It is an odd time of year when most of the art venues have just put up holiday group shows or held over an exhibition while they do the Miami art fairs (The best of which is Ann Hamilton at Leach). Still there are usually a few gems to be found. Here are my 2 picks:


Anne Appleby Lackawanna

PDX Contemporary leads the pack with Woods by the ever impressive Anne Appleby (who is part of this year's CNAA's at PAM). Her abtract paintings always have a distinctively vegetable toned chromascape to their impeccable and nuanced surfaces. An eternal springtime?

Woods | Anne Appleby
December 3 - 28, 2013
PDX Contemporary
925 NW Flanders



Ben Buswell

Beb Buswell came to everyone's attention during the 2006 Oregon Biennial but is another one of those very promising young artists that hadn't found a gallery adventurous enough for him... until now. His debut at Upfor, We Live Only Through Ourselves, attempts to offer, "a meditation on loss and mourning tinged with the unrest of personal politics." He's got a poetic flair for structure and materials and I've been waiting for a solo show like this for years.

We Live Only Through Ourselves
December 5 - January 25, 2014
Opening Thursday December 5, 6 to 9pm
Upfor
929 NW Flanders