Windmill AK47 w-clogs, Charles Kraft at Gallery 114

NCECA 2006
Explorations and Navigations: The Resonance of Place
If it seems as though there is an overwhelming amount of ceramic art in the galleries across town this month, it's because NCECA is here. Portland is hosting the 4oth Annual Conference for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). The Oregon Convention Center will be the central location for demonstrations, educational panels, lectures, performances, panels, and lots and lots of clay. Aside from the city being flooded with an anticipated 4,000+ ceramic enthusiasts, over 100 galleries, museums, and exhibition spaces will be featuring ceramic work throughout March. The conference runs from March 8-11 and many galleries have First Thursday openings prior to the event. For a complete listing of NCECA exhibitions, click here.

Moon babies • Zak Margolis • drawings
Margolis, a one-time collaborator in the Pacific Switchboard art group, will be showing a series of comic strips and diptychs based on a loose narrative about multi-erectile twins separated at birth. Desensitizing himself from critics, the artist (a recent father of twins) admits the show is disjointed, underwhelming and meaningless. Could be an interesting alternative to all the NCECA madness. You be the judge.
Valentine's • 232 sw ankeny • 503.248.1600 • Opening Reception Thursday, March 2.

A Precarious Moment in History •Richard Notkin • ceramics
Notkin's witty, meticulously constructed and sociopolitical teapots are, in the artists words, "meant to be stimulants for thought, conversation and philosophizing." The artist will be a featured lecturer during the NCECA conference. In addition to having a major work in the Portland Art Museum's permanent collection, numerous awards (including a John Simon Guggenheim foundation), he has work in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, Stefeljk Museum Amsterdam the Netherlands, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. Also featured on the video window outside the gallery is "Group" by Olaf Breuning. Last but not least, the "light-infused" paintings by Gregg Renfrow will be shown in the gallery as well.
Elizabeth Leach Gallery • 417 NW 9th Avenue • 503.224.052 • Show ends April 1, 2006.

International Academy of Ceramics-USA Membership • group show • ceramics
Features Kendra Conn, Philip Cornelius, Shida Kuo, Anne Currier, Richard Notkin, Josh DeWeese,Frederick Olsen, Ruth Duckworth, Andrea Gill, John Gill, Robert Harrison, Wayne Higby, Richard Hirsch, Anna Calluori Holcombe, Bill Hunt, Sylvia Hyman, Susan Peterson, Steve Reynolds, John Stephenson, Susanne Stephenson, Neil Tetkowski, Rimas VisGirda, Marie Woo, SunKoo Yuh, Georgette Zirbes.
Broderick Gallery • 814 SW 1st Ave • (503.224.4020 • Opening Reception Thursday, March 2, 6-9 pm.

group show • ceramics
"This ceramic show offers a unique opportunity to see the talents of four well-known artists including; porcelain vessels by northwest artist and sculptor, Frank Boyden, large ceramic works from Jun Kaneko's Dango series, uniquely glazed ceramic wall works by Portland artist Geoffrey Pagen, and the rugged hand- built totem forms of one of the founding fathers of ceramic sculpture, Don Reitz."
The Laura Russo Gallery • 805 NW 21st Ave PDX • 503.226.2754 • First Thursday March 2, 5-8pm • Closes April 1, 2006. A special Friday Reception, March 10, 5-8pm, in conjunction with NCECA.


Bean Finneran at PDX Contemporary Art

Shift • Bean Finneran • ceramics
Finneran's abstract works playfully echo natural shapes found in nature such as sea anemones, coral reefs, haystacks or wind blown grasses. Appearing light and bouncy, these organic and unsual clay sculptures are contrasted by their intentionally bright colorings. "They are built curve-by-curve and disassembled one by one. This process of continual and possible change and transformation connects me to the natural world along with the ordered chaos that comes from organizing thousands upon thousands of individual elements into a form."
PDX Contemporary Art • 925 NW Flanders, PDX • 503 222 0063 • Exhibition runs Feb 28-April 1, 2006.

Unnatural World • Amy Ross • paintings, drawings
Influenced by genetic engineering and mutation, Ross's watercolor are soft and eerily calm. Her hybrid imagery is a morph of naturalistic representations of goats, sheep, birds, mushrooms, branches and berries contrasted by her mad scientist-like morphings of plant and animal species which seems to exploit the tradition of botanical drawing.
motel • 19 nw 5th avenue, suite c PDX • 503.222.6699 • Opening Reception March 2, 6-9:30 pm. Show ends April 1, 2006.


