Isolated Houses
Focusing exclusively on the tiny concrete homes that dot the high desert of Southern California, Divola attempts to map a liminal region between civilization (Los Angeles is 150 miles to the west) and barren, uninhabited wilderness to the east. While the houses' inhabitants are conspicuously absent, the series is as much about those who dwell inside, unseen, as the exteriors. JM Blue Sky Photography Gallery, 1231 NW Hoyt, 225-0210, through Feb 25
New Trajectories I: Relocations
New Trajectories I is so teeming with a diverse and captivating range of art from the last five years that it can be a little overwhelming. Not only does the show confirm the Cooley Gallery's increasingly indispensable role in bringing contemporary art to Portland, but it also casts a long and intimidating shadow on the city's visual arts programming for the remainder of the year. JM Cooley Gallery at Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock, 777-7790, through March 11
Paper Fences
Stephanie Robison's sculptures employ recurring visual motifs such as tiny pink cushions stacked like patties; wooden staircases and perches; and black umbrella-like caps, whose dangling black threads suggest jellyfish. The resulting structures are tiny, imagined environments, in which these repeated forms constitute a kind of ecology. JM Tilt, 625 NW Everett, Suite 106, through Feb 26
Portland Modern
Portland Modern, the glossy competition-as-publication of local talent, presents an exhibition of work from its strongest issue yet. Celestial dramatist Marc Manning, nighttime photographer Craig Payne, multimedia artist TJ Norris, and photo trickster Mariana Tres comprise this exhibition. Holly Andres and Andrew Myers round out the PM group with a show at Ogle, 310 NW Broadway. Portland Art Center Annex, 32 NW 5th, through Feb 25