BY DANIEL DUFORD 243-2122 ext. 313 Navigator: Timeline | Listings | Interview | Pick Timeline 1972 The Portland Center for the Visual Arts is started by three local artists. 1986 The Fountain Gallery closes. 1986 Laura Russo Gallery opens. 1987 First Thursday begins. 1995 The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art is founded.                                           FOCUS ON: Laura Russo In 1974 the Smithsonian Institution launched an exhibition called "Art of the Pacific Northwest, 1930s to Present." For the first time, a cohesive sense of this region's artistic character and history emerged on a national stage. During this period, Arlene Schnitzer's Fountain Gallery dominated Portland's art scene and represented the bulk of the artists presented in the Smithsonian show. Moreover, the gallery served almost single-handedly to educate the collectors of the region. But regardless of how well Portland played at the Smithsonian 25 years ago, the city was still widely considered a backwater western town. And while much has changed, Portland's reputation for entrenched conservatism still lingers today. Charges of stagnation and mediocrity are often leveled at gallery owners and curators alike. Laura Russo, owner of the gallery that bears her name, is no stranger to such criticism. Russo, who worked with Schnitzer at the Fountain for 11 years, is both lauded and criticized for keeping old-guard artists in her stable--painters such as her uncle Michele Russo, a pillar in Portland's contemporary-art scene, and Carl Morris, who along with his wife, sculptor Hilda Morris, brought national attention with their abstract expressionist works. Although some complain that Russo is too conservative and not cutting-edge enough, many young artists still consider representation by her a worthy achievement because of the blue-chip status that goes with it. As someone who's been on the scene for the past quarter-century and shows some of Portland's best-known artists, Russo says that one of the most surprising elements of the past 25 years is the growing support for artists and galleries. "When I opened my gallery 13 years ago, it was a risky thing to do," she says. "I can't think of any artists who made a living off of their work--maybe Carl and Hilda Morris eked by on the sales of their work. And now there's quite a few." To understand the alchemy of the Portland art scene's transformation, it's important to look at a few key ingredients. The Smithsonian show gave validation to the founders of the contemporary-art scene. Earlier, in 1972, three artists had founded the Portland Center for the Visual Arts, which brought exciting national artwork to Portland. These shows served to educate and encourage collectors. "There were more buyers than collectors," says Russo. "Mostly people were buying to decorate their homes. That was a very different kind of collecting than you see now. There are people now truly collecting, so they're not trying to match their couches." In 1986, the Fountain Gallery closed. As after the clearing of a large tree in a small forest, diversity sprang up for both galleries and artists, and First Thursday's inauguration that same year solidified this movement. "The whole combination of First Thursday and the Fountain Gallery closing and more galleries opening created a kind of atmosphere and an energy drawing people to it," Russo says. The vitality of regional art, she adds, depends not only on what is new and the influx of talent and capital but also on a historical framework. "I think all the galleries hope, and have hoped for some time, that the Portland Art Museum would take a bigger role in the regional contemporary-art scene, or even just the national contemporary-art scene," Russo says. "I think that it's been neglected by them. We need the museum to help promote the artists, not only for our personal benefit but for the benefit of the region, because I think there's some really good art going on here. A museum is a way of validating what's being done. The Biennial is great, but it's not quite the same as doing major exhibitions of mid-career or even some emerging artists. And then some of the earlier artists that helped build the history of the region, even artists like Louis Bunce, they haven't done an exhibition since 1979." The charge of conservatism leveled at Russo may stem from her respect for the region's art history. "At the moment, it's kind of looked at as if it's irrelevant," she says. "Not by everybody, but by some of the art writers. You know, OK, been there, done that, and what's new? Everything has got to be new. That's not my point of view. It isn't that I'm conservative, it's that I think it's important for all of us to remember how things started and how they evolved and who the people were that pioneered when they were here in the '40s and '50s." As Portland artists become more nationally recognized, Russo says, and the city sees more galleries and institutions like the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art established and the strength of its art schools tested, Portland's art scene will come of age. "I don't think it's all the way there yet," Russo adds. "It's certainly getting better. The growth of the museum and more serious collectors will help to develop other, more serious collections. I think in 25 years it may be a really big city in terms of its mentality culturally." Listings NEW EXHIBIT SPACE Portland Art Museum Beginning this fall, the first phase of the museum's grand remodeling opens, beginning with a gallery to display European and American sculpture and painting and English silver. By the time the area formerly occupied by the Pacific Northwest College of Art is complete, space for the permanent collection, new exhibits and a center for Native American art will add much-needed life to the museum. A sculpture garden should be ready by next summer. The museum is the oldest in the region and can now take on the venerable role for which it was designed. A good metropolitan art museum should include a thick collection of works that patrons can visit regularly, support local artists, act as caretaker to the history of the area and bring in new, exciting work that won't fit into a commercial gallery. With all this expansion (and with PNCA flourishing in the Pearl District to provide a wellspring of talent), it seems the museum will live up to this model--and enrich the city greatly. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-2811. