News

Congratulations to Marie Watt on receiving the Heinz Award for the Arts!

The Heinz Awards recognize bold, curious and passionate risk takers and changemakers making contributions to the Arts, the Economy and the Environment.

“I approach this dance between community, conceptually storied materials and my studio with openness. I am drawn to the relationship between part and whole, call and response, individual and group. Working with the community resonates with me as it connects art and life in a tangible way.”  — Marie Watt

Congratulations, Marie!

For more information: https://www.heinzawards.org/pages/marie-watt

Ellen George was interviewed by David Schell for The Semi-Finalist!

Read the full interview HERE

James Lavadour's retrospective James Lavadour: Land of Origin was reviewed by Kristi Turnquist for the Oregonian. 

Read the full review HERE

“James Lavadour: Land of Origin” is on display through Jan. 11, 2026, at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for seniors (62+); and free for children under 18, museum members, University of Oregon faculty, staff and students, and all college students.

Jeffry Mitchell's work is included in All These Growing Things, on view at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College from August 23, 2025 - July 19, 2026.

"All These Growing Things presents contemporary and historical paintings, prints, textiles, photography, and sculpture from the Tang Museum collection that explore questions of becoming and belonging. It will examine connections to personal, ancestral, and cultural histories; masking as an approach to both reveal and conceal identities; and the possibilities of transformation."

Read More HERE 

The Frances Young Tang
Teaching Museum and Art
Gallery at Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

We are so excited that Watt’s work will be included in the Obama Presidential Center!
 

“The Obama Presidential Center has selected 10 more artists to create major works for the highly anticipated project, which is currently under construction on the South Side of Chicago and scheduled to open in 2026. The latest artists to be named for the campus-wide art program are Nick Cave, Nekisha Durrett, Jenny Holzer, Jules Julien, Idris Khan, Aliza Nisenbaum, Jack Pierson, Alison Saar, Kiki Smith, and Marie Watt.”

Previously selected artists include Spencer Finch, Richard Hunt, Maya Lin, and Julie Mehretu, among others.

Congratulations, Marie!

Read more HERE

Justin L'Amie's exhibition Dismal Nitch Polyphemus Moth was reviewed in Willamette Week. 

Read the review by Ashley Gifford below:

Justin L’Amie’s “Dismal Nitch Polyphemus Moth” Continues the Northwest Mystics Tradition
L’Amie’s eighth exhibition at PDX Contemporary reveals an enchanted forest of delightful bugs and flowers.
 

An interview with Marjorie Dial's  is featured in the new issue of Arcade NW.

"Issue 42.1: Materiality will be released alongside a specially curated exhibition of work from national artists, centering the themes of material and material use.

Issue 42.1: Materiality
Co-edited by John Parman & Camilla Szabo
Design by Finnegan Schneider

Issue 42.1: Materiality centers around critical discourse on architecture and the built environment, materials and sustainability in relation to a rapidly advancing world, and ephemeral works relating to scent, photography, textile, and sculpture. Themes include tactile engagement with the natural world, craft as a record of time, the role of technology in material understanding, and Indigenous fables on timber, territory & extractivism.

Materiality is a rich, sweeping theme which can’t be contained by one literal definition. It can include the ephemeral—scent, a shadow, an echo... It can be the poetry of architecture, or a photograph which leaves a trace of a history—or obstructs history altogether. It can be a clay vessel casting an incantation, acting as both a transmitter and receiver. Or the discolored patina on a hand painted cabinet after years of wear, each door a slightly different shade than the rest."

Read the interview here: https://www.arcadenw.org/print-magazine-articles/a-q-a-with-marjorie-dial

Marie Watt's work will be included in Ancestral Edge: Abstraction and Symbolism in the Works of Nine Native American Women Artists, on view at The Ringling, September 13, 2025 - April 12, 2026.

"This exhibition highlights contemporary Native design, craftwork, and art that employ the formal and aesthetic elements of abstraction as meaningful motifs and coded tools of Indigenous expression to communicate tribal cultures and histories, ancestral knowledge, and the lived experiences of the artists and their communities."

Ancestral Edge: Abstraction and Symbolism in the Works of Nine Native American Women Artists
September 13, 2025 – April 12, 2026
The Ringling
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
5401 Bay Shore Road
Sarasota, FL 34243

For more information: https://www.ringling.org/event/ancestral-edge/

Marie Watt's work is included in Fabricated Imaginaries: Crafting Art, now on view at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltman, MA.

"Fabricated Imaginaries presents artworks that occupy a liminal space where art intertwines with craft traditions, design, and unconventional modes of creativity. The works assembled in the show, primarily drawn from the museum’s permanent collection,  reflect diverse global perspectives but share commonalities: they challenge “fine arts” norms and enhance our understanding of the versatility, possibilities, and potential materiality of visual expression.

The metaphor of weaving—interlacing weft and warp—is central to the show, relating to the artworks as well as the artists' experiences and identities. Many of the artists identify with more than one culture and espouse multiple sites of belonging. And so, their creative expressions embody an intricate blend of heritage and modernity, offering powerful commentary on cultural hybridity, hyphenated identity markers, and innovative artistic amalgamations."

Fabricated Imaginaries: Crafting Art
August 20, 2025 - May 31, 2026
Rose Art Museum
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02453

For more information: https://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2025/fabricated-imaginaries.html

PDX CONTEMPORARY ART is looking forward to hosting the Big Yard Foundation’s annual art fundraiser, Big Yard Studio: The Academy.

The Big Yard Foundation is a Portland-based non-profit founded in 2018 to promote empowerment of historically marginalized communities through literacy, creativity, and physical wellness. Big Yard Studio is an annual art fundraiser that celebrates community and artists.

This year’s Big Yard Studio, The Academy, explores the deep connections between the worlds of athletics and creativity.  Both sports and art have the unique ability to foster connections among people—whether it's the camaraderie of teammates or the community formed around shared cultural experiences. The exhibition reflects on these shared human bonds, emphasizing how both art and athletics offer pathways to understanding, empathy, and collaboration.

Join us for the annual Big Yard Studio art show fundraiser on Friday, August 29, from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm.

The show will be on view in the gallery through Saturday, September 6th.