Wash up, lace those dunks, and see some art!
First Thursday
Compound Gallery, 107 N.W. 5th Ave.
Monster ?” International group show
Compound Gallery, just off kicking everyone’s ass at the “Affair at the Jupiter Hotel,” has consistently combined shows featuring not just Portland’s best disobedient artists, but also those from all over the world. October’s show, dedicated to the art of the monster features work by artists from Mexico, the UK, Toronto and California. From the cute (Jon Burgman, David Barneda) to the ethereal (Gordon Wiebe) to the painterly (David Lee, Charles Glaubitz) “Monster” promises new looks at the tradition of nightmares.
Motel Gallery, 19 N.W. 5th Ave.
Megan Whitmarsh ?” solo show
Motel, also just off kicking everyone’s ass at the Affair, is showing the illustrative and embroidered works of Megan Whitmarsh this month. Combining mythology, rock ‘n’ roll, Kermit and awesomeness, Whitmarsh’s works ooze just enough innocence to lull you into taking out your earplugs. But watch out. Yeti rock is a leading cause in preadolescent tinnitus.
Half and Half, 923 S.W. Oak St.
Justin “Scrappers” Morrison ?” Naturally Brewed
The Vanguard’s own Justin “Scrappers” Morrison steps out once again, this time turning Portland’s cutest coffee slingers into Portland’s finest mythological beer advertisement museum. Scrapper’s instillation explores the aesthetic of Northwest kitsch through a collection of bric-a-brac and paintings celebrating a regional heritage that may have never existed. Call it nepotism, but I can safely and honestly say this is the most awesome show in town.
First Friday ?” Southeast
If it’s not raining, you’ll want your bike
Small A Projects, 1430 S.E. 3rd Ave
“All I Want is Everything”
There doesn’t seem to be a day of the month not dedicated to one or another emerging neighborhood gallery scene. One of the newest additions to the walk a day week is first Friday in Southeast Portland. Granted, the relative distance between galleries makes it a little tougher to amble through a rainy winter evening, but the exciting options, spread throughout industrial Southeast and beyond offer a solid destination of shows every month. With recent shows at the New Space Center for Photography (1632 S.E. 10th Ave.), Missing Link (3314 S.E. Belmont St.) and the Portland Art Center (2045 S.E. Belmont St.) hitting just as hard as any in the city, Southeast is proving that it is just as smart, funny and attractive as any of those art nights in town.
The opening of Small A Projects this Friday shows that the future of the Southeast scene seems even brighter. Owned and directed by Laurel Gliten, one half the curatorial team responsible for this year’s “Affair at The Jupiter Hotel” Small A Projects proposes to bridge the gap between the commercial gallery and the instillation space mentalities. This allows the gallery/curator/artist more room to collaborate, and create instillation specific objects ?’ allowing each show to be an individual experience and the gallery to be more than just a hanging space.
Gliten, beside her work with Affair was also the director of Savage Art Resources and has worked with more than a handful of contemporary and disobedient up-and-comers including Chris Caccamise and the brilliant Chris Johanson. If her past work is any indication of what to expect from Small A Projects, then I look forward to the infusion of national names in the contemporary scene in Portland.
Opening this Friday, Small A Projects’ inaugural show is a rumination on the nature of rock, metal specifically, as told through the works of a group of national artists including Josh Mannis, Zoe Crosher and Craig Doty among others. Portland being the rock-centric city it is, this show and its individual glances at music’s effects should really resonate. Throw in a showing of Jeff Krulik’s genius documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” and the experience is complete. Friday, Oct. 7, 6 ?” 8 p.m. with “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” showing at 8 p.m.
