✨Artists you should know✨Chiura Obata
Years Active : 1899–1975
As a teenager Obata trained in Western and Japanese art. When he was 17, he moved to US and started working as a illustrator for newspapers. He studied art in Seattle and later in Paris before settling in San Francisco. He is most known for landscape watercolors of California; many of them of the Sierras and Yosemite.
He was a key artist in introducing and sharing Japanese techniques and applications in contemporary art with his peers and students. Obata’s approach and style are associated with the artist movement known as the “California Watercolor School” which was initially a regional art movement that began in the 1930’s, that emphasized depictions of nature and every day life, often using bold and vivid colors.
Featured works:
🔥 Setting Sun of Sacramento Valley, 1922
🪨 El Capitan, 1930
🌄 Evening Glow at Mono Lake, from Mono Mills, 1930
#artandaboutpdx #arthistory #artistsyoushouldknow #chiuraobata #californiawatercolor #watercolor #nature #landscape
@lydiarosenberg__ at @societysocietysociety ✨grand opening✨ on June 7, 2025.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
Highlights from a recent visit to @petergronquist studio 🌲✨🪨🌲 Thanks for having us over! A beautiful evening of art and conversation. 🪐
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdx #portland #portlandoregon #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artistsupportartists #studioparty #openstudio #petergronquist
Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, A Place I Call Home
📍Russo Lee Gallery
🗓️June 5 – 28, 2025
an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, marking the artist’s first solo show in Portland, Oregon.
Quaicoe delves deeply into themes of empowerment, intimacy, and identity, set against the vibrant backdrop of Portland, Oregon, where he lives and works. Through luminous and emotive portraiture, Quaicoe invites viewers into the personal worlds of his subjects—friends and collaborators—capturing the warmth of their connections and the character of their shared home state.
This new body of work includes large-scale paintings and smaller still lifes, unified by a vivid color palette inspired by Oregon’s diverse natural environment, as well as charcoal drawings that not only reflect each subject’s individuality but also reveal Quaicoe’s own perspective and personal bond with them.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
The Abstract Now is a group exhibition featuring nine contemporary artists who explore abstraction in their own ways.
📍studio e gallery
🗓️June 14 – July 26, 2025.
✨ Opening events on Saturday, June 14, 2025✨
🎤 Poetry reading with Jeanne Heuving & Barry Schwabsky at 4 p.m.
🧑🏻🎨 Artist reception from 5-7 p.m
To kick off the summer, studio e is thrilled to partner with Scott Malbaurn of the Schneider Museum of Art to present The Abstract Now, a group exhibition of nine contemporary artists dealing with abstraction in their own ways.
ARTISTS:
Colleen RJC Bratton (Seattle, WA)
Von Coffin (Seattle, WA)
Rebekah Goldstein (San Francisco, CA)
Ken Kelly (Seattle, WA)
Marc Mitchell (Fayetteville, AR)
Mel Prest (San Fancisco CA)
Petra Sairanen (Portland, OR)
Mark Sengbusch (Brooklyn, NY)
Jason Stopa (Brooklyn, NY)
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #seattleartsource #seattleartscene #contemporaryart #seaart #artinseattle #seattle #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #seattleartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelseattle #abstract #artistsupportartists
NIGHT LIFE by Spring Break Jake
📍 The Purple Door Gallery, 3557 SE Division Street, Portland OR
🗓️ 06/13/2025 - 07/21/2025
✨Opening reception: Friday, June 13, 2025, 5pm - 9pm
⏳ Hours: Wed, Thurs: 2pm - 6pm | Friday, Sat: 2pm - 8pm | Sunday: 2pm - 6pm
🎟️Free to the public
All-new body of work from local Oregon artist Spring Break Jake titled NIGHT LIFE. The artist will be in attendance for the opening reception on June 13th from 5-9pm at the gallery.
