Arts

Arts, Events August 15, 2014

Fine art goes mobile: Portland’s first art cart fair hits Hawthorne Sept. 13

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Sculptor Stan Peterson and silversmith Stephanie Wiarda are taking their Little Art in the Trailer show on the road. The two artists have organized Art Carts, a one-day pop-up art exhibit held at the far east end of Hawthorne Boulevard in the East Portland Eagle Lodge’s parking lot (4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd.). On September 13, Peterson and Wiarda’s art-filled 1973 Airstream Argosy will be joined by roughly a dozen trailers, trucks, vans, and vehicles curated by both emerging and local artists. In addition, the PDX Magazine-sponsored art fair will feature food, three live bands, a wine and beer garden, and best-decorated art trailer contest with prizes. The all-day event—drop by from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.—presents a fun and relaxed way for Portlanders to experience the West Coast’s fine art scene. And for Peterson, the idea is a dream realized. “We’ve been showing different artists in our trailer for about six months,” says Peterson, “but our dream has been to get a bunch of art carts together.” View carts curated by: Chris Haberman, a prolific painter and muralist and co-founder of People’s Art of Portland Gallery Jason Brown and Ali Schlicting, co-owner of People’s Art of Portland Gallery, both painters Jonathan Parker,…

Arts August 4, 2014

Richard Melloy’s Latest Work Is Equally Grotesque and Sublime

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Richard Melloy is standing, fidgeting really, outside of N.W.I.P.A. in Southeast Portland at the opening of his latest show, The Way I See It. Despite the blistering midday heat, and the fact that he has a cache of cold beer behind the bar—good beer!—that he offers up freely to others, he himself isn’t drinking. Doesn’t drink, actually. But he does smoke. Which is what he’s doing while examining a small metal race car that’s palmed in his hand. Someone has spray-painted the entire car white, and painstakingly detailed it with her contact information, which she has handwritten with a ballpoint pen in tiny, shaky letters. “A business car!” the 57-year-old Melloy beams, driving it up and down the length of my bare arm. “Now this…this is genius!” The car is passed amongst a group of Melloy-enthusiasts, which includes a curious assortment of women who orbit him in pairs and trios, and a cadre of local artists fresh from their own gallery events. When the tiny ride makes its way over to the picnic table where Melloy and I now sit, he takes a photo of it with his phone. He turns to give me the business car and, seizing the…

Arts July 15, 2014

Richard Melloy’s ‘The Way I See It’ Opens at NWIPA Saturday

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Richard Melloy’s new exhibit The Way I See It opens at N.W.I.P.A. (6350 SE Foster Rd.) on Saturday, July 18, from 6 t 10 p.m. For the exhibit, the renowned painter has produced one of his riskiest collections yet. Melloy is a veteran artist and an inspiration for creative longevity. PDX Magazine wrote of Melloy in Issue No. 1: “[He’s] bullheaded enough not to quit and smart enough to adapt throughout a long career.” Melloy, 57, graduated from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. He settled in Portland in the 1980s and was part of the nascent art scene in Northwest Portland that would go on to spawn the Pearl District. Now living in the Foster-Powell area in Southeast Portland, Melloy is a sought-after graphic designer, as well as a painter. “As a self-taught painter, it seems like everything I attempt is a risk,” says Melloy. “First, I decide where I want to begin the painting. Second, I figure out a way to paint it. Both the idea and the technique are never static so I am always open to change or refining it. Both processes push and pull until the painting arrives. I am…

Photograph by Intisar Abioto
Arts, Featured July 8, 2014

Intisar Abioto’s ‘The Black Portlanders’ expands to all of Oregon with new partnership

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Local photographer and storyteller Intisar Abioto, who has worked on The Black Portlanders project since February 2013, is now packing up her camera and traveling throughout Oregon to expand the breadth of her photography subjects. Abioto is partnering with the Urban League of Portland to produce photo accompaniments and conduct interviews for the next edition of the State of Black Oregon. Abioto will serve as photographic director for the important report. This year’s State of Black Oregon is a follow-up to the 2009 report, which included stories and data that first made the troubling social and economic realities of black Oregonians visible. According to Abioto, 2014’s report will feature “exploratory photography/imagery, and narrative and lived experience to illustrate the social and economic reality of black Oregonians.” The Urban League and Abioto will travel together to Ashland, Eugene, Bend, and Coos Bay to conduct interviews and photograph participants. “My goal within the project will be to photograph and illustrate the diverse presence of black people in Oregon, both urban and rural,” remarks Abioto. “What does black Oregon look like? Who are black Oregonians? Where are we?” “I don’t have a working mental image of what black Oregon looks like. Do you?”…

Arts, Events July 3, 2014

July’s First Thursday Roundup

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The Sam Roloff Abstract Retrospective, a look at the artist’s works from 2009 to 2014, kicks off this First Thursday with an opening reception at White Space (1439 NW Marshall St.) from 6 to 11 p.m. “I define many of my paintings as time capsules,” says Roloff. “Many of my artworks have 10 or more layers beneath the surface, indicative of the passage of time and the creative process, which are meticulously documented. “Like time and music, my work has movement that leaves a trail of evidence beneath layer upon layer of oils, wax, and glistening resins. Each series that I develop expresses the reality that each of us as individuals—and as citizens of communities, cultures, and nations—has a unique back-story that informs our present, even if only traces remain of what came before. “When collectors purchase one of my paintings, they are actually purchasing a multi-layered collection of all the paintings and scenes within their many layers of imagery, symbolism, ideas, and emotion. The crux of this approach harkens to the tradition of what the Italians call pentimenti: the ghosts of images hidden beneath a painting’s surface.” Pictured above: Equal Rights Marriage Comes to Oregon by Sam Roloff. Oil on canvas….

