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  • Marie Watt | Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

    Marie Watt will be a panelist in Quilts, Blankets, and Tapestry: Contemporary Art and Textiles with Aaron McIntosh, Marie Watt, and Ebony Patterson with the Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive on Wednesday, April 21, 4 PM PDT.

    Discover the innovative practices of three artists who have turned to textiles—incorporating or referring to them in their work—in this discussion moderated by BAMPFA Director Julie Rodrigues Widholm, presented in conjunction with Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective.

    To register please visit:
    https://bampfa.org/event/quilts-blankets-and-tapestry-contemporary-art-a...

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  • Yamamoto Masao | Online Pop Up Shop

    In conjunction with Yamamoto Masao’s current exhibition Bonsai, PDX CONTEMPORARY ART is pleased to present an online showing of a selection of works from the Artist’s earlier series A Box of Ku and Nakazora.

    Taking images of everyday occurrences, and oftentimes overlooked moments, Yamamoto Masao makes us further consider what is happening in the world around us— to stop, look, and savor. His undeniable ability to capture seemingly simple, mundane moments and make them feel complex, transitory, and poetic is a hallmark of his practice.

    Small silver gelatin prints, hand-toned and slightly worn, present like found objects. Made in editions of 20 or 40, the Artist treats each individual piece as one in its own— slightly scratching through the gelatin surfaces, adding small specks of gold paint, weathering the edges, and toning the images. Purposefully small prints are carried around in the Artist’s pocket to add a natural wear to the image. With each finesse and subtle mark, poetic and mysterious objects are born.

    To view the online shop visit: www.pdxcontemporaryart.com/shop
    10% of all proceeds from this pop-up will be donated to Portland Japanese Garden.

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  • Georgina Reskala | Iris Project Residency

    Georgina Reskala is an Artist in Residence at the Iris Project in Venice, California for the month of March.

    Iris Project Residency offers artists, curators, writers, and creative thinkers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines the space and time to push boundaries in their practice, freed from the pressure of production or material exchange. We strongly believe that when creativity is uncoupled from commercial requirements, new directions and insights will emerge, and that these benefits will extend beyond the artist's time at the residency.

    Congratulations, Georgina!

    We are looking forward to her solo show in May 2021!

    For more information: https://www.irisprojectresidency.com/residents/georgina-reskala-6wsby-kl8p6

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  • James Lavadour | Image in Artforum

    James Lavadour’s painting Golden, 2018 was acquired by the High Desert Museum through the Oregon Arts Commission Arts Acquisition Fund. Today this work was featured as part of their permanent collection in Artforum's announcement of the High Desert Museum's recent gift of $6 million from the Roundhouse Foundation for capital improvements to increase the number of works on permanent display.

    https://www.artforum.com/news/oregon-s-high-desert-museum-receives-6-mil...

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  • Gus Van Sant | Cinema Unbound Awards

    Gus Van Sant is an honoree for the 2021 Cinema Unbound Awards!

    “The Cinema Unbound Awards is an annual celebration presented by the Northwest Film Center, honoring boundary-breaking multimedia storytellers working at the intersection of art and cinema. We honor artists and nonconformists who are not content to be contained but instead expand the notion of what’s possible. The Cinema Unbound honorees defy expectations and refuse to embrace labels using their creative vision to inspire and push us to look at what is beyond the norm.

    The Cinema Unbound Awards represents the Portland Art Museum & Northwest Film Center’s embrace of artistic exploration and commitment to equity and inclusion. Though born out of the tradition of film, the Cinema Unbound Awards expands the reach of cinema as an art form to challenge for whom, by whom, and how stories can be told.

    The 2021 Cinema Unbound Awards honorees are Steve McQueen, Garrett Bradley, Gus Van Sant, Mollye Asher, and Alex Bulkley: boundary-breaking multimedia storytellers working at the intersection of art and cinema. The awards will be presented on March 4, 2021, kicking off the 44th Annual Portland International Film Festival running from March 5 to March 14, 2021.”
    -Cinema Unbound

    This year’s Cinema Unbound Awards will invite viewers to join through both a Drive-In experience as well as a virtual experience. More information about the honorees and on how to attend can be found here: https://cinemaunbound.org/event-directory/cinema-unbound-awards

    Congratulations, Gus!

