In case you missed it:

DK Row actually did a nice job interviewing the three mayoral candidates about the arts in a 4 part series. This is what we expect the Oregonian to be doing, but sadly this sort of eye for relevance is rare and it's generally just gratuitous conservative "shrug pieces". PORT will have something even more targeted and incisive to help you separate these 3 candidates.

Eva Lake's first solo show in New York City seems to be going over well. I knew it when I saw this show at Augen... Eva was definitely onto something.

Jerry Saltz picks 10 artists to save the art world. He's wrong of course because he didn't pick any Portlanders... we are the "Capital of Conscience" as I penned in the Tribune's Op Ed a few months ago after all. So if I picked 10 Portlanders (who haven't already been in a Whitney Biennial) who would they be? I won't make too big a deal about this list but just off the top of my head these 10 are all ready and doing original, high level work with impressively sustained intelligence:

Zachary Davis, (The most developed of the Appendix gang, he impressed me at the foreGround show I curated last year by bridging the gap in digital/real world)

Matt McCormick, (Portland's "Filmmaker Laureate" and very talented video artist... MoMA has heard of him, you should too Jerry)

Corey Arnold (photographer/fisherman extraordinaire... probably tougher than any photographer has a right to be)

Patrick Rock (installation, video, performance, attitude)

Oregon Painting Society (installation group, Tate Modern has heard of them, you should too Jerry)

Philip Iosca (an incredibly fine mind for installation and its execution)

Laura Fritz (admittedly we are dating, but that has no bearing on the fact that it's difficult to find another artist who brings such originality to every single show. At the end of the day results speak. I'd be lying if I left her off the list.)

Ryan Pierce (Yes he's written for PORT but he's also a fantastic painter and sharp mind, very impressive)

Eva Speer (probably tied with Pierce for having the sharpest "painter's mind" in town she's coming into her own)

Jesse Hayward (often the most radical and adventurous abstract painter in Portland)

Of course there are others like Arnold Kemp, Modou Dieng, Eva Lake, Joe Thurston, Ethan Rose and Midori Hirose... etc. The list can go on and on but I feel pretty safe stating that those 16 would make up an incredibly strong survey of Portland art now. Generally though for a survey one doesn't always pick the best, instead one picks a few surprises to gage potential and shake up expectations (knowing how to install it is another trick).