NAAU presents the next installation in the Couture series: Ty Ennis' You'll Love It Here: The Lilac City Track Murders '96-'98, a multimedia installation of drawing, photography, and sculpture. Ennis' "preparation for this exhibit has involved one of the most thorough examinations to date of Spokane's most infamous serial killer, Robert Lee Yates. His nearly 2 year endeavor documenting murder sites, scouring of all available literature and fleshing out the lives
effected during this capsule of time in Spokane, demonstrate a type of artistic discovery that questions the role art can play in the historical record. By lending a sympathetic and informed eye to the memory of events more so remembered through hard-line fact alone, Ty builds a revisionist history using unique visual and written documents."
Opening reception • 6-9pm • July 3 New American Art Union • 922 SE Ankeny • 503.231.8294
Jennifer Locke presents CRISIS 40, a performance at Rocksbox. The exhibition will remain up through August 2.
Opening performance • 9pm • July 4 Rocksbox Fine Art • 6540 N Interstate • 503.516.4777
Whether the economy is bubbling or collapsing Portland continues to attract new faces (often with new spaces). With more and more leaders to our ever growing and evolving scene there is most certainly yet another new wave in effect. Here are just a few of the new faces everyone should have on their
radar (I'm certain there are many more... it's impossible to keep track of the in flow so feel free to nominate them in the comments).
The attention getting Jhordan Dahl caught our attention as an artist in 2007
at the Affair at the Jupiter hotel in Mark Woolley's bathroom (while still a
PNCA student) and her most recent curatorial effort White
Noise. She's serious, smart and sweats the details with a lot of edge...
setting her apart from most of the softer slacker/hipster wannabe artists we spend
a lot of time ignoring. I'd like to go on the record stating there haven't been
enough young, independent female curators active in Portland... (a few years
ago it seemed overbalanced with to many alpha male efforts.. many of which were
more alpha male territorial exercises than concerted curatorial efforts). Let's
hope she pulls together a solo show of her own work or another group show this
summer.
Justin Bland is a
2008 PNCA graduate who has been very active as a curator of shows like Monster at
Appendix Project space and the impressively professional Green
Oregon (a much bigger survey like this is in order). In Miami's 2008 art fair
he participated in Deitch Projects... (much more)
Needless to say perceptual/kinesthetic experience art is everywhere again. Arguably, the three artists mostly responsible for this renewed interest are Robert Irwin, James Turrell and Olafur Elliason. A lot of interest in Portland for this kind of work as well.
There are a lot of smart shows coming down tomorrow like Anna Gray and Ryan
Wilson Paulson's Pearl
District debut and the Lesbian
Art Show, but Green
Oregon at PNCA's Izquierdo Gallery deserves special mention.
Green Oregon on opening night
What's more, Green Oregon is a tightly curated show in a interesting space with some excellent artists
like Robert Adams, Patrick Rock, Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, PORT's
own Ryan Pierce, Marne Lucas and the region's dean of eco art Bruce Conkle,
etc. For me Bailey Winter's painting is the standout. It is anguished
over the environment, just plain weird... conjuring both David Lynch and John Wesley and most likely extremely
stoned. The effect is troubling, frank, omnipresent and a bit overwhelming...
which is exactly like having a discussion about ecology and art the related
to it in Oregon. Check it out.
The Manuel Izquierdo Gallery is located in PNCA's 3D Building (825 NW 13th)
and will be open Thursday - Sunday, 1pm to 5PM or by appointment. (hint ring
the buzzer)
This weekend, the Northwest Film Center presents the first of their summer artist spotlights. They're screening In a Dream, a film directed by Jeremiah Zagar about his father, artist Isaiah Zagar. They'll be showing it twice on Saturday and once on Sunday.
Film screening • July 27 & 28 NW Film Center • 1219 SW Park • Whitsell Auditorium
Varnithorn Christopher
Varnithorn Christopher presents Free Space at PSU's MK Gallery. The project is "is a non-curated gallery experiment by based on the belief that everyone is an artist. From Monday, June 29, 2009 to Thursday, July 9, 2009, Christopher invites anyone to come and exhibit their artwork at the MK gallery." A complete catalog will be created at the end of the exhibition.
Exhibition • M-F, 9am-5pm • June 29 - July 9 MK Gallery • 2000 SW 5th Avenue • Art Building, 2nd floor rm 210
Newspace is seeking submissions for their first juried members exhibition, showing in September 2009. Current Newspace members working in any photographic theme or process can submit work until July 17. More details can be found here.
Becca Bernstein is seeking submissions for her new project, the Emerson Art Observatory. For one year (start date TBA), she'll be showing rotating works in the ground-floor and clerestory windows of a dedicated art space at 30th & NE Emerson. All mediums and formats will be considered. Works can be for sale, but they don't have to be. Proposals are due by September 30. Get more info here.
Added: Seattle's Crawlspace Gallery is seeking submissions for solo exhibitions, group shows, or curatorial projects. Their current deadline is August 1. Directions and details here.
Floating World Comics presents the 3rd annual animation festival at the Holocene, featuring "mind melting video art and psychedelic animation from the secret world of motionography." Visit their website for more info on the 3+ hour line up of Flaspar, Deelay Ceelay, Show Cave Best of Videocation and more.
Animation festival • 8pm • June 25 Holocene • 1001 SE Morrison
Jerry
Saltz describes a Portland-esque art experiment... 'cept we've been developing
this way for years. Here it isn't a single site, it's the way our scene operates and
it is different if the art develops this way instead of an episodic situation.
The final week of John Brodie's Store for a Month is kicking off with a lecture by Philippe Le Blanc. "The Strategy of Sur-Distinction: building a cathedral inside the megastore" is loosely based on Le Blanc's work for sale at The Store, I Win, You Lose: The art of Art in capitalist culture. If you haven't made it down to the store yet, don't miss your chance - its last days are Wednesday, June 24 through Sunday, June 28, 12-7pm.
Artist lecture • 7pm • June 24 Store for a Month • 1216 SE Division • 503.235.8029
Things are tough for art galleries and The New York Times chronicles the shift
to a
market that favors collectors vs speculators. When I was in New York last
March I noticed a vulnerability I've not noticed before... frankly this might
be a good thing because though the art market boomed during the past 7 years
it has produced little art of consequence. At least Portland galleries have
lower rents and aren't used to selling unknown artists for 10K+.
Edward Winkleman discussed the NYT's gallery woes article from his own very
personal angle.
Architect Donald MacDondald's "Refined" Cable Stay design, up for review today
Once again, discussion of the Willamette river transit bridge has heated up
in anticipation of today's meeting for the final choice of bridge type. In my
opinion it isn't bridge type that matters... it is the detailing of whatever design
chosen that will determine how usable, environmentally sensitive, pride inducing,
and ultimately successful the design will be. To bring everyone up to speed...
PORT pretty much started
the civic discussion over this bridge with our totally unofficial design competition,
later we
broke the images of the rather nice hybrid design that now seems out of
favor with the committees. Frankly, I like pure cable stayed designs, they have
generally cleaner lines and can span longer distances which can make for a smaller
environmentally footprint... but the details have to be good and the discussion
around them needs to be relevant to produce sensitive designs.
The stakes for this project are huge. In many ways Trimet and Portland's alt-city
reputation as a green, civically progressive oasis in America is on the line.
It's understandable but should Trimet really try to come in way under budget on what will likely be their most visible project ever?... (more)
