Jesse Durost at Elizabeth Leach

Every so often, Jesse Durost surfaces somewhere in Portland to reveal the striking visual results of his experimentation in the realms of atmospherics and semiotics. With Hole in the Sky, Durost takes on the big subjects of Flag and Country. Catch him while you can during his 5-day turn in Elizabeth Leach's main gallery. MK Guth's Growing Stories has been extended and will occupy Leach's smaller space through November 4.

Later in the month, Elizabeth Leach Gallery will commemorate 25 years in the art business with A Century of Collage, a survey show in which works by renowned artists Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Motherwell and Kiki Smith will share wall space with collages by locals Judy Cooke, Lee Kelly and Michelle Ross. A Century of Collage runs Nov. 11-Dec. 30.

Reception for Hole In the Sky • Nov. 2, 6-9pm • Oct. 31-Nov.4
Elizabeth Leach • 417 NW 9th Ave. • Tel. 503.224.0501

Continuing November's theme of whirlwind exhibitions incorporating industrial lighting, Portland Art Center will host a 3-day showing of Viktor Popovich's installation based around a pile of chairs culled from people he's encountered during his PICA residency. "The delicately orchestrated pile reflects the aura of its owners," suggests Popovich's press release.
Opening Reception • 6 to 10pm • Nov.3,4
Portland Art Center• 32 NW 5th Ave. • Tel. 503.236.3322


Sophia Dixon at Valentine's

This month, Valentine's offers "theatricality bordering on camp and almost embarrassing self-exposure" with one hand and "synaesthetic readings of the artworks as scores for sound wave conduction" with the other. The opening reception for The Witchcraft Rebellion, drawings by Arrington de Dionyso and Sophia Dixon, will culminate in a proto-musical sound performance courtesy of de Dionyso at 9pm. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
Opening reception • 6-9pm • Nov. 2-30
Valentine's • 232 SW Ankeny St • Tel. 503.248.1613

In the confessional press release for Proposal for a Forest or a Desert, his PDX Window Project installation, Scott Wayne Indiana first acknowledges that "the proposed structure itself is in fact quite phallic" then invokes Mother Theresa: 'We can do no great things, only small things with great love," before concluding, "Its an Idea. Ideas can be beautiful."
Opening Reception • 6 to 8pm • Oct. 31-Dec. 2
PDX Window Project • 612 NW 12th Ave. Portland • Tel. 503. 222.0063

Overwhelmed, Jen Corace's second solo outing at Motel, shows the artist employing dense, detailed motifs surrounding a central subject in works that explore tensions of perceived versus actual danger. Her large works on paper feature compositions invaded by archetypes of peril, such as snakes, tentacles, tsunami waves and jackalope, which represent physical and psychological landscapes that the subjects must negotiate.
Opening Reception • 6:30p to 9:30pm • Nov.2-30
Motel • NW Couch between 5th and 6th • Tel. 503.22.6699