Oregon Children's Theatre Dec/Nov | Page 40

FIND YOUR ART

VISUAL ARTS
The new year is a great time to get in touch with
new art — work that challenges our eyes and our
minds. Portland has that in abundant supply, and
the next couple of months are especially blessed.
Of course, we’d be foolish to turn our backs on our
past, and our list of highlights also includes a show
from the estates of two of Portland’s most important
artists. BY GRAHAM BELL.
1

THE ENCLAVE

MICHELE RUSSO AND SALLY HALEY

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM
1219 SW PARK AVE.
Fresh from its exhibition at the 2013 Venice Biennale, Richard Mosse’s video installation The Enclave explores ongoing global
conflict, as well as technological advances
made in film in the service of war. Bringing
attention to the strife in the Democratic
Republic of Congo through a fully immersive experience, Mosse’s installation includes multiple double-sided screens that
display footage shot on outmoded infrared
film. The resulting candy-colored pinks
and deep crimsons bring the situation into
a new, sharp perspective. [THROUGH FEB. 15]

LAURA RUSSO GALLERY
805 NW 21ST AVE.
Sally Haley and Mike Russo were a great
artist couple who shaped the contemporary
art scene in this city. Haley, who earned her
Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale in 1931,
was best known for her egg tempera still
lifes, while Russo was known for his angular nudes. Though the pair passed away in
the mid-2000s, thanks to the Laura Russo
Gallery, we can continue to appreciate
their vision. [JAN. 8–31]

MICHAEL KENNA: FRANCE
CHARLES A. HARTMAN FINE ART
134 NW 8TH AVE.
Michael Kenna’s new exhibition features
work from his ongoing documentation of
France in this aptly titled series. Known
for his stark and dreamlike compositions,
Kenna’s work often borders on geometric
abstraction as he wields light and shadow
to create minimalist photographic compositions. Capturing scenes both urban and
natural, the artist’s adept handling of the
camera brings out an otherworldly quality
in his images of the everyday.

CONSTRUCTS
DISJECTA
8371 N INTERSTATE AVE.
A collection of works from artists
Nathan Green, Laura Vandenburgh
and Pablo Rasgado, Constructs explores
site-specificity and the relationships between the body and architecture. Green’s
optically-rich wall works are equal parts
minimalist linework and references to the
twists and turns of labyrinths and fabric.
Vandenburgh takes her practice into
the physical environment, constructing
fictional topographies. Rasgado literally
delves into the walls of the gallery, digging
through the embodied past of Disjecta’s
very structure. [JAN. 17– MARCH 1]

2

BEN BUSWELL

[THROUGH JAN. 31]

3

4

THE ART GYM, MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY
17600 PACIFIC HWY.
A purveyor of texture both visual and
physical, Ben Buswell works in a multidisciplinary mode. He’s interested in the
physical nature of the photograph and
the inviting surface of ceramic (among
other things), and his works often present
a tactile quality that translates into visual
intrigue. Re-situating traditional materials
like bone, wood and steel, and dabbling in
“surface violations” like scratches, the artist
coaxes the viewer into discovering new
aspects of seemingly tried-and-true media.
[FEB. 17– MARCH 27] .

1. Richard Mosse: The Enclave | Portland Art Museum
Safe From Harm, 2012. Digital c-print, 48"× 60". RIM12.012. ©Richard
Mosse. Courtesy of the artist an