hi! this email is a smidge late, but it's a fun one---just a tiny round up of cool shows around town i'm looking forward to seeing. these are all portland picks, i will try to include some vermont (and maybe other places) art events in upcoming emails, for my vermont-and-other-places readers. hope you enjoy : )
i don't know much about ppstmm, other than it is a pretty new space and it's open by appointment only. i also just saw some older paintings by current featured artist, edward jeffrey kriksciun, in another space, and i'm excited to see more! i wish i had gone to the opening event, which featured a musical ladder, but there is also going to be a closing event at the fixin' to on march 14, so maybe i'll try to catch that.
i stopped by nationale the other day just to hang out and take a last look at pace taylor's show (which closed sunday), and i kept getting distracted by all the beautiful art in the project room! i was repeatedly told NOT TO LOOK because it wasn't ready yet, but i couldn't help myself! this group show, called "mélange," was curated by artist jeremy okai davis around the theme of collage. one of my favorite shows last year was also collage-themed, i guess i'm kind of predictable. i especially loved maria britton's fabric collages, which repurpose household textiles like bedsheets and turn them into drapey sculptural reliefs. (of course i liked the fiber art! i really am predictable lol). "mélange" is up through march 31.
hide and seek gallery is another under-the-radar space that is somewhat new to me! i love finding out about new galleries and artists. donyel ivy-royal's show "ceremony" already looks really interesting just based on the limited info i have right now---seems like it will be mostly paintings and an artist book/publication printed by container corps. i love it when art shows come with printed materials of any kind! "ceremony" opens march 2, up through may 3.
i have seen work by a few elbow room artists in shows around town, but i still haven't been to a show at their space---which is silly, because my studio is right nearby! looks like i have another chance with their new show, titled "loving repeating." i really like the theme of this show, which is "an exploration of repetition, copying, echo, mimicry, and love." they have an opening reception planned for saturday, march 2 from 1-4pm, and the show is up through march 30.
wrapping things up is this show of work by artists senga nengudi and maren hassinger, called "las vegas ikebana," at the cooley gallery at reed college. i am a fan of senga nengudi's work, but have never had the chance to see any in person, so this is exciting! i am not familiar with maren hassinger's work but i just read the show text and it sounds like they collaborated on a lot of stuff... i'm intrigued! there was a performance of senga nengudi's choreography at the opening, which i missed, but the good news is they are doing it again on march 23! the show itself is up until may 19.
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that's all for now! thank you for reading.
p.s. i have been working on an email full of stuff relating to the way art is funded and functions in public/civic life. is that kind of thing of interest to anyone besides me? i'm thinking about conversations surrounding public art, government funding for the arts, the nonprofit arts sector, and the place of artists and art spaces in communities large and small, as well as the sustainability and value of all of the above. i have been putting together a bunch of articles and such that are influencing my thought process on these subjects right now, and i would be really interested to hear other folks' thoughts too! email me and tell me what you think, what's your experience, what are you reading/watching/hearing out there that is informing your perspective. lmk! xoxo