I always feel guilty writing about worthy shows in a very short form, yet since all of these shows ends this weekend I feel it's worth the brevity:


Whitney Nye at Laura Russo

Whitney Nye at Laura Russo: Yes, Portland has had way too many collage shows but this is a breakthrough for Whitney Nye and "Counterpane" is just one of the standouts. Instead of juxtaposing the typical cornucopia of pop images and formal bits she has collaged and painted around her own drawings. Intensely meditative and formally adept they occupy a refined and intelligent space between Rothko and Rauschenberg's combine aesthetics. This is mystical without a hint of gimmickry, a stand out show which ends Saturday the 24th.


Anna Weber at Motel

Anna Weber at Motel: "Ultra-Megadontia." This exhibit has me watching this artist. The giant teeth are both slightly cartoony and more than a little anatomically accurate. It is both engaging like a smile and slightly foreboding like a hustler's grin. Even the giant fillings seem like a cross between the characters created by Charles Dodgeson and HG Welles…. It is Science and fantasy presented in an excitingly improbable and more than slightly portentous way. As always it's beautifully laid out. I suspect somewhere there is a giant trying to gum "jack" to death… ends Saturday the 24th


Hilliard's Limited Visibility, on the right

Daivid Hilliard's "Verifier" at Quality Pictures. If for nothing else, check out the impressive triptych "Limited Visibility." It's a tour de force in details, atmosphere and perceptual shifts. Nice touch with the broken glasses too, one of the best pictures I've seen all year. Ends Saturday the 24th

David Eckard at Chambers: Known mostly for his devious prosthetics, his paintings are equally devious if a lot subtler. Somewhere between Philip Guston, Georgia O Keefe and early Carol Dunham it all looks like rock or sinew or vegetable matter. Ends Saturday the 24th.


Dan May (foreground), Mary Henry (background)

Dan May and Mary Henry at PDX Contemporary art. As two purveyors of subtle constructivist fantasies, they definitely work well together. Tyler Green has noted Dan May's work in the past and why not, he's like some fantastic Juddian archivist but on an intimate scale ala Joseph Cornell. His stacked boxes are some of the best works on the West Coast, though he's shown in Chelsea. Ends Saturday the 24th



Judy Vogland at Beppu Wiarda. This assemblage sculptor has done very well this month, nearly selling out the entire show. She's not doing anything new but she is doing it very well. It might be interesting to see a full scale installation from her sometime soon. Ends Saturday the 24th

The Preeminents at Mark Woolley, with so many old school northwest sculptors it's hard not to find this high tonnage show interesting. You want patina, here's your patina... lots of patina, patina till the cows come home. Yes, references to David Smith and Henry Moore are everywhere here but somehow it also emphasizes how the Northwest has long been a cradle to artistic pursuits and quality. My favorites all happen to be Jim Hansen's elegant and eastern leaning forms. His extensive foundry/studio outside of Vancouver Washington is a sight to behold and his formal grounds form an excellent private sculpture park. Check Hansen out in the Columbian. Ends Sunday the 25th.