“Next”
PDX
925 N.W. Flanders St.
This month PDX gallery is featuring a collection of works by its large and varied roster. Works vary from awkwardly (earnestly?) painted oils to abstract bio-morphic sculpture. Sort of the all-star game for the PNCA sector.
Michael Brophy, “Drawings in Black and White”
Laura Russo Gallery
805 N.W. 21st Ave.
Speaking of PNCA, the works of grad Michael Brophy, works of sumi ink on paper, are on display here. If you can get past the creepy hyper-real garden acrylics of Tom Fawkes, then Brophy’s subtle, heroic and anti-heroic drawings seem even bolder.
Ty Ennis, “What it All Meant”
New American Art Union
922 S.E Ankeny St.
I’m a sucker for little punchline drawings, and therefore artists like Ty Ennis are right up my alley. The execution of the little works is so minimal that at times even the funniest joke fades off into melancholy. The works are personal yet make statements that are universal among the wet-feet-and-hoodie class. Paintings of grizzly looking men with grizzlier looking beards labeled “Britney Spears” or “Paris Hilton” are easy jokes and the drawing itself knows it. This makes me very happy.
Jodi Boatman, “I Noticed Your Limp as You Got Up to Leave the Kitchen”
New Space Gallery
1632 S.E. 10th Ave.
Jodi Boatman takes passive, textured photos, relating to nothing exactly but with a feeling of purpose. Her work is reminiscent of both the direct vision of Uta Barth and the accidental excitement of wasted roles of film in Lomo cameras. Boatman’s work seems to have happened just after a moment’s passed, sort of that time when it all sinks in. The work is ambiguously emotional and transitional, both sad and hopeful. It makes a person want to drink alone – don’t mind if I do.
Of note:
If you haven’t heard yet and you care, Gallery 500 has announced that after this month’s terrific show “Contemporary Drawing: New Work by Nicholas Di Genova and Troy Briggs” it will be closing its doors- forever. Justin Oswald, the owner of Gallery 500 promises he’ll continue to be a prominent figure in Portland Arts, and swears he will continue to use his influence to do some arty good around town. He recognizes that Gallery 500 was important and will forever hold a place in Portland lore. A sad and modest goodbye for sure.