Dear readers, while Jason’s post last month ended with an astrological bang, it feels bittersweet to pick up where they left off. While I begin this fresh start and my journey writing for you I am excited, albeit nervous, to fill Jason’s shoes. Perhaps the change is fitting; June often brings fresh starts and excitement: commencements, summer anticipation, warm weather (hopefully!), and bountiful produce.
Summer buzz is definitely in the air as Oregon’s galleries and art venues welcome summer with a slate of new exhibitions and art offerings. Putting away our rainboots and getting outside into nature is at the top of my agenda, and I don’t seem to be alone. Representations of nature thread through this month’s offerings. Outdoor options abound as well.
There is plenty to see in Portland at Froelick Gallery, PDX Contemporary Art, the Portland Art Museum, and the Jordan Schnitzer Collection. It’s also a great time to pack up the car for a road trip for exhibitions at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland, Newport Visual Arts Center in Newport, or Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center in Grand Ronde. The (hopefully pleasant) weather amps up the appeal of special events outside of gallery spaces: the 40th anniversary of Leach Botanical Gardens; a food, art, and entertainment extravaganza with local artist Mike Bennett; and the annual Oregon Renaissance Faire.
Breath of Life, Breath of Line
Takahiko Hayashi
June 4- July 13
Froelick Gallery
714 NW Davis St, Portland, OR 97209 (Tuesday- Sunday 11am-5:30pm)
In celebration of his 25 years of representation at Froelick Gallery, Takahiko Hayashi exhibits never before seen paintings on deer skin parchment. Hayashi lives and works in Japan and his work is influenced by nature and gardening. His new paintings swirl around the parchment with fluid, flowing water like movements, ascend heights in mountainous forms, or sprawl out in tendrils of vines and breathy plumes of feathers. Hayashi leans into the unusual material to create one-of-a-kind paintings that dance around the space. Kris Hargis’ new exhibition, The Dash Between the Years, is also on display and features self-portraits and perishable bouquets, meditating on themes of trauma and grief.
Inspired by Biology
Shoshanah Dubiner
Reception June 7, 5-7pm
ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum and Ashland Gallery Association
1500 East Main St, Ashland, OR, 97520
Shoshanah Dubiner’s paintings on view at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland offer an unexpected outlook on nature and biology. The compositions are a typical size (19 x 25 inches) but the subjects are almost impossibly small – nature on the miniscule scale of cell biology and entomology. Dubiner renders these biological compositions in gouache and pastels. The world of the tiny is revealed to us in a bright, mythical way told by myth and metaphor creating a conversation between the science and poetry of the universe. Dubiner’s magical world of the small is on view through June.
Living in a City
Justin L’Amie
June 5- June 29
PDX Contemporary Art
1881 NW Vaughn St, Portland, OR, 97209 (Tuesday- Saturday 10am-6pm)
In Living in a City, Justin L’Amie encapsulates the relatable feeling of yearning for nature while living in an urban environment. His works take inspiration from the coexistence of nature, plants, animals, and humans in the Pacific Northwest. L’Amie’s paintings are soft, imaginative, and create tender moments through graceful mark making. This exhibition features still life paintings of flower arrangements, insects, and natural objects that form the appearance of human features. My favorite aspect of his work are the vibrant colors and repeating patterns of line and mark making that exude a magical feel.
Woven from the Land
Chantele Rilatos
June 1- July 28
Newport Visual Arts Center
777 NW Beach Dr, Newport, OR, 97365
As we get outside this month, it is important to remember the land we live on and our relationship to it. Chantele Rilatos’ exhibition of hand woven baskets brings attention to Indigenous peoples’ relationship to the land, specifically the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Rilatos’ practice relies on establishing a good relationship with the land and plants, and depends on the health of the land and her cultural connection to it. An important aspect of this exhibition to remember is the location, Newport, Oregon. Rilatos’ ancestors originated on the Oregon coast but were forcibly removed from their land. The location of her exhibition and act of basket weaving connects Rilatos to her culture and ancestors who were once outlawed to practice their cultural lifeways.
