Galleries to Visit on First Thursday

In case you missed it: Artist Kenny Scharf previewed his show opening by tagging cars at PAM.

A Burning Man Pas de Deux

Photographs of the fleeting instant before the Burning Man collapses into itself, or a blur of a figure dashing away from the flames or intimate portraits of the many exotic performers who breathe life and energy into the iconic festival are on display in this off-the-beaten-path gallery in Pioneer Place Mall. Of the two West Coast photographers who collaborated for this photo-based history, Stewart Harvey—considered the unofficial Burning Man documentarian—strives above all to capture a moment of movement that is most revealing about a person, place or situation. Marti is inspired by the transitory nature of the occasion, which exists only for a brief slice of time before being disassembled without a trace, so her photos often seize a still moment between two states. She calls it the gray area "between hope and fear." These are two vastly different takes on Burning Man, but the raw beauty and power of both make this show a complementary spectacle. HILARY TSAI. Through Nov. 15. Mark Woolley Gallery, 700 SW 5th Ave., Suite 4110, 998-4152.

Back to the Sea

Portland-based artist Gwen Davidson's paints collage-style acrylic works on canvases covered with layered strips of paper. Returning to Froelick Gallery for the second time, her new series tries to capture the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River Gorge. She uses natural colors like taupe, deep blue and slate grey to create moody-colored horizon lines that look like abstract waterscapes. After Davidson lays paint to the strips of paper, the canvases naturally warp, wrinkle and shrink, meaning that her art takes on a trajectory of its own. The lack of control Davidson has over her materials must be nerve-racking, but it leads to a unique, textured finish that perfectly suggests the rocky shoreline of the Pacific Northwest. KYLA FOSTER. Through Nov. 28. Froelick Gallery, 714 NW Davis St., 222-1142.

Dark Matter

Anticipating the shorter days and longer nights of winter, Jeffrey Thomas solicited a diverse body of works exploring the theme of darkness from artists who work in a variety of media. This dark and foreboding exhibition champions a world assembled out of shadows and contrasts and promises art that's either about the bleak, black and sinister or somehow uses darkness as a medium itself. MEGAN HARNED. Through Nov. 7. Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art, 2219 NW Raleigh St., 544-3449.

idealSTATE

Vanessa Van Obberghen explores the sinister side of our idealistic expectations and their historical ramifications. Through charts and stereotypical imagery stemming from colonial and postcolonial frameworks of the "other," Obberghen inverts the viewer experience by making them the subject of observation, instead of observers themselves. This suggests Obberghen expects the audience to belong to those historically white groups that pointed to and defined the worlds they "discovered" so I suggest you leave your white guilt at home. MEGAN HARNED. Through Nov. 14. Worksound International, 820 SE Alder St.

In a Rhythmic Fashion

Hap Gallery collaborated with Worksound International for this two-venue exhibit featuring Belgian artists Carla Arocha and Stéphane Schraene. Their creation, called P11, is an installation of Plexiglass curtains and double-sided mirrors that distort space and reflect the five, monochromatic paintings hanging on the white walls. The exhibition is a labyrinth of mirrors and patterns that leaves viewers confused as to which paintings are reflections, and which are seen through the extracted centers of the mirrors. P11 is a site-specific work created especially for Hap Gallery, and it's the 11th iteration of an ongoing project. Part two of the exhibition, titled idealSTATE, is on view at Worksound International. ASHLEY STULL MEYERS. Through Nov. 14. Hap Gallery, 916 NW Flanders St., 444-7101.

In the City

Screenprints on glass tiles of everyday objects like dumpsters, mopeds and storefront mannequins by Portland artist Stacey Lynn Smith, Nathan Sandberg's glass and concrete tiles that are dot printed to mimic the unnoticed textures of asphalt and Scottish artist Karlyn Sutherland's kiln-formed glass rectangles combine at Bullseye Project's In the City collective show. Using urban landscapes as inspiration, the show ranges from Sandberg's "Paver 6"—a small square of concrete lined with cracks—to Smith's screenprints reminiscent of fliers and ads that collage street corners, including things like a canary yellow food truck. Juxtaposed with the detail in Sandberg and Smith's work, Sutherland's clean, 17-inch tall glass rectangles on the wall are a minimalist tribute to the skylines of her home country. KYLA FOSTER. Through Dec. 23. Bullseye Gallery, 300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222.

Interior Views

Bright, South American-style colors dominate the series of paintings, glass works and textiles themed around "hiding in plain sight" by Portland's Mary Josephson. Her portraits are medium-sized oil paintings on wood, glass mosaics in ornate frames or vibrant embroidery on felt. The textures and intricate patterns in her works are just as front-and-center as the women with thick, black eyebrows that she chose as subjects. Josephson's interest in dreamscapes, secrets and imaginary worlds comes through in the reflective gazes of her subjects, and her intent is to make viewers just as self-reflective. ASHLEY STULL MEYERS. Through Nov. 28. Laura Russo Gallery, 805 NW 21st Ave., 226-2754.