The exhibition probes the dynamic between slumber and mental health, articulating how sleep, or the lack thereof, shapes our lens of the world around us and in us. Jake’s mixed media paintings take a bird’s eye view of the halcyon atmosphere in a deathly still bedroom while conveying the opposing reality happening in one’s restless mind; the outer world still, the inner world in turmoil. This collection taps into the isolation & peaceful chaos of insomnia from a healthy distance in order to put haunting memories on display in a new light. With the ultimate aim of solidarity, NIGHT LIFE allows the border between loneliness & connection to dissolve in the face of vulnerability.
Each painting allows the darkness of the palette, the surreal, domestic imagery, and the decaying effect of the texture to illustrate sleep’s impact on our mental health & the sense of despair found amidst a restless night. But as with all his work, Jake’s pieces contain elements of hope through healing. NIGHT LIFE acknowledges that no matter what we’ve been (or are currently going) through, everything is temporary and it is always possible to find our way back to paradise.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
Alembic Cohort #11—Sophia Tweed Ahmad, Kye Grant, and Kai Hynes.
📍Performance Works NorthWest
🗓️June 26-28, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. & June 29, Sunday at 2 p.m. *June 26 is a ticketed dress rehearsal/preview
Purchase tickets @pwnwpdx
Tuning fragmented identities through sound rituals and dreamscapes; making way for the place inside the place inside the place; a blind worm stirring in the deep earth—each work builds its own world
PWNW’s Alembic Residency: Three local artists are awarded 150 hours of studio time, an artist fee, and a production of new or in-progress work on shared program at the conclusion their residency.
Images: 1. Sophia Tweed Ahmad and Ashi Dancler | photo by Mackenzie Steele, 2. Kai Hynes | photo by Jordan DeLawder, 3. Kye Grant
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
A moment please for @__san_cha__ at @picapdx art gala last night ✨ We are so lucky to have an art organization like PICA that is committed to showcasing and supporting incredible artists and their talent in our city! ✨ Were you at Obsidian last night??
#artandaboutpdx #pica #artgala
Mariette Pathy Allen 🗣️ In-Person Artist Talk: Saturday, June 7 at 3:30 PM @blueskygallerypdx 🎟️ Free to the public
Showcasing a series of intimate portraits of the transgender and gender-expansive communities taken by Allen, an artist, author, and activist. These photographs are increasingly important as we continue to see political threats to gender diversity and serve as a “both powerful art and vital historical record, capturing love and resilience across generations.”
#artandaboutpdx #blueskygallerypdx #mariettepathyallen #breakingboundaries50yearsofimages
Jesse Egner 🗣️In-Person Artist Talk: Saturday, June 7, 2 PM
@blueskygallerypdx 🎟️ Free to the public
Working with everyday objects and considering humor while tackling themes like body shaming and marginalization, Egner invites viewers to moments he “co-creates with his collaborators that blur fantasy and reality. Subverting conventional norms and empowering queer dynamism.”
Our ✨Must-see✨ art exhibitions in Portland Newsletter went out yesterday! Everything you need to know about Portland art this June🍃
🌠Our Newsletter is and has and will always free to subscribe 🌠 artandaboutpdx.com/newsletter
Let us know in the comments what exhibitions you saw or want to see about in #Portland #Seattle this month! ✴️ #artandaboutpdx
Brenda Mallory and Heather Watkins, the 2025 Bonnie Bronson Fellows, were recently celebrated at Reed College at the end of May. A unique aspect of this fellowship that we admire is the acquisition of the fellows’ artwork for the Bonnie Bronson collection at Reed College, where it is then displayed on campus. This news also prompted us to revisit Bronson’s impactful work, reminding us of her inspiring story and talent within the Pacific Northwest art scene.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform #arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists #bonniebronsonfellowship #bonniebronson #heatherwatkins #brendamallory #reedcollege
Berlin: A Jewish Ode to the Metropolis,
📍 Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) @ojmche
🗓️ June 8 to October 26, 2025.
