Holly Andres, "Untitled" from "Sparrow Lane"

The slightly unnerving photography of Holly Andres will be featured this month at Quality Pictures. Her Sparrow Lane series explores adolescent girls "on the cusp of acquiring forbidden knowledge" - a metaphor for the transition to womanhood, as well as a tribute to the rich fantasy life of childhood. Each photograph is carefully posed, using familiar iconography to suggest discovery, while withholding narrative cues to force the viewer to come to his or her own conclusion about the action in the scene. This mystery, combined with Andres' use of twins and other girls eerily similar in appearance, creates a strange and surreal atmosphere that invites the viewer into the other-world of the young girls.

UPDATE: Amber, the young woman in the above photograph, was recently diagnosed with Ewig's Sarcoma, a rare form of juvenile cancer. Andres and QPCA are selling 50 limited edition signed 8x10 prints of the above photograph for $50 each. All proceeds from these sales will go to Amber, as well as partial proceeds from the sales of larger prints. Please contact QPCA at 503.227.5060 or info@qpca.com to inquire.

Opening reception • 6-9pm • June 5
Quality Pictures Contemporary Art • 916 NW Hoyt • 503.227.5060



Wid Chambers, "Urban Forest" (video still)

This month, Wid Chambers will transform the Chambers gallery into a "surreal forest landscape." With sculpture, video, and sound installation, Chambers is "bringing the urban forest into the gallery." The show is a tribute to the wilderness and trees that once covered Portland, and are still a major part of the Northwest's identity. It is a significant departure from Chambers' previous work, which focused on digital, two-dimensional forms.

Opening reception • 5:30-8:30pm • June 5
Chambers Fine Art • 205 SW Pine St. • 503.227.9398



Naomi Shigeta, "Industry"

Naomi Shigeta will be exhibiting New Paintings at Augen Gallery NW this month. Her vibrant, whimsical paintings toy with figure and abstraction, using shape to explore mini-narratives of the world around us. Undeniably charming, the rich colors and deceptively simple shapes draw the eye deeper into the work.

Not to be left out of the glass-fest (see below), Augen Gallery NW will also be exhibiting glass sculpture by Paul Dipasqua, Maki Hajikano, and Larsen/Collentine.

Opening reception • 5-8:30pm • June 5
Augen Gallery • 716 NW Davis • 503.546.5056



From "Offsite"

Arts education in Portland continues to grow and grow. U of O's digital arts BFA program has opened an annex in Portland's White Stag block, uniting promising digital arts and design students with the incredibly rapid growth of new media in the city. Their inaugural exhibition, Offsite, is opening on First Thursday. It will be very intriguing to see what the program has done with the improved resources in the city- and, in turn, what they're bringing to us.

Opening reception • 6-9pm • June 5
U of O Digital Arts PDX • 70 NW Couch St. • zara@uoregon.edu


The Glass Art Society's 38th Annual Conference, Forming Frontiers, is happening June 19-21 in Portland. As a nod to the conference, June is unofficial Glass Month all over the city. Our First Thursday glass picks:



Steve Klein, "Balance 84"

Bullseye, Portland's premier glass studio and gallery, will be exhibiting Presenting, 19 selected works by lecturers and demonstrators at the conference. In addition to the survey, don't miss the chance to check out the Klaus Moje retrospective at PAM, featuring The Portland Panels, four immense works created at Bullseye especially for the Portland exhibition.

Opening reception • 5-8pm • June 5
Artist reception • 6-9pm • June 20
Bullseye Gallery • 300 NW 13th AVE • 503.227.0222



Eric Franklin, "Displacement"

Eric Franklin's Bifurcations will be on view at Laura Russo. His highly organic glass sculptures, reminiscent of both sea creatures and spinal cords, are filled with neon or argon gas, giving them a bright, otherworldly glow. Other glass artists on exhibition at Laura Russo are Richard Royal and David Schwarz.

Opening reception • 5-8pm • June 5
Laura Russo Gallery • 805 NW 21st AVE • 503.226.2754



Melissa Dyne's "Glass" Photo: Brian Foulkes

As previously mentioned on PORT, MoCC is showing the industrial glass art of Melissa Dyne. Using industrial skyscraper glass to build window panes, Dyne's work explores the line between art and craft that is central to the practice of glass art making. Check the previous post for more info on related lectures and panels throughout the summer.

First Thursday reception • 5-8pm • June 5
Museum of Contemporary Craft • 724 NW Davis • 503.223.2654



Banjo, "Disco Chopper"

All this glass art getting a little too serious for you? Mark Woolley has a playful antidote with two exhibitions of "outsider" glass art. Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipe features the elaborate, playful, and frankly gorgeous work of 16 glass pipe artists from throughout the U.S. He'll also be featuring The (mostly) Glass Ceiling, a blend of traditional Mexican art and social commentary by Einar & Jamex de la Torre.

Opening reception • 6-9pm • June 5
Mark Woolley Gallery • 817 SW 2nd AVE • 503.224.5475