Jessica Jackson Hutchins: Confessions

Confessions is as intimate as it sounds, a two-gallery show by internationally-known, Portland-based artist Jessica Jackson Hutchins that tries to explain the very nature of art itself. What is collecting, what is curating, and what might be just hoarding? Once something is labelled as "art," a whole new roster of questions arise—how should art be cared for and preserved? In an attempt to tackle these big questions and confess some of the faults of artists as a whole, Hutchins displays a series of interpretive objects—like a chair painted with multi-colored brushstrokes—at both the Cooley Gallery and the Lumber Room. The exhibition is organized by Portland collector Sarah Miller Meigs and Cooley Gallery curator and director Stephanie Snyder, working closely with Jessica Jackson Hutchins to develop one interrelated exhibition that expresses the distinctiveness of each space. MEGAN HARNED. Through Nov. 8. The Lumber Room, 419 NW 9th Ave., and Cooley Gallery, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 777-7251.

The Liminalists

The simple-looking works, full of bright geometric shapes or sinuous graphite blobs, belie artists Amy Bernstein and Patrick Kelly's strict attention to process and composition. Kelly's graphite forms look like metallic rain clouds, undulating with a shiny sheen, and Bernstein abstract strokes and shapes pop vibrantly off their white backgrounds. Both artists' works stay firmly anchored in two dimensions on their surfaces, but the hues and forms are striking enough they threaten to break through into physical space and hit you in the face. GRAHAM BELL. Through Dec. 4. Nationale, 3360 SE Division St., 477-9786.

Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Luis Romero

This two-person show displays imperfect ceramic mugs painted in bright, pop-art hues next to paint-and-paper wall hangings. Despite their disparate mediums and practices, artists Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Luis Romero's have more in common than you'd expect. Suarez Frimkess is a self-taught ceramicist and Romero works in elaborate collages, but both sets of works explore form, function, culturally-specific aesthetics and history. This exhibit looks decidedly crafty, begging artistic questions about gesture, dimension and the hand-made. ASHLEY STULL MEYERS. Through Dec. 19. Adams and Ollman, 209 SW 9th Ave., 704-0694.

My New Blue Friend

More than 100 sheets of mulberry paper, each hand-painted with sumi ink, cover the gallery walls for Oregon-based artist Julie Green's first solo exhibition at Upfor. These sheets, covered with hundreds of laboriously painted seashells, provide the backdrop for Green's series of egg-tempera paintings. Egg tempera is a time-consuming and challenging process that results in transparent washes of color. Drawing inspiration from Japanese ceramics and Zen calligraphy, Green's aqueous, airbrushed imagery resembles oceanic scenes. KYLA FOSTER. Through Dec. 19. Upfor Gallery, 929 NW Flanders St., 227-5111.

No Specific Region

"How do I keep something I've made from looking like I've made it?" Artist D.E. May attempts to answer this question by working with ready-made objects and unlikely materials. No Specific Region will utilize cardboard, canvas, wood, graphite and other sculptural fragments in works that are meant as templates. Ranging from tiny cardboard pieces that look like mini architectural renderings to postcard- or calendar-sized boards of layered wood and graphite, May's works are minimalist and mostly beige. But like the vague title of this show, they suggest that they're on the way to something bigger. ASHLEY STULL MEYERS. PDX Through Nov. 28. Contemporary Art, 925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063.

Seeing Nature

With more than 40 landscapes from the last 500 years, this exhibition from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection includes works by masters like Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, Georgia O'Keeffe and Gerhard Richter. You can glimpse the progression of the genre all in one gallery through a diverse range of international artists, with some works that have never been shown publicly before. And it's anyone's guess when they will be again—this is rare peek that promises to be a blockbuster. GRAHAM BELL. Through Jan. 10. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-2811.

The Silk Road

Continuing his exploration of recycled textiles and geometric patterns, artist Mark R. Smith creates colorful laser cut prints on felt, which look like a computer motherboard. In this exhibit, Smith examines the historic silk trade route through central Asia and the illicit online black market of the same name. He juxtaposes images of objects found on the black market—like drug paraphernalia and weapons—with items found on the original Silk Road—figurines and animals. As an added layer, Smith's goal is to make every work visually seductive as a commentary on the Internet's irresistible pull. KYLA FOSTER. Through Jan. 2. Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521.

Throw Me the Idol I Throw You the Whip

Abstract shapes in whites, blacks and reds, sharp borders that look like cut-outs and shattered patterns punch out of Portlander Grant Hottle's paintings like explosions. Inspired by metal music, graphic novels and horror flicks, Hottle uses unexpectedly traditional techniques. He stole the title for this first solo show at Carl & Sloan from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The line comes in a silent moment between action scenes, perfectly capturing what it's like to look at Hottle's abrasive paintings in a pristine gallery. Through Dec. 13. Carl & Sloan Contemporary, 8371 N Interstate Ave., No. 1, 360-608-9746.

Tinder Box: Gary Wiseman

After five months as an artist-in-residence in Mt. Hood National Forest, sponsored by environmental group Bark, Gary Wiseman has produced a diverse body of work that is united by his interest in the systems that shape our understanding of Portland's wild backyard. References to fire repeat themselves through the show, including maps of fire perimeters drawn with handmade ink, sourced from the charcoal of the fires themselves. MEGAN HARNED. Through Nov. 21. PataPDX, 625 NW Everett St., No. 104.

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