NW GALLERIES

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

John Yeon: In the Land of Influence.
403 NW 11th Ave., 223-8757. Closes Dec. 21. Free. Map

AUGEN (DESOTO BLDG)

Kacey Joyce, Jef Gunn.
It’s rare that Augen misfires so egregiously as in Kacey Joyce’s trite, derivative and soul-suckingly decorative floral still lifes. This may be the worst show I’ve seen at Augen in my six years as art critic at WW. Happily, Jef Gunn’s encaustic works in the front gallery offset Joyce’s pabulum somewhat. In works like Dawn, Gunn layers lace upon wax upon carved, runelike characters and Buddhist mudras. His landscapes, such as Wild Horse Lake, are less effective. 716 NW Davis St., 224-8182. Closes Nov. 29. Map

BULLSEYE GALLERY

Glasswork from April Surgent. Engravings from Czech engraver Jiri Harcuba. 300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222., 227-0222. Map

BULLSEYE GALLERY

It’s a comfy domestic scene—easy chair and ottoman, pillow, a lamp to read by—except all of these objects are covered with spiky barbed wire. It’s a beautiful shadow box filled with pastel-colored glass—except the glass is in the shape of hand grenades. Italian artist Silvia Levenson’s work delights in juxtapositions of the comfortable and the sinister. Her show, it’s not living alone..., brilliantly shows the ways in which a repressive childhood leads to an adulthood brimming with inner demons and addictions. 300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222., 227-0222. Closes Dec. 6. Map

COMPOUND GALLERY

Oksana Badrak.
Moscow-born Oksana Badrak lives in L.A. and earns a living as a freelance commercial artist. Her fine-art work in Three Pins on a Map has a winning whimsy built on absurdist or oxymoronic conceits. Sea Widow’s underwater scene shows a squid clutching an umbrella. Other pieces show tropical monkeys gazing through opera glasses and shivering in a crystalline ice world. Wherefore? Why ask why? 107 NW 5th Ave., 796-2733. Closes Nov. 30. Map

ELIZABETH LEACH GALLERY

Pat Steir.
Looking like stalactites, icicles, or bird droppings smeared down your car windshield, Pat Steir’s drip-heavy paintings and monotypes do not want for allusion. This is the New York- and Amsterdam-based artist’s first showing in Portland, and with work this formally sophisticated and visually pregnant, it hopefully won’t be her last. 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521. Show opens Thursday Nov. 6. Runs through Nov. 29. Map

EYEFUL GALLERY

Group Show.
Glass art and paintings by the owners of Portland's new Eyeful Gallery—Flynn Helper, Jeff Ballard, Josh Sands and Joe Tsoulfas. Gallery currently open for First Thursday and by appointment, as well as "randomly throughout the week." 625 NW Everett St., No. 104., 243-1222. Closes Jan. 1, 2009. Map

FROELICK

Laura Ross-Paul.
Laura Ross-Paul time-warps back to the ’60s in Northwestopia, her ecstatic ode to dappled light in the heart of the Oregon summer. Working from photos she snapped at this year’s Oregon Country Fair, she places mysterious figures amongst the sylvan pathways in the paintings Chumbleighland and Second Creek. However, Exit might be the best work of the bunch, its apocalyptic eeriness contrasting with the sun-kissed happy hippie scenes elsewhere in the show. 714 NW Davis St., 222-1142. Closes Nov. 29. Map

IGLOO

Jessica McCambly.
The show’s called Leave a Tender Moment Alone, but artist Jessica McCambly can’t. She turns the ephemeral beauty of waves frothing on the shore into quietly poetic drawings that contrast glittery surfaces with matte. In her wall installation, Tide Line IX, seafoamlike rivulets in pearlescent white shimmer on wax paper. This is a show that invites thoughtful viewing. 325 NW 6th Ave., #102., 724-7300. Closes Nov. 29. Map

