Portland\'s August First Thursday Gallery Openings

Portland’s August First Thursday Gallery Openings

Aug 14th, 2008 by Brad

Last fall I just missed the three-person show at Hasted/Hunt (NYC) that Gerald Slota was in. Missed it by a week. Slota’s new show at Quality Pictures (916 NW Hoyt, Portland, OR) was a chance for us to see some of his work.

Gerald Slota, "Crack-House" (detail)

Gerald Slota photographs look like constructed images from many sources. The are manipulated by a variety of photographic (non-photoshop) techniques. The textures and colors have a sense of mystery and un-knowing. They take one into one turn of reality and then hang on to a contradiction. The press release said “drenched in color.” Bring it on.

BE Schellinger, "Chi-Shifter" (detail)

Also at Quality Pictures (916 NW Hoyt, Portland, OR), I enjoyed B. E. Schellinger’s “Chi-Shifters” paintings more than his recent works on paper. These paintings build on his previous work. These abstract works resonate with life and interesting layerings of colors that angles that are both lead the eye along and contract and shift those thoughts. Some of the lines almost form objects and then they fade back to the abstract. He starts with representation and then verges them to the abstract. Does all relate to using ones chi energies to shape-shift? Or is it the undulations of one’s shifting chi? Maybe to difficult to explain to the western mind?

Lee Kelly, the long-celebrated Northwest artist, has a wonderful show called “Doubtful Sound” at Elizabeth Leach Gallery (17 NW 9th, Portland OR).

Lee Kelly, "Fall & Winter"

This show has a lot of early work (both paintings and sculptures) from Lee’s 50-year career. There are some very stunning works at this show. I really liked “Fall & Winter” it vibrates and delightfully slides dances like a jazz combo in my mind. I liked the sculptures but I need to take more time with them to get more of a feel.

I also stopped by to see Nick Blosser’s “Off Road” show of small landscapes
in egg tempura and watercolor at PDX Contemporary Art (925 NW Flanders, Portland OR). These landscapes subtley edge into the abstract. Maybe these intimate images were a bit to subtle for me that day. Eva Lake has posted a 10 min video interview with Nick Blosser.

Blue Sky Gallery (122 NW 8th Ave, Portland OR) had its typical two shows. I had the exact opposite take of Chas Bowie’s That’s a Negative blog on this show.

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine “Boda Boda” show was more impressive to me. The compositions built on and played with the subjects. I think it shows us how we all are regardless of our jobs, even if we were bicycle delivery men in Uganda. I tire of work in Africa that tries to make it look exotic or preserve derisive myths of the “dark inaccessible continent”. We are one people, different places, different roles, somehow all trying to make it through.

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, "Boda Boda with pig"

I really felt Donald Weber’s work has been done for a long time. I’ve seen this sort of documentary style for too long. Nothing new here, go to the fringes and wait for the sour moments. I’m not sure the execution and dark prints really added any feeling to the work. It feels more than a snapshots.

Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) had an obsession with time and its image. So you can understand my long-time attraction to his work. You can see a nice collection of vintage Muybridge collotypes from Animal Locomotion at Hartman Fine Art (154 NW 8th, Portland OR). To the uninitiated Muybride’s motion studies look like images from a strip of film. They are not, they were created in 1880’s with multiple cameras. and these experiments led to the invention of motion-pictures. The images I like best are those that show the motion but also have a larger existence. They go beyond this let moved or this jiggled and really form a larger image or patter of movement. An example of what I mean is the image below.

Eadweard Muybridge, "Plate 765" (1887)

A new larger pattern is created by differences and similarities when viewed as a whole.

Has anyone ever read the book “River of Shadows” by Rebecca Solnit? It was recommended to me and I’ve been meaning to pick it up if it is any good. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

We only got a quick look at Robert Yoder’s show at Froelick Gallery (714 NW Davis, Portland OR). They were closing early for filming to some such.

Robert Yoder, "Clover"

I liked the cut-up construction of vinyl, reflective tape, magazine pages, and his drawing. I need to go back to spend more time with the work Robert Yoder was selected as a finalist for the 2008 Neddy Artist Fellowship.

At Augen Gallery (716 NW Davis, Portland OR) is a group show featuring three decades of photographs from the NYC underground. Think Iggy, Burroughs, Clash, Ramones, Warhol, This show will be a hit with those with a nastalgic bent. Subject matter may trump photograph in this show, regardless it would have been more fun to look at them at some downtown bar during the day when the Alphabets were nasty. Celebrity (even under-ground celebrity) images always have this problem, as we can be swayed by average photographs because we are over-invested in the subject. As another example I’ll point to an average photograph but a powerful subject from the real Apollo 13 contact sheets. (see http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html, then click on Apollo 13, then S70-35747 by Ed Hengeveld “The three crewmen of the Apollo 13 mission are photographed during the first day of their post-flight debriefing activity at the Manned Spacecraft Center”, average photo but think about the subject)

Belushi in NYC

Ben Young had a work I enjoyed at Tractor Gallery ( 328 NW Broadway, Portland OR). Oh I didn’t ask and didn’t read anything so I’m not sure of its deeper meaning or its influences. Keep spending your allowance 🙂

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