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  • Tristan Irving in PDX Window Project | The Skanner

    PDX CONTEMPORARY ART is pleased to present the paintings of Portland-based artist Tristan “TK” Irving in the PDX Window Project for the month of February 2021.

    Drawing inspiration from a range of sources and time periods, from Rembrandt to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Irving’s work integrates abstraction and modernist sensibilities to create portraits which are bold, graphic, and colorful. Each portrait, oftentimes depicting famous artists or public figures, acts to honor and commemorate. Those he’s painted include Frederick Douglass, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Frida Kahlo, Maya Angelou, Madam C.J. Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Stacey Abrams, among others. Irving is best known for his portraits of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, which have been carried at protests and marches for racial justice this summer. 

    As part of the PDX Window Project, Irving will be offering 20” x 16” commissioned portraits for $500 each. If clients wish to commission a piece, they can email info@pdxcontemporaryart.com for more details. The artist will work from a photograph of the client’s choosing.

    The PDX Window Project is viewable from the sidewalk 24 hours, 7 days a week, on the corner of NW 9th and Flanders. The window itself is on 9th avenue.

    Irving's work in the PDX Window Project was featured in The Skanner: https://www.theskanner.com/news/newsbriefs/30956-pdx-window-project-feat...

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  • Marie Watt | New York Times

    Marie Watt's piece, Blanket Story: Indian Territories, Round Dance, Grandmother, 2016, is a part of a group exhibition at Kasmin Gallery in New York City. The show, Between the Earth and Sky, was reviewed in the New York Times.

    "An exhibition of twenty-two monolithic sculptures that brings together examples of the form spanning from 900 A.D. to 2019. The presentation demonstrates how stelae, herms, and columns have acted as repositories of meaning or markers of time and place across many cultures since prehistory, as well as the way in which the expressive possibilities of this format continue to resonate with sculptors working internationally today. Be they analogues for the human form, waypoints, sentinels, support structures, memorials or otherwise, their metaphorical and formal potency abides."
    -Kasmin Gallery

    Read the full review in the New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/arts/design/monolith-mania-gallery-ka...

    Image Credit:
    Visitors at Kasmin with Marie Watt’s columnal “Blanket Story: Indian Territories, Round Dance, Grandmother” (2016), Credit: Marie Watt and Marc Straus; Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

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  • Iván Carmona | Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Collection

    Congratulations to Iván Carmona for the acquisition of his piece, Juey, into the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation collection.

    Today, Joseph R. Biden and the inauguration committee shared, “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.’ It’s one of his many lessons that endures today, as we’ve seen throughout this pandemic. From sewing masks to dropping off groceries to elderly neighbors, Americans across the country know that service — looking out for one another — is part of who we are as a nation.”
    It is in this spirit that PDX will donate 1/2 of the proceeds to the Oregon Food Bank from the sale of this work.

    Iván Carmona
    Juey, 2020
    flashe paint on ceramic
    34 3/4” x 30” x 9”

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  • Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen | Congress Yard Projects

    Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen are exhibiting work at Congress Yard Projects.

    "Congress Yard Projects’ first exhibition of 2021, hard & SOFT will submit the artworks to continuous display outside, throughout the wet dragging days of late winter. This turns our previous format on its head from the summer series of weekend long exhibitions where artworks susceptible to the elements are moved inside nightly. Rather, hard & SOFT will run for 1344 hours, from late January til Spring Equinox, showcasing works that stand resolute under the weight of the grey dripping sky, alongside works that embrace weathering transformation and decay. On view will be a range of works from the most obstinately impervious, to those that might melt, fade, or rot away in reaction to the elements, as well as some that depend upon the impacts of duration and exposure for their full potential. At times, the exhibition will be only open to viewers when it is raining, and others just available after dark, to make the most of the existing perceptual conditions."

    hard & SOFT
    Exhibition Jan 24 – March 21, 2021

    Opening Sunday January 24 11-5pm

    For more information visit: https://congressyardprojects.wordpress.com/
    or on Oregon Live: https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/01/art-shows-a-bit-more-in...