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

The Ceramics of Gertrud and Otto Natzler.
Gertrud and Otto Natzler crafted ceramics together out of their Los Angeles-based studio for over 40 years. The Natzlers arrived in the U.S. in 1938 after fleeing Austria during World War II and created over 25,000 pieces of ceramic art during their tenure. Select pieces of the Natzler collection will be on display. 724 NW Davis St., 223-2654. Closes Jan. 25, 2009. Map

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Artists painstakingly rework nondescript manufactured items into incredible brand new objects, like "Cat Chow's Bonded, a dress made from one continuous zipper." 724 NW Davis St., 223-2654. Closes Jan. 4, 2009. Map

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

A fantastical worldscape of stylized wood carvings by Hilary Pfeifer, aka "Bunny with a Toolbelt." 724 NW Davis St., 223-2654. Map

OGLE GALLERY

Derli Barroso.
Derli Barroso’s photo collages are strongest when he essays the figure, not as strong when he surveys the landscape. Witty, sexy and allusive, they reference everything from Valentine’s Day chocolate samplers, 1950s bikinis, Renaissance portraiture, and best of all, the Virgin Mary radiating a nimbus of sardines. 310 NW Broadway., 227-4333. Closes Nov. 29. Map

OREGON JEWISH MUSEUM

"Museum-quality reproductions" of art by Charlotte Salomon, killed in Auschwitz in 1943. 310 NW Davis St., 226-3600. Map

OREGON NIKKEI LEGACY CENTER

"Oregon Nisei Baseball: The Early Years".
"A nostalgic exhibit about Japanese American baseball in Oregon." 121 NW 2nd Ave.,., 224-1458. Event closes Jan. 11 2009. Map

PDX CONTEMPORARY ART

Storm Tharp.
Like a slow-spreading cancer, Storm Tharp’s work grows on you. Just when you’ve concluded he’s a latter-day Francis Bacon knockoff, he pulls something out of his hat that makes you reconsider. This outing of multimedia works will stretch the artist beyond the eccentric drawings on paper that have become his calling card—and may offer some head-scratching surprises. 925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063. Closes Nov. 29. Map

SW GALLERIES

AUGEN GALLERY

Matthew Cosby.
Clever and inventive, Matthew Cosby’s small-format oil paintings are little gems with big impact. They evoke stained glass (Scoff), vegetables (Pod), dimestore candy (Ring Pop), and other sundry doodads plucked from everyday life but imbued with beauty in a way that recalls local painter Erinn Kennedy. Downstairs at Augen, James Minden shows miasmas of vivid color and textural effects. 817 SW 2nd Ave., 224-8182. Closes Nov. 28. Map

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING RESOURCE CENTER

The story of two local tiny printing companies—Loaded Hips Press and Red Bat Press—told in a collection of small woodblock, lino-cut, and letterpress prints from the company founders Shannon Buck and Carye Bye. 917 SW Oak St., No. 218., 827-0249. Map

LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE

"Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art".
"Exhibition includes existing works, commissions, and previously presented work that has been 'recycled,' spotlighting ways in which artists are building paths to new forms of practice." 0615 SW Palatine Road., 768-7000. Event closes Dec. 7. Map

MARK WOOLLEY GALLERY

Sara Siestreem.
“Mixed-media” is all too often a euphemism for “mishmash,” but Sara Siestreem’s mixed-media works on paper have a welcome cohesion. With their scratched surfaces and luscious paint application, they are both subtractive and additive in method, and immaculately composed. Red Bird, Dead Dove, and the evocatively titled Surrender Softly Mestizo Heart are small masterpieces of their type. For an emerging artist, these are works of uncommon sophistication. 817 SW 2nd Ave., 224-5475. Closes Nov. 29. Map

ODGEPODGE

Darla Boljat.
Oil paintings by Darla Boljat. 16237 SW Railroad St, Sherwood, OR 97140., 503 625 5692. Map

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957.
More than 250 images of Oregon and Washington's iconic Columbia River Gorge, orgazined by Portland's own Terry Toedtemeier. 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. Closes Jan. 11, 2009. Map

