VizArts Monthly: Love all around

There's plenty of art to love in Oregon this February. Raylee Heiden rounds up some standout options.

February is the month of love and Oregon snow! (Did you hear it might snow soon?) Have you asked someone to be your valentine yet? Whether it be a romantic date, a handmade card, ‘galentines,’ or even flowers for your mom, remember to show love for the people in your life this February. Let’s embrace this month of love and show these artists and galleries our love for art! 

In Portland, experience a love of portraiture with Storm Tharp’s Company at PDX Contemporary or the love of mundane objects turned extraordinary at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Shower the recently reopened Russo Lee Gallery with love this month and go see Roll Hardy’s Portland scenery paintings. In Salem, celebrate Black history month with Salem Art Association’s exhibition of Jeremy Okai Davis’ portraits in Reenvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of Our Black Ancestors. In Eugene, you can strengthen your love for the natural world of the Pacific Northwest with Mark Clarke’s paintings on display at Karin Clarke Gallery. 

Black and white painting of the inside of an abandoned building
Image by Roll Hardy, courtesy of Russo Lee Gallery

Recent Paintings
Roll Hardy 
February 6- March 1
Russo Lee Gallery  
805 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97210


Russo Lee is thrilled to reopen this month. A fire in August 2024 forced the gallery to close for several months while they dealt with smoke damage. Recent Paintings by Roll Hardy is the first exhibition on display in the newly renovated and restored gallery. Roll Hardy created his latest paintings by exploring the Portland metro area by bicycle, choosing subjects and scenes for their “gritty ephemeral beauty.” All of Hardy’s paintings are mysterious and evocative, capturing places that are defined as being somewhere and nowhere at all. Also on display are Fay Jones’ nine large-scale paintings based on her love of movie stills in her exhibition, aptly titled, Stills. Russo Lee deserves all our love this month.

Image of a warm toned portrait
Image by Storm Tharp, courtesy of PDX Contemporary

Company 
Storm Tharp
February 5- March 1 
PDX Contemporary 
1881 NW Vaughn Street, Portland, OR 9720

Storm Tharp’s paintings in Company employ his signature figurative abstraction to portraits rendered in warm hues of orange, salmon, coral, and persimmon. The vibrant figures stand out against their achromatic backgrounds. The paintings’ limited context make the subjects simultaneously intimate and dramatically spot-lit. Shown together, the paintings share a space where theatricality, honesty, abstraction, and representation coincide. 

Image of a wooden lightbulb
Image by Malia Jensen, courtesy of Elizabeth Leach Gallery

Everyday Alchemy 
Group Exhibition 
February 6- March 1 
Elizabeth Leach Gallery
417 NW 9th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Sponsor

CMNW Hagen Quartet


Nine artists – Hunter Braithwaite, Bonnie Bronson, Ann Hamilton, Malia Jensen, Isaac Layman, Jess Perlitz, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark R. Smith, and Donald Sultan – draw inspiration from daily interactions for their work on view in Elizabeth Leach Gallery’s newest group exhibition. The nature of the quotidian interactions vary including the work’s subject or the use of humble materials such as cardboard, mud, or clothing. The artists transform the mundane into extraordinary and engaging objects such as Isaac Layman’s photographic portraits of Amazon boxes. Discover a new love for overlooked and boring objects with Everyday Alchemy.

Image by Jay Heikes, courtesy of Adams and Ollman

Second Wave
Jay Heikes 
January 24- February 22 
Adams and Ollman 
418 NW 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97209


Jay Heikes explores the relationship between human progress and extinction in his new exhibition at Adams and Ollman, Second Wave. A central question is how progress and decline transpire simultaneously, launching us both forward and bringing us to the brink of collapse. A soundscape created by homemade musical materials including string, ceramic whistles, and a finger piano express this tumultuous precarity. Paintings placed around the gallery serve double duty, acting both as acoustic panels and as a sculptural installation of music stands featuring prints of musical scores.

Image of a colorful abstracted landscape
Image by Meghan Hildebrand, courtesy of Chefas Projects

Witches of the West 
Curated by Danielle Krysa
January 24- February 22 
Chefas Projects 
134 SE Taylor St Suite 203, Portland, OR 97214 

Witches of the West is a group exhibition featuring five female artists from the west coast. The work – Alexis Mixter’s intricate pyrography, Jennifer Ament’s and Meghan Hildebrand’s bold paintings, the miniature worlds created by Shannon Taylor, and Danielle Krysa’s embellished collages – all emit powerful, defiant energy. Nature is also a prominent theme, encompassing mystical aspects of natural materials and phenomena including wood, water, flowers, fire, and gold. Positive energy, humor, beauty, and magic are central to the work created by these west coast witches. 

