- PDX Contemporary
- Gus Van Sant’s “boy and girl” on view at PDX Contemporary
The First Thursday artwalk is tonight on the west side, and First Friday is tomorrow on the east— there are a few openings that have popped up on the radar which I’d like to pass along to you.
After the jump: Gus Van Sant, Polaroid surgeon, is showing his combined casting photographs at PDX Contemporary; Igloo Gallery is having a benefit raffle they’re calling Fun!draiser; Half/Dozen presents the pinball-inspired art of Artur Silva in Fliperama Rhapsody; Tender Loving Empire has moved to their new location and are hosting an opening party tonight, with art curated by Hungry Eyeball and a live set by Boy Eats Drum Machine; also on the move-in tip, Grass Hut is now bunking with Floating World Comics, and they’ve got an opening from Joel Trussell, as well as a “cartoon fashion show”; plus tomorrow there’s Joey Lusterman at Vestibule and Gabe Flores’s Greener than you at Milepost 5. Read on for details, and use the comments to tell us all what you’re going to see tonight!
- PDX Contemporary
- Gus Van Sant’s “clown josh” on view at PDX Contemporary
Tonight there’s an opening reception at PDX Contemporary from 6-8 pm for Gus Van Sant’s Cut-outs (located at 925 NW Flanders). While I have some extended notes on that show in this week’s print issue, the short of it goes like this: Polaroids of actors and actresses are scanned, paired, and Photoshopped to create “multi-faced” sensations of personhood and home.
- Igloo
- Igloo’s Fun!draiser
Igloo, located at 625 NW Everett #102, is having a raffle tonight from 6-10 pm which they’re calling Fun!draiser. Raffle tickets are five bucks, winners will be announced at 9 pm, and contributing artists are as follows:
Jenene Nagy, May Juliette Barruel, Vanessa Calvert, Salvatore Reda, Craig Wheat, Ashley Sloan, Calvin Ross Carl, Sydney S. Kim, Chris Lael Larson, Ryan Burghard, Avantika Bawa, Ralph Pugay, Zack Davis, Maggie Casey, Josh Pavlacky, Ben Young, Travis Fitzgerald, Miles Sprietsma, Nathaniel Thayer Moss, Chelsea Linehan, Lori Gilbert, Mack McFarland, Miles Sprietsma, Kevin Nagler, Kathleen Brown, Christine Taylor
That’s a super-strong list of local talent, and if you’re lucky enough to win a piece, $5 is a total steal. Like the above poster says, proceeds from the raffle go to gallery programming.
- Half/Dozen
- Artur Silva’s “Thank you, enjoy” 2007
Half/Dozen is showing the work of Artur Silva in Fliperama Rhapsody, and while I’m not exactly sure what’s being presented, it is, apparently, inspired by pinball. Check out the video on the Half/Dozen website of blinky pinball machines— it’s all we’ve got to go on until the show opens tonight (from 6-9 pm at 625 NW Everett St #111 in Everett Station Lofts).
- Hungry Eyeball
- Artwork on card by Sam Guerrero
Tender Loving Empire has moved from their Lovejoy location to a more central space at 412 SW 10th Ave— they’re throwing an opening party from 6-10 pm for their expanded retail/music/art space, boasting “new work on consignment from 100’s of independent artists,” plus Hungry Eyeball has curated “new work and murals,” featuring pieces by “Brendan Newell, Tripper Dungan, Santiago Uceda, Brett Superstar, Jason Graham, Sam Guerrero, BT Livermore, Ryan Berkley, Aidon Koch, & Eatcho.” Added bonus: Tendering Loving Empire recording artist Boy Eats Drum Machine will play a set at 8:30 pm.
- Grass Hut
- Joel Trussell, at the new Grass Hut tonight
Also on the move is Grass Hut. They’re now roommates with Floating World Comics at 20 NW 5th Ave, and to celebrate the partnership, illustrations by Joel Trussell will be on view under the Hut banner. Additionally, Floating World is hosting an opening entitled Project R.U.N.W.A.Y.— Hipsters of the Universe. From the press release: “This May features the artwork of Adrian Riemann, who has designed a series 16 prints with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — except they’re all wearing and modeling current fashions and designer labels. We also invited the following artists to do their interpretations of cartoon or comics characters in modern fashions: Matt Furie, Nick Gazin, Brandon Graham, Corey Lewis, and Angie Wang.” Both openings run from 6-10 pm.
- Floating World Comics
- Hipsters of the Universe at Floating World
Tomorrow is First Friday, and there are just two quick items on my agenda for that. First, Joey Lusterman’s Don’t Talk About It, Be About It opens from 6-10 pm at Vestibule, which is inside Disjecta (8371 N Interstate). The press release says that through a navigation of “physical and digital space,” an “exploration and glorification of suburban youth culture” is illustrated, pushing the viewer to internalize tasks and operations common to the young, savvy internet user. From the samples I’ve seen of the show, Lusterman’s artwork is centered around screenshots of busy computing environments (for example, Photoshop open next to a streaming video, while both float over a patchwork of web browsers and file folders).
- Gabe Flores
- Gabe Flores’s Greener than you at Milepost 5
Gabe Flores’s Greener than you also opens tomorrow from 6-9 pm at Milepost 5’s Phase 2 building (900 NE 81st Ave). In an email, Flores tells me that the show explores the premise that “to be fully green is death,” pointing at a common rift between ideology and practice in the green movement, while attempting to “find peace at knowing I can’t win the ideology game.”