Painting by Scott Wayne Indiana

Paintings for a Coffee Shop• Scott Wayne Indiana • painting
Indiana is a dynamic, thought-provoking and multi-dimensional artist who tends to push conceptual buttons (he's also the guy putting minature horses up all over town). "His painting style is risky and confident, drawing on such influences as Twombly, Tapies and Motherwell while seeking to carry forward the important tradition of abstract expressionism."
Stumptown Coffee • 128 SW 3rd Avenue, PDX • 503.295.6114. First Thursday Reception March 2, 6-9 pm. Show Runs March 2-31, 2006.

Diedrich Dasenbrock • photography
Dasenbrock's photographs are a “response to the lights and nighttime energy of the city.” The artist overlaps an intnense watage of colors and shapes to create layers of abstracted and somewhat painterly patterns. His work was featured in Portland Modern Issue #2, curated by Sue Taylor, an associate professor of art history oat Portland Statue Univerisity and corresponding editor from Portland Art in America.
Portland Modern Window Project • 1715 Lovejoy PDX • 503.231.0145.

Hot Dish • A Group Exhibition • multiple media
As part of Jaqueline Ellis' popular Artist Skills and Practical Issues course at Portland Community College, her class gets a crash course in setting up an exhibition. Hot Dish features an array of contemporary art ranging from drawing, photography, video installation, sculpture, printmaking, glasswork, and painting. The event is directed by Jacqueline Ehlis and sponsored by PCC • 23 NW 5th Ave (next to motel gallery) •
Opening Reception First Thursday, March 2, 5-10pm.

Stirring the Fire • Phil Borges • photography
Borges latest series of black and white photography, Stirring the Fire, is commendably consumed with the empowerment of women in the developing world. He spent a year photographing indigenous women around the world who are making changes in their communities. He says, "my photographic projects are devoted to the welfare of indigenous and tribal people. My intention is to help bring attention to the value these cultures represent and the challenges they face."
The Photographic Image Gallery • 79 S.W. Oak Street, PDX • 503.224.3543 •
Opening Reception First Thursday March 2, 6-9 pm. Show ends April 1, 2006.

-Nicky Kriara

To be honest, I admit soooo many ceramics might be very trying for me... sure Ive collected some over the years (mostly when I was in college) but I like variety and ceramics are often a lot more traditional and "contained" in a heavy spatial way. But, there is Roxy Paine's amazing PMU at the museum for a very non NCECA fix.

NCECA is forcing me to look at the medium more though... Charles Kraft has always done good work. 114 has the sleeper show. Also where is Ken Price?.. He's the one ceramic guy I can usually stand.

I suspect that the Everett Station Lofts and the First Friday openings on the east sidewill give me the requisite non-ceramic show viewing I require. Still, it's nice to know that 100+ ceramic shows can descend on the city and there are still lots of painting, photography, installation and video shows.

That said NCECA does dominate this 1st Thursday's most prominant venues.

Im looking forward to the new Jeffrey Mitchell show at Pulliam Deffenbaugh this month.

The Fu Dogs that were exhibited at The Jupiter last Fall are an exciting indication.

Agreed- Jeffrey Mitchell's new work is not to be missed. Golden, barouque and grand - he has managed to form impossible lumps of clay into a hopeful moment.

yeah Mitchell is really good when he's on... the more overwhelmingly baroque the better (I thought his last show here was pretty tame compared to his best stuff).

I like the fact that both PDX and PullDeff had stong ceramic artitsts in their roster that they chose to highlight.

Also, Dallas Oliver has an installation called "inflatable control" over at Sugar... kinky maybe? but I doubt it is ceramic! I can't gage how good it will be at all.

Gregg Renfrow's "paintings" at Liz Leach were exciting. Bright vibrant color explorations, and the inclusion of a couple 'carbon black' paintings made it interesting. I forget color can hurt your eyes so much, but it a good way. Could black be back as a color to use in art? Is it no longer reserved for just sad Goth kids anymore?

PS: Nice meeting you there Double J.