Monday, February 13

Shit Portlanders Say

"Has anyone seen my growler?"

Arts & Books OK, this is a little hit and miss, but we'll admit it: we lold. Stick with it—it gets better as it... More

Feb 9, 2012 03:23 pm by Ruth Brown  | Comments 4
 

One More Round of Fertile Ground Reviews

Arts & Books Groovin’ Greenhouse 1Fertile Ground is best known for its showcases of new theater works, but the ... More

Jan 31, 2012 11:17 pm by BRETT CAMPBELL  | Comments 0
 

Live Review: 4x4=8 Musicals at the CoHo Theatre

Arts & Books 4x4=8. Yes, they know the math is wrong, but the title is still apt. Live on Stage Productions’ co... More

Jan 27, 2012 11:46 am by MARIANNA HANE WILES  | Comments 1
 

Live Review: The Tripping Point at Shaking the Tree

Arts & Books There's a reason fairy tales have been plumbed for art's sake so deeply: they're bottomless. Murky w... More

Jan 27, 2012 11:06 am by JONATHAN FROCHTZWAJG  | Comments 0
 
 
 
Home · Articles · Arts & Books · Visual Arts · Boredom? Hardly. First Thursday In Review
April 12th, 2006 RICHARD SPEER | Visual Arts
 

Boredom? Hardly. First Thursday In Review

An invigorating show at Portland Art Center belies its title.

0 Comments
     
Tags:
One of the most invigorating shows in an all-around amazing month for visual arts is Portland Art Center's group show, Boredom: I Learned It by Watching You (an odd title for a show that is far from boring), curated by painter Josh Arseneau and arts activist Gabriel Flores. The show's most striking, albeit most logorrheically titled, piece is Harvest Henderson's chandelierlike expropriation/absence of myth (i dreamed we all rose at once to destroy and reclaim it), which consists of 303 apples suspended from the ceiling in tiers of concentric circles. Witty and well-executed, familiar yet inscrutable, the piece reminds us how gifted an installation artist Henderson is; she has a knack for work that is conceptual but not arid, thought-provoking but still satisfying visually and spatially. Downstairs from Boredom is a continuation of last month's PAC exhibition, highlighted by Shawn Busse's Metronome (white ceramic violins, emblazoned with bar codes, lined up in a row) and Kay Hwang's Generation II (bowling-pinlike forms protruding from the wall). The quality of the downstairs and upstairs shows will come as a revelation to anyone who thought PAC was still mired in transitional doldrums. The doldrums are done; PAC has arrived, with an unbeatable Old Town location along the motel-Compound-Backspace axis and the able curatorial stewardship of director Gavin Shettler. PAC has at last begun to fulfill its promise as a vital grassroots institution for the visual arts and is now playing the role that PICA abdicated in 2003. 32 NW 5th Ave., 236-3322. Closes April 23.

Another strong group show, Elizabeth Leach's Fresh, sparkled with Chandra Bocci's Sparkle Fallout a darling vignette of ballerinas and faux pearls beneath a fanciful mountainscape. Adam Sorensen scores a knockout with his sumptuous semi-abstract painting Shade of Ghost Tree. Rounding out the show is Sean Healy's King of the Jungle Gym, a photo mural showing an autumn scene in super-saturated yellows and oranges. Healy has evolved into a sophisticated artist who makes statements that are at once bold and winkingly understated, beautiful and snarky.


Portland Art Center 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521. Closes May 27.
 
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

Web Design for magazines

Close
Close
Close