Portland’s First Thursday Gallery Openings for February 2008
Feb 8th, 2008 by Brad
Michael T. Hensley’s “Loss/Control” show at Mark Woolley Gallery (817 SW 2nd, Portland OR) was a great place to start Portland’s First Thursday this month. Chromatically you had your choice of vibrant blue or cream&rust. Both worked wonderfully for me.
The cream and rust were more numerous and had some beautiful isolated interesting intimate details. I see ties to
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a variety of subject all fused together.
Eva Lake did a short video interview you can find a link to a utube video at her blog: http://evalake.blogspot.com/2008/02/michael-t-hensley.html
Another of his rust paintings (which is near the front gallery window) is shown below.
Alfred Harris show “Drummer Hodge” show is at Froelick Gallery (714 NW Davis, Portland OR). Wow. Wow. The work shown to the right struck the right chords. This like so many works must be seen in person as it works on so many levels and scales. I’ve included a detail image of this shows title work.
In the press release, “references the poem of the same name by Thomas Hardy. The poem is an economical description of the informal burial of a young English soldier killed during the Boer Wars of colonial South Africa. Like the poem, Harris’ paintings are about dislocation and reassemblage.
Also at Froelick are the vintage silver gelatin prints (1950-1970) of the late Robert Hollingsworth. It worthwhile collection of images. Great eye and some great humor as well (by my read).
Lauren Clay’s show “Decked Out in Delight” is at Tilt Gallery & Project Space (625 NW Everett #106, Portland OR) this month.
The image at the right is on the back wall and had the right blend of strength and subtlety for me. The subtle color comes from the backside of the paper. This is work that dances in layers at it flows like water in a rocky creek bed.
The other work had strengths as well. I liked the feeling of encapsilated encapsilation.
Roger Lee’s work was at PiP Gallery (625 NW Everett, #110, Portland OR).
I most enjoyed the playfulness of the work “Conflicting Desires”. His artist statement says, “…reconsider our personal boundaries between what is sensual to what is sexual by investigating our senses rather than the preconceived objects of the body.”
Also at PiP Gallery this month is a group show by p:ear youth. Some interesting work to see there as well.
At Ogle Gallery (310 NW Broadway, Portland OR) are Alexi Mollomo paintings in a show called “The Ache Part 2”
Very much of tilted kind of Grimm Fairy tale.
Disturbing.
Delightful.
Enigmatic.
(well at least for me).
It’s late, maybe I’m fading away too.
I was quite impressed by the glasswork of Alessandro Casson’s at Butters Gallery (520 NW Davis, 2nd flr, Portland OR). The image shown above is called “Turchesa”. These lyrical shapes had transforming textures, patterns, colors, and forms.
Tonight I’ll finish off with a painting of Carolyn Cole who has had several shows at Butters Gallery.
There were many shows that I didn’t get a chance to see yet.
Shows that I’d still like to see is the show at IGLOO, Vidor’s show at PDX Contemporary Art (925 NW Flanders, Portland OR), The Man Show at Quality Pictures (916 NW Hoyt, Portland, OR), and several others.