🎟️ $5 for general admission, free for members
This exhibition showcases photographs by Portland photographer Jason Langer. The project is deeply personal to Langer, a reconciliation of impressions of the Holocaust that were seeded in him as a 10-year-old living on a kibbutz in Israel. Even after moving to America, Langer carried a deep fear of Germany, and Berlin, in particular. Years later, he set out for Berlin to confront and capture these impressions in film.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
The Schnitzer Collection is also hosting events throughout the month, including a free First Saturday event with refreshments, and music by Portland Musician Jonny Cool, who responds directly to the art on the walls. 🎨🎶🖼️
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
Mike Vos, Fragile, Tenuous Worlds & Jim Bressi, New Paintings
📍Laura Vincent Design & Gallery
🗓️ June 5-28, 2025
✨ Opening reception: First Thursday, June 5, 5-8 PM
“These photos were made during a time when I was traveling and exploring the relationship between the natural and human-made landscapes, trying to find both the coalescence and conflict that is inherent therein. Though each image is part of a larger series, I wanted each of them to contain their own story as well, which is both independent yet connected to the larger whole. This is similar to the way I see our human relationship being connected to nature, tacitly but from a mental and physical distance.” — Mike Vos
“To paint landscapes, I must see them all the time to measure their quiet narrative; layer upon layer, perfectly, bringing to light the importance of the sacred and the spiritual.” — Jim Bressi
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
Lauren Mantecón, Flash of Beauty & Terrell James, Stanzas
📍Froelick Gallery
🗓️June 4 - July 12, 2025
✨First Thursday Reception: June 5, 5-8pm.
Mantecón notes about this exhibit:
“In my exploration of beauty, I have come to understand it as more than just an aesthetic—it’s a divine intelligence that moves through us, fleeting yet eternal, both dark and light, subtle and profound. Beauty speaks to the soul, not just the eye, and it is this invisible, transcendent force that guides my work. A Flash of Beauty is the culmination of a two-year journey into the intersections between form and spirit. The work is inspired by sacred geometry, ancient land sites, and the liminal spaces that might exist between dimensions—spaces that manifest as veils, geometric shapes, bursts of light, winged forms, and translucent colors.”
Regarding this exhibition James comments
“In the decades long evolving vocabulary of my work, continually ideas come from other artwork, objects in nature, the study of light as it embraces landscape, and a sense of place. In his book Wisdom Sits in Places, Keith H. Basso* writes: “What do people make of places? The question is as old as people and places themselves, as old as human attachments to portions of the earth. […] Places, we realize, are as much a part of us as we are part of them.” These drawings bring forward the experience of place through memory and the process of drawing.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
BlackOut: A Five-Year Retrospective on Portland’s Racial Justice Movement
📍The Black Gallery
🗓️June 5 - July 5, 2025
In collaboration with the Portland Mercury, writer Donovan Scribes presents BlackOut: a 5 Year Retrospective of Portland’s Racial Justice Protests, a first-of-its kind magazine print.
To coincide with the launch, Scribes has partnered with The BLACK Gallery powered by DSPDX to curate an immersive exhibit inspired by the publication. BlackOut offers a unique opportunity for Portlanders and visitors to revisit our cities’ movement for Black lives while simultaneously reflecting on the progress and setbacks 5 years later.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
Terrain, a land art experience 🍂 taking place August 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 2025 at 📍Building 5 in the industrial northwest of Portland, OR.
🎟️ Public exhibition tickets on a sliding scale may be purchased here. All proceeds will be split among the participating artists.
Terrain is a community driven environmentally centered art oasis bringing wild nature through artistic responses to the surrounding landscape and its history. At its core, Terrain provides supported opportunities for artists to create new, unique works, cultivating the expansion of creative thinking and making. The goal is to foster greater environmental awareness both in the artists themselves and our audiences. Terrain artists were prompted by the dynamic history of what lies around and beneath Building 5. This site used to be home of Guild’s Lake and wetlands up to the bank of the Willamette River, and where Terrain is taking place.
#artandaboutpdx #onviewpdx #portlandartscene #contemporaryart #pdxart #artinpdx #artinportland#pdx #portland #portlandoregon #pnw #pacificnorthwest #whattodothisweekendpdx #pdxartgalleries #discoverart #artblog #artplatform arthappenings #artgallery #artgallerypdx #travelportland #artistsupportartists