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  • Marie Watt | Collaboration with Loro Piana | Recommended by the New York Times

    A collaboration between Loro Piana and Marie Watt, "Companion Species: Blanket Stories, Generations, Acknowledgement," is now on view at Loro Piana, coinciding with the opening of their new Meatpacking District store in New York City. Loro Piana will feature three sculptures, by Marie Watt as a collaborative reflection on community and environmental stewardship, generational respect, family history and the myriad symbolic meanings of loved – and lived-in – textiles.

    Blankets are an essential component of Loro Piana and Watt’s respective histories.
    At Loro Piana, blankets were among the first products ever produced. To this day, they remain an important element of the company’s legacy: blankets are an ultimate expression of warmth and comfort. Within Watt’s oeuvre, blankets symbolize safeguarding, established traditions, familial heirlooms, and physical entities to which memories may be imprinted and embedded. Together, the brand and the artist believe in weaving together textile and form to tell stories from our vast yet inextricably connected global community.

    The Blanket Stories sculpture, in particular, consists of nearly fifty thoughtfully layered and stacked blankets donated by a diverse group of Loro Piana’s friends, partners and family. Donations were submitted from around the world and each blanket arrived with an anecdote from its owner; their narratives range from humorous to heartwarming, with every single anecdote illustrating a deeply personal sentiment that is as once individual in experience yet universal in feeling. These stories are written on hang tags attached to the piece, and can be viewed on Loro Piana’s website as well.

    For more information on the project please visit : https://www.loropiana.com/blanket-stories/en/
    Featured in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/t-magazine/wine-wallpaper-sol-lewitt....

    "Companion Species: Blanket Stories, Generations and Acknowledgment" is on display from December 14th, 2020 to January 31st, 2021 at 3 Ninth Avenue, New York City.

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  • Ferocious Mothers | Oregon ArtsWatch

    Our current exhibition, Ferocious Mothers, was reviewed in Oregon ArtsWatch.
    Read the full review here:https://www.orartswatch.org/ferocious-mothers-a-theater-split/

    Ferocious Mothers is open by appointment though January 2, Wednesday- Saturday from 10am - 4pm.

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  • Georgina Reskala | Winner for FotoFilmic JRNL 7

    Georgina Reskala has been selected as one of the winning photographers for FotoFilmic JRNL 7. She was one of twelve photographers chosen for the Winter 2021 Issue by Jaqueline Bates and Erica Deeman.
    Congratulations, Georgina!


    For more information and to see the selected photographs please visit: https://fotofilmic.com/jrnl-7-winter-2021/

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  • FEROCIOUS MOTHERS | Exhibition Walk Through

    Click here to view a video walkthrough of PDX CONTEMPORARY ART's December 2020 exhibition, Ferocious Mothers:

    https://vimeo.com/489993393

    PDX CONTEMPORARY ART presents the work of women artists who have managed to make art, and build successful careers while being attentive mothers. This is not an easy task, particularly today.
    It takes strong belief in the value of their art, a strong will to produce it, and a strong heart for their families.

    With Work by:
    Natalie Ball
    Jessica Jackson Hutchins
    Ellen Lesperance
    Maya Lin
    Senga Nengudi
    Heather Watkins
    Marie Watt

    FEROCIOUS MOTHERS is on view at PDX December 2, 2020 - January 2, 2021
    Open by appointment Wednesday - Saturday, 10am-4pm

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  • Shop Our Online Winter Pop-Up

    PDX CONTEMPORARY ART presents an online Winter Pop-up of work by select represented artists. They have made a diverse selection of work for you to give as gifts to your loved ones or to purchase for your personal collection.

    Participating Artists:

    Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen
    Iván Carmona
    Bean Finneran
    Justin L’Amie
    Nancy Lorenz
    D.E. May
    Jeffry Mitchell
    Barbara Stafford

    Friendly House, a mainstay organization of Portland, Oregon, moves mountains every day for individuals and families of all ages, races, genders, and economic backgrounds. Please join us in supporting their continued critical work.

