“City In A Box” is Tad Savinar’s first show since joining the PDX Gallery in early 2006. All of the works in this exhibition illustrate this artist’s fascination with language, humor, social conditions and content. This show is comprised of works in cast bronze, digital printing, etched glass, and other media and explores the subject matter of our cities, the citizens who inhabit them and the whims they pursue. Architects, the H5N1 Bird Flu, angry urban men, retiring boomers, urban planning, and emails to God are just a few of the subjects these new works touch upon. As the artist straddles both the contemporary art world and the urban design world, his work often combines aspects of both pursuits in his exhibitions.
Tad Savinar has been an active member of the state’s cultural community for the past 33 years. For his studio work, he has been the recipient of many fellowships and awards including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Governor’s Arts Award and has exhibited in museums and galleries all across the country. Works are included in a number of public and private collections including The Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institute of American Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, The Portland Art Museum, the Chase Manhattan Bank, Phillip Morris Corporation, The Jordan Schnitzer Collection and others. Recently his contributions in the field of urban design have been acknowledged by awards from the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Landscape Architects and other national organizations.
Our cities are becoming richer and more complex with every day, and our lives must continually re-invent themselves to keep up with the opportunities and constraints of such environs. The works in this show are an attempt to document a small sampling of those challenges.”Our cities are becoming richer and more complex with every day, and our lives must continually re-invent themselves to keep up with the opportunities and constraints of such environs. The works in this show are an attempt to document a small sampling of those challenges.
