Grace Kook-Anderson

Normally the skies of the Northwest shower us with constant rain but lately it has been stinging wildfire smoke. True the air is better today but perhaps your lungs are still burning. I suggest arts fans check out this free curator conversation at the Portland Art Museum Between the somewhat newish Northwest Curator Grace Kook-Anderson and her boss PAM Director and Chief Curator Brian Ferriso. Grace has largely avoided the traditional Northwest art cliches, while reminding us of the diversity of the region's art... which has been very international for a long time. Artists like Sam Hamilton and Hannah Piper Burns have signaled that we should expect the unexpected... rather than the march of obvious craft, trees and rain, presented by frequently overexposed local names. Instead, she has been concentrating on many artists who are less, "regional feisthists." (Good luck parsing that term, but I prefer being challenged rather than pandered to taste-wise). Perhaps my favorite thing about this program is how the Apex program, which started with a bang but became a bit of a side bar has been reinvigorated by 6 month long shows with what seems to be over 3x more square footage. All that means it is now among the most relevant contemporary art programs in Portland (as originally intended). I wonder how they will do to correct the CNAA's , which most of the scene has come to understand as the "Conservative Northwest Art Awards", whose standing nominating and voting system seem to reinforce bland, pleasant or inoffensive work. We live in challenging times and the art of the Northwest reflects that. Show up and hear how these two are making the Portland Art Museum more relevant by challenging assumptions rather than just playing the insinuation game.

It should be noted that Avantika Bawa has a new Apex show opening Friday.


Avantika Bawa at PAM's Apex series

Curators in Conversation
August 16, 6-7PM
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park