    10% of all sales from the PDX CONTEMPORARY ART Winter Pop-Up will be donated to Friendly House.

    www.pdxcontemporaryart.com/shop

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  • Iván Carmona | Virtual Conversation on Craft, Rainmaker Craft Initiative

    Iván Carmona will be a panelist in the upcoming event What We Talk About When We Talk About Craft, a virtual panel discussion with the Rainmaker Craft Initiative (RCI).

    What We Talk About When We Talk About Craft is a play on the Raymond Carver story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Carver's story recounts a group of friends striving to characterize their understanding of love through their experiences, obstacles, and joys.
    RCI invites you to engage in this virtual conversation with our guests in a wide ranging dialogue about how creative folks and craft communities are faring in these times. It is an opportunity for us to introduce ourselves, gather, and connect the scattered Oregon College of Art and Craft community. Panelists include Marjorie Dial, Brenda Mallory, Iván Carmona, Joshua West Smith, and Emily Endo. The conversation will be moderated by Karl Burkheimer.

    December 12th
    4:00 - 5:30 pm

    To reserve your spot please visit:

    https://www.rainmakercraft.org/what-we-talk-about-about-when-we-talk-abo...

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  • Iván Carmona | Support Beam Grant

    Iván Carmona has been selected as one of seventeen artists to receive the Support Beam Grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, in Portland, Oregon.

    Support Beam is designed to support emerging artists’ long-term creative practices and livelihoods during an unprecedented time. This new opportunity prioritizes Black artists, Indigenous artists, and artists of color to acknowledge the disproportionate historical and ongoing systemic inequities, and the impact this pandemic is having on BIPOC communities.

    Inspired by the depression-era Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), this program utilizes City of Portland PDXCARES funding to commission a piece of public art, without restriction to media or themes, and aspires to sustain as many artists as possible during a precarious economic and political time.
    Follow along with their posts and stories on Instagram at #raccsupportbeam.
    Congratulations, Iván!

    For more information on Support Beam: https://racc.org/2020/11/10/support-beam-round-two-announced/

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  • Gallery Owner Discussion: Jane Beebe, Charles Froelick and Cecily Quintana for Portland Art Museum's Native American Art Council

    Join the Portland Art Museum's Native American Art Council for an informal conversation with three art gallery owners Cecily Quintana, Jane Beebe and Charles Froelick. Each has a long history of working with contemporary Indigenous artists.

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  • Thanksgiving Vacation: PDX will be closed November 26 - December 2nd.

  • Justin L'Amie, Nancy Lorenz, and Jeffry Mitchell in Conversation

    Justin L'Amie, Nancy Lorenz, and Jeffry Mitchell in Conversation

    On the occasion of Justin L'Amie's exhibition "Shadow, Hold Your Breath" at PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, we invited Justin L'Amie to speak with artists Nancy Lorenz and Jeffry Mitchell.

    LINK TO THE VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/479391488

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  • Marie Watt | Welcomed as a New Trustee at the Portland Art Museum

    Marie Watt was welcomed as a new Trustees at The Portland Art Museum- Congratulations, Marie!

    "The Portland Art Museum welcomed prominent artists Carrie Mae Weems and Marie Watt to its Board of Trustees in its virtual annual meeting earlier this month.

    “I am so honored and excited that Carrie Mae Weems and Marie Watt accepted our invitation to help lead our institution at this crucial time,” said Brian Ferriso, Director and Chief Curator of the Portland Art Museum. “Our communities need the arts more than ever, and it is vital to have the wisdom of these consequential artists who have both contributed so much and in so many ways to our lives.”

    Watt and Weems are among nine new or returning trustees joining the Museum’s 70-member Board of Trustees. The role of the Board of Trustees is to lead in the governance of the institution, including budget approval and oversight of the Museum’s finances and assets, hiring and evaluating the performance of the Executive Director, and serving on subcommittees overseeing the areas such as the Museum’s collections, development, equity and inclusion, finances and investments, learning and community partnerships."

    For more information visit:
    https://nwfc.pam.org/artists-carrie-mae-weems-and-marie-watt-among-new-s...

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