30 Years of Vanessa Renwick: Retrospective

There are few living artists as in tune with the rugged spirit of the Pacific Northwest as Renwick and her Oregon Department of Kick Ass. Through experimental film, documentary, and installations, this Chicago transplant has delivered unsparingly rough but sumptuous visions ranging from travels with her pet half-wolf dog to an operatic rendition of the Trojan power plant's demolition to Kodak-hour panoramas of the industrial tidal flats of Puget Sound. In the process, her films serve as both history lessons and searing contemporary portraits of our region's peculiar wedding of the urban and the natural landscapes. They also serve as Cascadia mix-tapes, given Renwick's collaborations with some of the region's best musicians.

In her first full retrospective in fifteen years, Renwick will screen a series of films over the course of two nights, including the premiere of a video she did for Portland Monthly about the Portland Meadows racetrack. Tited 'Raw, Raucous, and Sublime', the retrospective celebrates the release of her new DVD, 'North South East West - All Over the Map', and promises a most kick-ass introduction to both the artist and the region.

The films will be shown at the Hollywood Theater in Portland (4122 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR 97212), April 25th and 26th at 7:30pm, $7.

-Portland Monthly