November is a very short month for art exhibitions but it packs serious cultural firepower this year. For example, as a continuation of last month's top pick, be certain to check out MSHR's collaborative phase 2 of Brenna Murphy's show at Upfor. Here's what else is new:



Ann Hamilton's Stylus.Hand

Gallerist Elizabeth Leach can do great things when she focuses and Ann Hamilton has always been an artist she has spoken about passionately. Though Hamilton is more known for epic and immersive installations she also has a knack for poetic objects. This is the must check out show this month.

Ann Hamilton | a reading
November 2, 2013 - January 11, 2014
Elizabeth Leach Gallery
417 NW 9th




Somewhat related to Ann Hamilton in their unrelenting literalness, conceptual pranksters Ryan Wilson Paulsen and Anna Grey take on the institution of institutions in their latest show A Series of Rectangles. It looks like their most focused work in years.

RYANNA | A Series of Rectangles
November 5 - 30, 2013
PDX Contemporary Art
925 NW Flanders




Craig Hickman's Portland Creative Community 1.0 might not be technically accurate... the city had an art scene long before the 60's but it serves as a reminder that things come in waves, of which Portland has been caught up some huge swells over the past 15-20 years. Regardless, these sorts of vivacious and revealing photos constitute an important document and should be looked at.

Craig Hickman | Portland Creative Community 1.0
Reception: November 7th 5-9PM
University of Oregon
The White Box
24 NW 1st Ave, Portland




Curators Mack Mcfarland and Modou Dieng present Pop w/o Pop in PNCA's vast Swigert Commons space. Its a group show including; Luca Antonucci, Tia Factor,Lori Gilbert, Lindsay Kennedy, Robert Khasho, Maciej Makalowski, Wilder Schmaltz and Cyrus Smith.

Here is som curatorial agitprop, "the artists here straddle the pop divas and viral videos of the day, choosing icons of their life and times from the really real virtual and too good to be stranger than fiction as muses for images and objects. At times these paintings look like our friends through the lens of fun and love, not an Instagram filter, while others remind us of the smell of our Grandmother."

Pop w/o Pop | November 7 - 30
Reception: November 7, 6-8PM
PNCA (Swigert Commons)
1241 NW Johnson