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art In January 2000, PICA inaugurates it new exhibition space. Located at Northwest 12th Avenue in the new Wieden & Kennedy building, the space will situate the institute in the burgeoning Pearl District. PICA takes over from the sorely needed Portland Center for the Visual Arts, which, during the 1970s and 1980s, launched first-rate exhibitions of national contemporary art. Since its inception in 1995, the institute has curated a few visual-art exhibits, but not enough. Now PICA can bring the same level of daring and thoughtfulness to the visual arts that it brought to the performing arts. The institute's new digs open with a show entitled "Fictional Cities," an exhibition by French artists Marie Sester and Alain Bublex. In it, Bublex has created a fictional North American city called Glooscap, replete with documents and imagined histories chronicling the city. Sester views five distinct cities, juxtaposing their societal perceptions. The exhibit is part of "Côte Quest: A Season of French Contemporary Art," a series that will take place up and down the West Coast. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, 219 NW 12th Ave., 242-1419. Show opens Jan. 20. Contemporary Crafts Gallery This little jewel in the Southwest hills may be the city's most underrated space. Craft is one of Portland's strongest suits, and the WPA-built gallery houses some of the 20th century's greatest masters. Until now, there weren't many opportunities to show the permanent collection, which includes work by such greats as Peter Voulkos and Glen Lukens. That changed, however, with the opening of the Gabel Gallery on Sept. 10. Once known nationally as a hot spot for late-century craft, Contemporary Crafts suffered from an erroneous gift-shop image, and its national stature has taken quite a beating in the past decade and a half. In 1999, fresh board members, a strong, new director and shows such as the current "Handmade, Oregon" (curated by Art in America's Janet Koplos) may return the gallery to its former standing. Contemporary Crafts Gallery, 3934 SW Corbett Ave., 223-2654. NOTABLE SHOWS North Star Ballroom The expansion of the Portland Art Museum will anchor the region in terms of institutional heft, PICA will bring the electricity of new national and international work, and Contemporary Craft will provide a serious venue for craft. Still, a city's visual-art life needs grass-roots diversity. Portland's art scene has traditionally fostered boot-strap action by arts organizations. As the Pearl District takes hold as the "establishment," the east side struggles to be the "alternative." The North Star Ballroom begins an innovative performance series. Staged the second Friday of every month, the multi-use building will house simultaneous events. Each given night will provide performances, visual exhibitions, and literary events. Cafe-style food, late-night DJ music and a diverse roster of events converge on one night. Each second Friday has a different theme: September's is Youth, October's is Time, and November's is Consumption. Installation artist Annabelle Snow and photographer Julie Keefe are among the visual artists scheduled. This could be an exciting new venue to keep the city's art life vital and diverse. North Star Ballroom, 635 North Killingsworth Court, 240-6088. Friday, Sept.10, Oct. 8 and Nov. 12. Adults $15, students $8. Lynn Yamamoto and Drew Dominick Artist Yamamoto compiles the installations she presented at New York's Whitney Museum, PS1 and the Greg Kucera Gallery. Using the fictional character of a young woman named Ayame, Yamamoto explores images of feminine cultural identity. In the adjoining gallery, Drew Dominick presents his provocative installations of ultra-masculine clay figures. With figures on strange vehicles with rabid dogs, the work examines hunting culture and masculinity. Pacific Northwest College of Art, Feldman Gallery, 1241 NW Johnson St., 226-4391. Opens Sept. 2. Kenny Scharf Part of the great 1980s New York art boom, Scharf's goofy pop figures are immediately recognizable. Scharf's work borrows heavily from Saturday-morning cartoons and space-age pop. Scharf is moving into the canon of the latter decades of the century with his Pop Surrealism. Developers are going to include privately funded, nationally known artists as part of the new River District's public art in Northwest Portland, and Scharf is one of the first artists chosen to adorn the yet-to-be-born neighborhood. PICA presents an exhibition of his new sculptures at its current space. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, 1129 NW Johnson St., 243-1167. Sept.14-Oct. 16. Zhengli Xu Chinese shadow puppets are used for entertainment, satire and the reinforcement of cultural mores. The theater uses simple means to create whole worlds, and the puppets themselves are wonderful works of art. Zhengli Xu, a master puppet maker from China, will display puppets from his collection. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 823-4322. Oct. 7-30. William Kentridge South African-born Kentridge is known for his labor-intensive, highly political animated short films. Making the international biennial rounds, he exhibited at Documenta X and Site Santa Fe. He has also collaborated with Handstring Puppet Company. Last year at the International Festival of Puppet Theater in New York, the team presented the highly acclaimed Ubu and the Truth Commission, a satire on the political processes in South Africa. Kentridge concerns himself with two pivotal 20th-century atrocities, the Holocaust and apartheid. His drawings, animation and theater work are prickly and enigmatic at times but always engaging. Reed College, Cooley Art Gallery, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 777-7591. Nov. 2-Dec. 3. Sarah Taylor Taylor had the spotlight cast on her at this year's Biennial. Her tarot deck of everyday objects quietly asserted themselves amid all the brassier work. Book arts are an often-overlooked area of the art world but one that deserves more attention. Taylor has created 10 series of trading cards of regional artists, similar to baseball cards. They will focus on different disciplines--Artists Who Draw, Dancers, Folk Artists, etc. Some of the series were first shown at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center this past summer. Check out all 10 series at the Art Gym. Marylhurst College, The Art Gym, Highway 43 one mile south of Lake Oswego, 636-8141. Nov. 14-Dec. 15. David Smith David Smith's work in steel has made it virtually impossible for any other sculptor in that medium to overcome his influence. Most abstract steel sculpture looks like 10th-generation Smith. This show, curated by Smith scholar Karen Wilkin, looks at drawings and Smith's transition to his best-known work. Smith's legacy is watered down by his progeny, but this may prove to be an important look at the artist's work, allowing viewers to judge for themselves. Reed College, Cooley Art Gallery, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 777-7591. April 2000. Pick The Portland Art Museum's new northwest gallery opening and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's new exhibition space. For her own gallery, Russo picks Fay Jones in December. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published September 15, 1999