Image of seven owls carved from a book
Image by Melody Bush, courtesy of Sidestreet Arts

Member Show 2025: 5th Year Anniversary 
Various Artists 
February 6- March 1
Sidestreet Arts 
140 SE 28th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 

Originally Sidestreet Gallery was Reta Larsen’s retail store which sold a variety of holiday goods featuring local artists. After her retirement, Reta Larsen and Michael Pratt had a new vision for the space, and created a cooperative gallery which has been going strong for five years. Artists featured in this exhibition include Jaclyn Evalds, Melody Bush, Dawn Panttaja, and many more. Jaclyn Evalds speaks through stars, plants, insects, and animal friends with her oil paintings and embroideries. Former library aide Melody Bush carves into books by hand one page at a time, revealing intricate layers. Dawn Panttaja creates sculptures of the female form in all of her beauty and adornments. All participating artists have gained valuable experience, business skills, and personal- and business-related connections. Show your love for local artists and an important cooperative gallery that has been indispensable to the southeast Kerns community.

Sponsor

Orchestra Nova Reynolds High School Troutdale Oregon and The Reser Beaverton Oregon

Image of a young woman painted in an abstracted way
Image by Jeremy Okai Davis, courtesy of Salem Art Association

Reenvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of Our Black Ancestors
Jeremy Okai Davis
January 10- February 23
Salem Art Association
600 Mission St SE, Salem, OR 97302

In effort to reinvent and reimagine the Bush House Museum, the Salem Art Association commissioned Jeremy Okai Davis to paint a series of ten portraits of Oregon Black pioneers. The project was initiated in recognition of the harm that the historical house’s original owner and namesake, Asahel Bush, inflicted on people of color. The portraits depict a selection of Black pioneers whose contributions to Oregon history have been overlooked previously. Celebrate Black History Month with Jeremy Okai Davis and Salem Art Association.

Painting of a nuclear reactor
Image by Michael Brophy, courtesy of Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Gallery

Michael Brophy’s Reach: The Hanford Series
Michael Brophy 
February 1- April 27
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
1430 Johnson Lane, Eugene, OR 97403-1223

Painter Michael Brophy visited the decommissioned nuclear production plant in Hanford, Washington in 2017. From this experience, Brophy created nine paintings that reference the site’s nine nuclear reactors and serve as documentation of his visit. This exhibit is part of what the press release identifies as Brophy’s “Northwest ethos,” examining our regional history through the lens of exploration and the relationship between native peoples, settlers, and contemporary residents. Learn about the history of the region and the nuclear production plant of the Pacific Northwest in Brophy’s highly detailed paintings. 

Painting of an abstracted landscape
Image by Mark Clarke, courtesy of Karin Clarke Gallery

Selected Paintings from the Estate of Mark Clarke
January 29- March 29 
Karin Clarke Gallery
760 Willamette St, Eugene, OR 97401

Selected Paintings from the Estate of Mark Clarke brings attention to prominent Pacific Northwest artist, Mark Clarke, father of gallery’s namesake Karin Clarke. In this exhibition, Clarke’s paintings of Oregon landscapes, figurative pieces, and abstract experimental pieces highlight his gift for composition. Living in the Willamette Valley his entire life, Clarke was passionately inspired by the contours, colors, and moods of the surrounding landscapes. The medium of the paintings range, including acrylic, watercolor, and collage. Most of the frames were built and painted by the artist himself. Also on view in the gallery are three new metallic animal sculptures by Jud Turner. 

Photograph of seven cutouts of John Travolta in a field
Image by Tyler Stoll, courtesy of Well Well Projects

Man on the Land 
Tyler Stoll 
February 1- 23 
Well Well Projects 
8371 N Interstate Ave #1, Portland, OR 97217

Sponsor

Portland Playhouse Notes From the Field Portland Oregon

Tyler Stoll reimagines land artist Robert Smithson’s Mirror Displacements in Well Well Projects newest exhibition, Man on the Land. In 1969, Robert Smithson created Yucatan Mirror Displacements by installing 12-inch square mirrors that reflected the surrounding environment and shattered the forms of the landscape by creating multiples of the environment. In place of Smithson’s mirrors, Stoll uses homemade cardboard cutouts of John Travolta as Danny Zuko from the iconic film, Grease. Alongside the cattle ranch on the High Plains of Wyoming, this humorous juxtaposition pokes fun at the romantic narratives of the American West. Plan a date to explore the romance of the American West during this month of love. 

Raylee Heiden (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist and creative based in Portland, Oregon. Her art practice focuses on figurative oil painting and printmaking. She is a student at Pacific Northwest College of Art and lover of all things creative. She can be found strolling the various parks around Portland or enjoying a hot cup of tea.

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  1. Erik ReeL

    Wow. No mention of Mark Dunst’s wonderful exhibition at Laura Vincent’s? Or did I miss something?

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