside Stumptown curator.

Portland-Corvalis artist Anna Fidler https://www.annafidler.com/ wins and shows tonight. This body of work goes back to earlier layerd paper cut imagery when I first found her work. She is doing geometric schematic work now, and a revival https://www.annafidler.com/current-work/figurative-energy-potraits.

The Stumptown fellowship is well respected and their openings are recommended. The shows are up for long enough you can stop in for coffeetime to see them.

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

May 11 Points Between

Not every exceptional show has openings and closings, our modus. But the Lobby At Ellen Browning has been doing excellent curation. They are a very chill space to stop by for a quiet viewing limited hours.

They have an opening tonight.

The new show is Between Two Points and includes Jenny Holzer, Mary Weatherford, and Daniel Buren.

This spot has museum level artists you can see for free.

The past show was The Earth Laughs, with David Hockney, Andy Worhol, Max Jansons, Karin Gulbran, Petra Cortright, the Campana Brothers and Margarite Humeau. MK Guth's 5,000 Pages on Love is in residence for you to inscribe. The big piece is Flower and People – A Whole Year per Hour from TeamLab. If you don't know TeamLab you should look them up, and seek them out if you travel internationally. We are fortunate to be able to experience it here.

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.

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

May 7 Digital Talks

Technology intermixed with art is a vast topic of centuries. The pace is speeding and the topic is branching. The Art Museum decided to take a cut with a free lecture From Digital Colonialism to Artificial Stupidity: Reframing Technology for Human Recovery.

It is part of the program for the exhibition Hito Steyerl: This is the Future. Speakers are Morehshin Allahyari NYC digital artist and speaker with many videos you can find, professor Kris Cohen from Reed, and the museum's Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sara Krajewski.

Talk https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/from-digital-colonialism-to-artificial-stupidity/?instance_id=32089 at the Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park in the Grand Ballroom in the Mark Building 2PM Free

May 6 Move See Burn Forgetting Debris Omens

Sator conyinues their show with movement by Roland Dahwen, Sam Hamilton, Jess Perlitz & Takahiro Yamamoto.

At Sator Prokects https://www.satorprojects.com/ 1709 SE 3rd. 2PM Free


Fata Morgana by Adrián S. Bará. opens.

At at SE Cooper Contemprary https://www.secoopercontemporary.com/ 6901 SE 110th 1PM-4 Free


Out of the Ashes by kozyndan of Japan/LA themed on rabbits open. They are food fired.

At Nucleus Portland http://www.nucleusportland.com 2916 NE Alberta 4PM-6 Free


Debris Potpourri by Jeremy and Jessie Le Grand is themed on their home occupied by a baby. At Well Well Projects www.wellwellprojects.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N. Interstate Map  5PM-8 Free


The History of Forgetting by Epiphany Couch is at Carnation Contemporary www.carnationcontemporary.com in the Disjecta building 8371 N Interstate. 5PM-8


Oregon Contemporary continure Omens of Capacity, has a talk at 2024 Biennial curators Jackie Im and Anuradha Vikram and a show by a Friends of Noise band. At Oregon Contemporary nee Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.oregoncontemporary.org 8371 N. Interstate Map 5PM-8 Free