6×6 Botanical Art Fundraiser
June 16 // August 16th and 17th
Leach Botanical Gardens
6704 SE 122nd Ave, Portland, OR, 97236
Do you enjoy creating artwork and want to support a space of nature? Leach Botanical Gardens is celebrating 40 years and you can be a part of this celebration by joining the June 16 plein air painting session alongside fellow artists and nature enthusiasts. Participants will each create a work on a 6×6 canvas and then the paintings will be sold for $40 each at a fundraiser on August 16th and 17th. Proceeds will fund the operations and maintenance of the garden. Email development@leachgarden.org to reserve a canvas and pick it up the week of June 11-14. If you prefer not to paint in public, you can still participate and return your canvas by August 13th.
Stik
June – September // September – December
Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center
8720 Grand Ronde Rd, Grand Ronde, OR, 97347 (Tuesday- Saturday, 10:00am- 4:00pm)
Stik is a year long exhibition featured at Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center. This exhibit features stories of the forest told by timber industry workers, conservationists, hunters, and weavers. It is split into four parts, each part spanning about four months and explains the stories and history of the forest in chronological order starting with the year 1857 and ending with the present day. Part three, opening this June, covers the time period of 1954-1983. The entire exhibit focuses on human interaction and relationship to land and forest and how it has changed over time.
Monet to Matisse: French Moderns
June 8- September 15
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR (Thursday- Sunday, 10am- 6pm)
The Portland Art Museum’s new show arrives in early June and features French Modernist paintings and sculptures. Represented movements include Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism by well-known artists such as Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and lesser-known colleagues. This exhibition proves that artists’ interest in nature is certainly not a new phenomenon.
Words Mean Everything
Mel Bochner
June 1- October 31
Jordan Schnitzer Collection
3033 NW Yeon Ave, Portland, OR, 97210 (Thursday- Saturday, 12- 5pm)
Jordan Schnitzer Collection’s new exhibit features Mel Bochner’s thought-provoking printmaking. Bochner’s interactive text-based work that explores language, communication, and meaning through juxtapositions of color and language. The work challenges our preconceptions about how vision, words, and language function. The process, techniques, and capacities of printmaking are also explored. Saturdays will feature a slate of free events and other educational activities.
Street Bites
Mike Bennett and Chef Luis Cabanas
7410 N Chicago Ave, Portland, OR, 97203
Monday- Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday-Sunday 9am-10pm
One of my favorite summer activities is to eat dinner with my friends or family outside- whether it be a picnic, out on the porch, or my favorite choice, at a restaurant with an excellent outdoor seating area. This summer you can enjoy a meal, entertainment, and art with Street Bites from local artist Mike Bennett and Chef Luis Cabanas. Bennett is known for his fun and wacky illustrations which have been featured in exhibitions such as Dinolandia and a magical coffee shop Wonderwood Springs. The newly opened Street Bites is at the same location as his wildly popular mini golf urban oasis. Summer weekly events include a vendor market, bingo nights, fish & chip nights, trivia nights, kids music, and a one time Pride Market event on June 1st from 10am- 4pm.
June 1-2, 8-10, & 15-16
Oregon Renaissance Faire
Clackamas Fairgrounds, Canby, OR
10am-7pm
Do you want to get outside but do something out of the ordinary? Do you want to travel back when there were no iPhones or grocery stores? Well, the Oregon Renaissance Faire is the perfect place to travel back in time, this time, with more magic and merriment! The Renaissance Faire offers all types of fun and entertainment from artisan vendors, live performances such as jousting tournaments and dances, hands-on workshops, art, and plenty of delicious food. You can also enjoy newly added Friday night concerts on June 7th and 14th from 6pm-12am. With a mesh of fantasy and history, the Oregon Renaissance Faire has something for everyone to enjoy.