This week’s art picks include black-and-white portraits celebrating Portland’s music community, new abstract paintings and Western landscapes, and exhibitions highlighting Oregon’s forests, woodturning traditions, and local artists. There’s also a benefit art sale on the coast and a chance to see work by Salem’s latest artists-in-residence before the show closes October 25. Check websites before heading out, as details may have changed.
Portland Metro
Black-and-White Portraits of Musicians Helped by a Health Charity, Portland – thru Nov 30, 2026
Portland photographer Norm Eder spent years quietly shooting studio portraits of musicians and music-industry workers aided by the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, which helps people in the music community get back on their feet after a health crisis. A curatorial team at The Old Church narrowed his archive of 520 images down to 40 black-and-white portraits for this show, opening with a free public reception on October 21. Oregon ArtsWatch
Abstract Paintings Built From Daily Ephemera, Portland – thru Nov 28, 2026
Froelick Gallery opens “Beauty and the Long Walk Home,” a new body of process-driven abstract paintings on panel and paper by Laurie Danial, shaped by her day-to-day visual experiences and collected ephemera. It runs alongside a concurrent solo show by painter Daniel Robinson in the gallery’s other space. Froelick Gallery
Oregon Coast
A Benefit Art Sale for Lincoln City’s Cultural Center, Lincoln City – thru Nov 29, 2026
Local artists and collectors have donated work for “Art That Gives Back,” a benefit exhibition and sale at the Chessman Art Gallery inside the Lincoln City Cultural Center, with all sale proceeds going straight back to the center. A reception was held October 16, and the show stays up through late November for anyone who wants to browse — and help the center — afterward. Newport News-Times
Three Oregon Coast Woodturning Clubs Showcase Turned-Wood Art, Newport – thru Nov 29, 2026
Members of three coast woodturning clubs — from Bay City, South Beach, and Reedsport — fill the Newport Visual Arts Center’s Runyan Gallery with “From Forest to Form,” a free showcase celebrating the craft’s deep roots in the region’s historic Myrtle Wood Shops. The show opens October 23 with a reception and artist talks from 4-6pm, plus a second talk set for November 19. Oregon Coast Council for the Arts
Willamette Valley
A Former Icon Painter Treats Forests as Sacred Ground, Eugene – thru Nov 28, 2026
Olga Volchkova trained as a religious icon painter in Tver, Russia, before eventually settling in Eugene — and now applies those same sacred-art techniques to 18 new paintings of Willamette Valley old-growth forest ecosystems in “Forest Communities” at Karin Clarke Gallery. Research hikes near Mt. Pisgah and Alsea Falls inspired pieces like a hummingbird’s-nest study rendered in the style of a traditional nativity scene, painted with gesso she mixes herself from marble dust and garlic juice. Eugene Weekly
Five Artists-in-Residence Show New Prints, Paintings, and Fiber Work, Salem – thru Oct 25, 2026
Salem Art Association’s fall Artist-in-Residence cohort — Yanely Rivas Maldonado, LYLAC, Jessica Rehfield, Meg Rowe, and Rachel Wood — shows the work it developed during its Annex Gallery residency in “The Work We Make,” spanning printmaking, painting, and fiber art. Time is short to catch it, so plan a visit to the Bush Barn Art Center soon. Salem Art Association
Eastern/Central Oregon
Pendleton City Hall Launches a Quarterly Local Art Showcase, Pendleton – thru Dec 23, 2026
Pendleton’s Arts Commission has launched “Art in City Hall,” a new quarterly program bringing two-dimensional work by local artists to the building’s second-floor hallway, with no set theme for its inaugural run. The display is up for public viewing through late December, with a fresh lineup to follow each quarter. City of Pendleton
Leave a Reply