Provincial Appeal
I just picked up Get the Picture by Bianca Bosker. Almost immediately it reinforced the perception, and most certainly the reality, that New York is still the center of the art world. Lucky enough to have lived in New York for several years, not enough of that time was spent visiting art galleries. The secondary…
Oregon Art Wire – Monday, August 17
1. A Citywide Contemporary Art Triennial Spans 16 Venues with 28 Artists, Portland – thru Oct 4, 2026 Converge 45 returns for its 2026 edition, “Here, To You, Now,” curated by Lumi Tan and inspired by the writing of Ursula K. Le Guin, turning galleries, storefronts, and campuses across the city into one shared stage.…
Art Fair Dynamics: Community and Creativity at the Seattle Art Fair
The Seattle Art Fair’s tenth edition successfully brought together diverse galleries and fostered community connections despite concerns over competing events. Engaging artworks by artists like Nahom Ghirmay and Gabriel Zea highlighted the importance of physical encounters with art. The fair remains vital for introducing emerging collectors to the art world, nurturing lifelong connections.
Beyond Mysticism at the Seattle Art Museum
Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest at the Seattle Art Museum showcases 20th-century artists from the Pacific Northwest, whose diverse styles are influenced by various movements like Social Realism and Surrealism. The exhibition challenges the notion of a singular Northwest School, emphasizing individual artistic expression over a defined mysticism.
Keith Haring and the New York Scene That Changed Everything
The review of Brad Gooch’s biography, “Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring,” highlights Haring’s significant yet often underappreciated impact on the 1980s art scene. It explores his relationships, artistic collaborations, and enduring legacy, illustrating how his belief in accessible art continues to resonate today, influencing both art and culture.
Browsing Portland’s Rose City Book & Paper Fair
The 20th Annual Rose City Book & Paper Fair in Portland offered a diverse array of books and collectibles, from vintage postcards to rare editions. Attendees enjoyed engaging displays and the tactile experience of books amidst a digital age. The fair highlighted various themes, including Native American perspectives and notable authors like Ursula K. Le…
A Late Encounter with Alice Neel
I know at one point, I saw at least a room full of Alice Neel paintings, but I can’t remember exactly where. And I can’t seem to line up my memory with any of the Alice Neel shows over the last 20 or so years. The closest is the show at the Houston Museum of…
A Village Happening
It is a cold, clear wintry day, January 23, 1917 in New York’s Greenwich Village, and the city is in the middle of quietly changing its own mind. Washington Square Arch stands at the north end of the park like a piece of classical theater dropped into Manhattan by mistake. It is modeled on Roman…
Opinion: Antiques Aren’t a Gold Mine—They’re a Lifetime of Enjoyment
You don’t need a treasure map or a television crew to discover the value of antiques. Those events focus on finding cold gold, not warm mahogany. You’ve seen it on TV: a dusty vase in the attic suddenly worth tens of thousands, a painting nobody noticed that turns out to be priceless. Antiques Roadshow has…
A Piece of Oregon from the Land of Enchantment
The Santa Fe Art Auction recently concluded its “Art of the West” sale, highlighting the artistic legacy of the American Southwest and Pacific Northwest. Featured artists included Gene Kloss and Georgia O’Keeffe, with significant sales like Jerry Jordan’s “The Town of Eagle Nest.” The auction showcased a rich diversity in Western art.
Is There an Oregon School? Mid-Century Art in Eugene and Coburg
A trip to Eugene explored the Karin Clarke Gallery’s exhibition of mid-century Oregon artists, revealing complexity in their connections to the landscape. The visit questioned a cohesive “Oregon School.” Instead of a singular style, it highlighted various artists’ shared experiences shaped by their environments, emphasizing psychological engagement with the local world.
Stacks and Stories at the Portland Fine Print Fair
The 2026 Portland Fine Print Fair rebounded impressively, attracting diverse crowds and featuring a variety of prints from across the country. Notable contributions included contemporary works by Stefanie Hofer and linocuts by Allison Saar. The fair emphasizes the accessibility of print collecting, appealing particularly to younger, grassroots collectors.
In the Woods — Jennifer Foran at Multnomah Arts Center
Two years have passed since Jennifer Foran’s last solo exhibition at SideStreet Art Gallery. Her new show at the Multnomah Art Center both extends her artistic vision and departs meaningfully from her earlier work. Where Foran once captured grandeur—sweeping vistas of the Columbia River Gorge or the mysticism of star-filled skies—her new pieces turn inward.…
Painting the “Social Disease”: Maryanne Meltzer’s Artful Diagnosis of Alienation
In 1989, artist and scholar Maryanne Meltzer submitted a master’s thesis to the University of Texas at Dallas with a title that reads like a diagnosis: Artists Depict Alienation: The Contemporary Social Disease. For Meltzer, alienation wasn’t an abstract idea—it was a lived condition, “the spiritual malaise of modern Western society,” marked by “loneliness, estrangement,…
Rebellion, Reality, and the Art of Disruption
Ai Weiwei’s exhibit “Ai, Rebel” at the Seattle Art Museum explores the intersection of art, dissent, and the human experience. Featuring over 130 works, it highlights themes of authority, civil liberties, and cultural heritage. Through striking installations, Ai encourages viewers to question societal norms, reflecting on the nature of truth, freedom, and creativity.
