Steve Karlik,"Flip" Tension and Compression Series, 2010 Glass sheets and enamel paint "18" x "24 x "1/4

Alright, alright... yes Portland's curators have inadvertently conspired to drown the city in abstraction, considering; Donald Judd, Mark GrotJahn, Sol LeWitt, Reed's upcoming Abstract and my M5 show up right now... deal with it. Fact is Portland has been obsessed with abstraction and hard edged or reductionist work for years (even before acquiring the Greenberg collection) and it's why I curated M5 as aa classic summer group show. Considering that Mark Rothko is from Portland, I never want to hear another person say that the Northwest is just about figurative work, though the discussion today isn't the same old will to abstraction we saw back in the 40's-60's.

In attempts to further the discussion PNCA and I have put together The Essentials...

August 18, 6:30 pm
PNCA Main Campus Building, Room 201
1241 NW Johnson St.

The M5 exhibition sets the stage for The Essentials—a study of what ideas are crucial to the active abstract and hard edge/perceptual art community in Portland.

The Essentials is a JPEG jam, asking a number of reductive, abstract and perceptual artists in Portland to choose and present 3 essential images of their own work, while listing what three ideas or concerns accompany them. The visual discussion serves as an anatomy of the critical thinking around this type of art in Portland and a way to bring like minded artists into discussion with one another.

Throughout the evening a list of relevant terms and cogent concerns will be compiled to spur discussion after the presentations.

Participating artists: Calvin Ross Carl, Zach Davis, Arcy Douglass, Laura Fritz, Damien Gilley, Laura Hughes, Steve Karlik (from Minus Space), Eva Lake, Victor Maldonado, TJ Norris, Josh Pavlacky, Josh Smith, Paul Sutinen, Gary Wiseman and more.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.

"...I never want to hear another person say that the Northwest is just about figurative work..." Hmmm.... I'm glad I never heard that from anyone - I woulda punched 'em!