Art

Painting Revolution: Kandinsky, Malevich, and the Russian Avant Garde Portland Art Museum, 226-2811 Through Jan 7 In 1932, following Lenin’s death, Josef Stalin ordered museums and galleries to remove and destroy work of avant-garde artists, in an attempt to squelch any revolutionary tendencies. Luckily, a few clever collectors and museum staff members chose to ignore […]

Four Artists Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 224-0521 Through Dec 23 Four artists contribute to the current exhibit at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Philosophy of Desire is a display of Drake Deknatel’s large, German Expressionistic canvases. Robert Hanson’s Mythology is a collection of graphite and charcoal figurative drawings. Pilgrims by Forrest Williams is a display of figurative oil […]

28-year-old John has picked up a few essential tricks in his eight years of writing graffiti. Most importantly, he knows that when the police roll up, there is nothing better to do than run. “There’s been a few times when I’ve had to turn into Carl Lewis,” he explains. “I also like to go out […]

820 N Russell 493-9424 A new player with all the moves has been added to the Portland art roster. The Dos Mil Gallery opened its doors on North Russell Street on September 30th, directed by up-and-coming artists/entrepreneurs Joshua Cohen and Thomas D. Located near Widmer Brewing Co. and McMenamin’s White Eagle, the gallery provides a […]

Corporate sponsorship of the arts is not unheard of. For example, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s current exhibition, Counter Canvas showcases work “made possible,” by various endowments, including funding from Nike. However, in December ’99, photographer Nan Goldin, conceptual artist Damien Hirst, conceptual artist Christopher Chiappa, and advertising executives from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., began […]

David Boring Daniel Clowes (Pantheon) Today, from the sexual and political fantasies of R. Crumb to the opaque baroque stylings of Alan Moore, comics and graphic novels seem wholly independent from outside influence. That’s what marginalization does for you: fewer readers, but more freedom. David Boring is a good example of this contemporary liberation. Daniel […]

“Sometimes I worry what’ll happen if I lose both my parents. I’ll bust out completely. There’ll be nobody left to embarrass.” –Chuck Palahniuk TOWARD THE END of the film Sex: The Annabelle Chong Story, Chong travels home to Singapore. She seems to genuinely believe that although she’s cultivated a high-profile life as a porn star […]

Skin! The Human Fabric Various Artists Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave, 224-2634 Through Oct 29 Curves. Mounds. Soft flesh. Ripples. Veins. Hard muscle. Viewing aspects of the human form can cause a frenzy of supreme sensuality and raw sexuality. It is from this precipice that Skin! The Human Fabric offers an indulgence of photographed […]

paintings by Christine Shields Reading Frenzy, through Oct 31 It must be difficult for artists who release comics to separate themselves from the perfect union of font and pictorials. Indeed, forming uniform letters that not only have a literal communicative meaning, but also augment a painting, is a skilled art form in itself. Christine Shields, […]

12th Avenue Project Nan B. Curtis and Martin Houston Twelfth Avenue in Southeast Portland is home to an unlikely art exhibit: 50 signs line the one-way street running along the historic neighborhood. The 12th Avenue Project, created by artists Nan B. Curtis and Martin Houston is part of “in situ Portland,” a program of the […]