Patrice Demmon lounges in her folded paper cranes
Arts, Events July 1, 2014

Fifteen thousand origami cranes by artist Patrice Demmon flock to peace and recovery

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If you’ve recently passed through the ambulance entrance of the critical care ward at OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital you may have noticed the colorful origami cranes hanging overhead. The cranes displayed at Doernbecher number roughly 5,000. The installation, CraneAge, constitutes just one third of an effort by local artist Patrice Demmon. The other two-thirds hang at the Mark Woolley Gallery at Pioneer Place Mall downtown. According to Japanese, Chinese, and Korean tradition, cranes represent good fortune and longevity. After World War II, a young child diagnosed with leukemia sought to fold a flock of 1,000 cranes in hopes of returning to good health, happiness, and world of eternal peace—a practice known as senbazuru. She died before she was able to fold 1,000, but her classmates finished the task in her honor. In these traditions, it is common to place flocks of 1,000 folded cranes at shrines and temples. Chains of folded cranes are often placed around the necks of those suffering from an illness. The gesture represents a prayer for recovery, a wish for happiness, and a hope for sympathy and peace. The intention of Demmon’s installation is no different. The medical team at Doernbecher and OHSU saved her son’s life…

Arts July 1, 2014

The Buzz at Maker’s Dozen, Peoples Art of Portland

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4-H was a big summer activity in my rural hometown in the 1980s. While other fourth-graders raised calves, rabbits, poultry, and other farm animals, I hunted bugs. To this day I know the common names of a large number of insect species found in northern Michigan. I obtained this knowledge by chasing down field and forest critters that most people avoid touching. I captured them with a big white net, then either freezed or asphyxiated them with isopropyl alcohol in a mayonnaise jar, before finally affixing the corpses to a styrofoam board with very thin, black pins. This was 4-H Entomology. Besides the brutal, Victorian-era science lesson, this summer activity gave me an appreciation for insects—their vastness and varieties and even their beauty. I found this mostly with butterflies and moths, some fierce-looking beetles that had their own aesthetic plusses, but I largely ignored the more common insects. Ants, sawbugs, weevils, and especially common flies had no place in my collection. Anyone who wanders into Paxton Gate on Mississippi Avenue and examines its collections knows that a housefly as an artifact is not commonplace. Certainly not a single housefly…but what if it were thousands of flies? I saw something recently at the Maker’s Dozen…

Mario Robert
Arts, Events June 24, 2014

Art Opening at Goodfoot on Thursday, June 26

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Mario Robert began his painting career at the Mexican-United States border, where Jaurez runs abut El Paso, Texas. He was 16. He watched as violence forced a once-beautiful border city, Jaurez, into a bloody ghost town. The images he saw there affected his painting as much as his world view. This impact on his work did not change until he relocated to Portland. His work is now heavily influenced by the kindness he meets on Portland’s streets, which he describes as strange and mysterious. View his work as part of a group exhibit that opens Thursday at the Goodfoot (2845 SE Stark St.). Three other Portland-based artists round out the show, which runs through July 30. Beth Myrick works primarily with spray paint, reclaimed wood, and a positive message. Her art often features depictions of animals that walk the line between realism and fantasy. Heidi Elise Wirz is an illustrator and screen printer, who is influenced by legends and mythology, particularly Norse, Proto-Germanic, and Celtic. Painter, illustrator, and animator Christopher Creath dabbles in surrealism and exaggeration with an appreciation for texture, both synthetic and organic. “Human experience is all I can capture or recreate,” notes Creath. “Hopefully, in some way, this…

Arts, Events June 20, 2014

Preview: Maker’s Dozen at People’s Art of Portland Gallery

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This Saturday marks the third Saturday of the month, meaning the People’s Art of Portland Gallery (700 SW 5th Ave., Suite 4005) that sits atop the Pioneer Place Mall downtown will be ushering in a new exhibit to debut to the masses. For its third annual show, Maker’s Dozen will bring together thirteen artists from different mediums and styles with Portland ties. The reception runs from 5 to 9 p.m., while the show continues through July 13. Peoples Art of Portland, Po Boy Art/Jason Brown, and Chris Haberman co-present the show that aims to showcase the work of new and veteran artists along side one another. The featured poster artist is David D’Andrea, whose style is reminiscent of 1960s and ’70s album art, and who looks to everything from almanacs to crumbling encyclopedias for inspiration. Works by Brian Echerer/ Velo Gioielli, Ali Schlicting, Hilary Larson, Daniel Haile, Melissa Dow, David Guardado, Kyle Gossman, PDX Magazine No. 2 cover artist Kelli MacConnell, Kimberly Bookman, Jessica S. McGrath, Matthew Hopkins, and Sharden Killmore round out the show. Pictured above, work by Daniel Haile. Below are more works from the exhibit