December is always the oddest month for Portland's art scene since many of the main galleries are showing in Miami, group shows are the default and numerous other venues are holding over shows from last month so you can check our picks from last month too. Also, check out the Gabriel Liston show we just reviewed. It is held over as well. Here's what is new:


Sandra Rouxmagoux

Sandra Rouxmagoux is one of the very best paint handlers in the Pacific Northwest and her juxstapositions of the man made and nature skewer that often tense conversation with tragicomic zest. Even more surprisingly she is beginning her second term as the Mayor of Newport. Thesecond half of this dual person show Oriana Lewton-Leopold explores intens emotional reactions of women from the Olympics to Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Blackfish should be the place to check out expressionistic brushwork in Portland for the Month of December.

Sandra Rouxmagoux and Oriana Lewton-Leopold | December 2-27
Opening: December 4 6-9PM
Artist's talk: December 6, 11:00 AM
Blackfish
420 NW 9th Ave



Brenna Murphy Concept

Weve seen a lot of Brenna Murphy in the last year+ and overall the debut iteration we saw at Upfor last Fall was by far the best as her penchant for modular techno-occultism felt its freshest and forceful then. Now, hot on the heels of some attention in Art in America she returns and we get to see what's new.

Central~Lattice Tool Array | December 4 - January 17 Opening reception: December 4 6-8PM
Upfor
929 NW Flanders



It is no secret that New York City has be stalking Portland, more than a lil bit. Thus, it is only fair that we get to stare a little bit at something they have and we don't, a huge # of grandiose bank buildings (we do have a few). To facilitate this odd exchange, Hap Gallery presents Michael Vahrenwald's The People's Trust, an achaelogical "excavation" of Bank edifices in Empire city. Portland is staunchly anti-imperial so I'm curious to see how this goes over. Vahrenwald has shown at the Whitney and the Walker Art Center and Portlanders do love old buildings.

The People's Trust | December 4 - January 3
Hap Gallery
916 NW Flanders