Brenna Murphy at Upfor (photo Jeff Jahn)

As their second show Upfor gallery presents Brenna Murphy's LATTICE~FACE PARAMETER CHANT. As you can see from this teaser image Murphy has a flair for pattern which through circuit design and geometry has come to define science and mysticism simultaneously. Overall, this is an exciting development in the scene as most of Portland's core for profit galleries have become extremely safe and entrenched (especially compared to the internationally active alt space scene in town). Murphy originally burst on the scene with the Oregon Painting Society collective and then more recently the MSHR duo and has been popping up in Europe, San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center and New York City as of late.

Brenna Murphy | October 3 to November 27
Reception: Thursday, October 3, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Upfor
929 NW Flanders Street



Chuck Close's Tapestries series (photo Jeff Jahn)

Bluesky Gallery presents Chuck Close's tapestries. Close is known for his portraiture, which is a also a workaround for his prosopagnosia, a condition that keeps him from recognizing people's faces. Through this process of making portraits Close can flatten the image and eventually recognize that which most of us take for granted. Basically, his brain forces him to deconstruct faces and reassemble them as art... eventually becoming one of the world's top artists.

"Tapestries series features the faces of internationally renowned artists woven into these mural-sized textiles. To create them, several of Close's iconic black-and-white daguerreotypes were digitally scanned to capture and magnify the dense, detailed layers of silver particles in each of the photographic plates. The resulting digital 'weave files' became blueprints for these imposing textiles that were expertly woven by Magnolia Editions on electronic Jacquard looms."

Chuck Close | Tapestries
Reception: October 3, 6 - 9pm
Bluesky Gallery
122 NW 8th Avenue




Tom Cramer's work is ubiquitous in Portland and perhaps no other artist so fully embodies Portland's obsession with both craft and transcendental trippyness so successfully.

Tom Cramer | October 3 - November 2
Laura Russo Gallery
805 NW 21st Ave.




PSU's Littman Gallery presents Other Maps Are Such Shapes, curated by Leif Anderson. From what I've seen this looks like a solid group show with an interesting concept... assembling artists that use systems of measurement in diverse ways. The show includes; Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Matt Hilger, Perry Doane, Sean Schumacher and Stephanie Simek.

Other Maps Are Such Shapes | October 3-30, 2013
Opening Reception: October 3, 5-8pm
Littman Gallery
PSU Smith Hall, Room 250
1825 SW Broadway
Hours: M-F 12-4 pm