Portraits and Perspectives: Exploring the Depths of Self-Representation
A new installation of the Connection Series at the Portland Art Museum provides an engaging and thought-provoking way to reexamine portraiture. By taking a step back and considering the variety of ways we see ourselves — and how others see us — we gain new understanding of our images. The concept of “we” includes not…
The Curious Case of Charles Christian Eisele at O’Gallerie
The July 14 auction catalog from O’Gallerie features an early Oregon painting by the little-known but intriguing artist Charles Christian Eisele. Eisele is briefly profiled in William Gerdts’ Art Across America: Two Centuries of Regional Painting (Volume III) where he appears among a dozen artists in the Oregon chapter. Christian Eisele, another able landscape painter,…
Abstract, Mystical, Western: The Art of C.S. Price
The Hallie Ford Museum in Salem, Oregon, is showcasing the works of C.S. Price, an artist known for his expressionist style. His paintings range from vibrant Western scenes to darker, introspective pieces, reflecting a unique emotional depth. Price’s art transcends typical categorization, blending regionalism with modernist techniques, emphasizing spiritual essence over realism.
A Sense of Place, A Sense of Home– Otis Quaico at Russo Lee
Artist Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe’s first solo exhibition, “A Place I Call Home,” reflects his nearly eight years in Portland. Influenced by his West African heritage, Quaicoe’s works exude dignity and strength. The opening night showcased strong community connections, emphasizing Quaicoe’s place among the city’s creative scene, enhanced by shared personal stories.
Louis Bunce: A One-Man History of Modernism
When viewing a wall of paintings recently on display at O’Gallerie Auction in Portland, one could easily assume they were created by multiple artists. The works span a startling range of styles—still life, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism—executed in various media and painted on whatever surfaces were at hand. PDX travelers may already be familiar…
From Sunlit Peaks to Empty Tables: Two Portland Painters Reflect on Place
At the opening for his inaugural show with Guardino Gallery, recent California transplant Joel Briggs recounted an encounter about eight months ago with Donna Guardino, the late gallery owner. After an introduction by another gallery artist, Donna offered him a future exhibition on the spot: “How about a show next year?” That moment may have…
Oregon Art at Auction
There are many ways to engage with art. Among them is to interact with living artists, visit galleries, go to art fairs and shows, take classes, explore museums and just look at the art in our communities. Then there is the secondary market, which these days is primarily auctions, to some degree vintage fairs and…
Art Blooms at Rental Sales Gallery
As part of the Portland Art Museum, the Rental Sales Gallery nonprofit continues its tradition this Spring of showcasing the Pacific Northwest’s creative talent. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but several caught our interest during the April 25 opening. Even though it is an often-painted subject, City Glow by James Minden…
Art Amid Uncertainty: Reflections from the 2025 Dallas Art Fair
Can the contemporary art market offer a glimpse into the broader economy, or is it insulated from financial turmoil? We attended the 2025 Dallas Art Fair with these questions in mind. After a few years’ absence — during which we explored art fairs in Los Angeles and Seattle — we had the opportunity for a …
Sally Cleveland at Augen Gallery
Sally Cleveland’s exhibition “Wolf Moon” at Augen Gallery challenges traditional notions of landscape painting by emphasizing intimate, emotionally resonant moments rather than grandeur. Her small-scale works invite closer observation, revealing human presence within serene landscapes. Cleveland’s art encapsulates the beauty of the ordinary, proving that subtlety and depth can coexist in limited frames.
Boraz, Johanson and Group show — Art Log: Portland, March 2025
Here are four “go” shows for the month of March. At Froelick Gallery, Rebecca Boraz presents her debut exhibition, “Holding Space.” The concept emerged during the pandemic, a time when our awareness of personal space—whether alone or shared with loved ones—increased to the point of hypersensitivity. This theme resonates deeply in Boraz’s work as a…
A Journey Through Art and Identity in Dallas-Fort Worth
Spending two days crisscrossing the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a place I left more than two years ago, felt like a homecoming of sorts—one filled with art, nostalgia, and a reminder of why I left in the first place. While reconnecting with old friends, I made it a priority to dive back into the local art…
Craftsman Style Homes: Portland’s Architectural Heritage
The Arts and Crafts movement began in England, but the offshoot Craftsman style thrived in Portland. Early in the 20th century, Portland was booming! That’s apparent today thanks to the abundance of Craftsman-style homes here.It was a time when, Portland’s population skyrocketed. By 1920, the city had more than doubled in size, with new neighborhoods…
Not Just Another Flower Painting
In the history of still life paintings, the genre has always been more than the sum of its parts. In the golden age of Dutch paintings, earthly pleasure is in full bloom, but only ephemeral. Cezanne would direct us into the sensation of his objects rather than to the objects themselves. Even in America, the…
Seattle Art Fair 2024: A Vibrant Comeback Show with New Additions
We don’t have any experience with the Seattle Art Fair prior, but the 2023 edition was said to be a comeback show. If so, that speed of recovery was on full display this year as 25 additional galleries joined the fair at the Lumen Event Center. A steady crowd Friday seemed to have been dwarfed…
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