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

Apex: MK Guth.
For Ties of Protection and Safe Keeping, artist MK Guth asks people, “What is worth protecting?” Their answers are written on countless red flannel ribbons and interbraided with over a quarter-mile of synthetic golden hair, a reference to the Rapunzel fairy tale. Guth's Apex was featured in the Whitney Biennial and appeared on the front page of The New York Times' Weekend Arts section. 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. Closes Feb. 28. Map

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

Jonathan Lasker.
New large-scale paintings by New York artist Jonathan Lasker. 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. Map

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

Historic prints and drawings trace the meaning of circus and carnival, from the 17th century to the 21st. "Often viewed as a metaphor for the human condition and the absurdity of life, these psectacles were a dominant motif in the works of such artists as George Rouault, Pablo Picasso, and Max Beckmann." Or maybe they just had a thing for clowns and carnies? 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. Map

SUGAR GALLERY

Michael Demeo.
With all the yammering about sustainable architecture, green living and special bicycling lanes, it’s nice to see an art show that reminds us what Portland is really about: punker chicks and strippers. Photographer Michael Demeo never saw a cute girl he didn’t want to pose climbing up a ladder, hanging from a stripper pole, or riding mechanical bulls sans undies. It’s so very Suicide Girls circa 2001, and yet, God love it, it’s the kind of inspired cheese that makes Portland Portland and not…Orlando. 420 SW Washington St., Suite 500., Closes Nov. 29. Map

NORTH PDX GALLERIES

DISJECTA

Dan Gilsdorf has a gift for creating kinetic sculptural installations that engage the mind and the senses in equal measure. For this large-scale solo show, he’ll use light, sound, machines and anything else he can get his hands on to create an uncanny and immersive environment. Don’t miss this one. 8371 N Interstate Ave., 286-9449. Show opens Saturday, Nov. 8. Runs through Dec. 28. Map

NE GALLERIES

LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE

"Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art".
"Exhibition includes existing works, commissions, and previously presented work that has been 'recycled,' spotlighting ways in which artists are building paths to new forms of practice." 0615 SW Palatine Road., 768-7000. Event closes Dec. 7. Map

SE GALLERIES

GOODFOOT

In the 2008 edition of De Capo Press’ yearly Best Music Writing collection, Nelson George describes how at 4 years old he began a lifelong search to discover “God in the vinyl.” At the latest exhibition put together by Portland-based painted-album enthusiasts Vinyl Killers, you probably won’t find God on any of the illustrated slabs, but you will see Ronald Reagan, Charles Manson, He-Man and, of course, Godzilla. Curated by Jason Brown, the exhibit—as the five before it—features an international lineup of artists. Originally limited to stencilists only, the series has opened up to artists of all media, and the result is a show that is eclectic and visually thrilling across the board. Some go stark, such as Nate Luna’s set of black-and-white renderings, highlighted by a wedding portrait of the Ramones titled “We’re a Happy Family,” with Johnny as the blushing...er, scowling bride. Others, like Mario Robert’s Latino street-art-inspired pieces, explode into blinding Technicolor. In the show’s most internally subversive work, John Graeter completely destroys his records by melting them in increasingly severe succession, labeled “Well Done,” “Medium Rare” and “OC’d.” Like rock musicians trashing their instruments, it could be a commentary on the disposability of art. Or maybe it’s supposed to be what Phil Spector’s record collection will look like once he gets to hell—in which case, if Vinyl Killers 6 lacks an image of God, at least it makes up for it with a snapshot of Satan. 2845 SE Stark St., 239-9292. Closes Nov. 30. Map

NEW AMERICAN ART UNION

Jim Lommason.
The photos in Jim Lommason’s Exit Wounds show veterans freshly returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What happened to these men and women halfway around the world, and what horrors are they bringing back with them? Disturbing and enigmatic, the show offers pathos but no answers. 922 SE Ankeny St., Closes Nov. 30. Map

OMSI

Playful full-body interactive installation creates a changing, multi-layered sound and light show, as side-by-side participants pump back and forth on a customized playground swingset. By Jennifer Steinkamp. 1945 SE Water Ave., 797-4000. Map