Brad Carlile Photo Blog

First Thursday for me started on 9th street. A show worth checking out and surprising scarce of people (OK I was very early) is at Quality Pictures (916 NW Hoyt, Portland, OR). Quality Pictures has the work of Jen DeNike. Jen’s work is entitled “Don’t Tread On Me”. Images are part of a growing body of work centered on flag language and symbolism. Check it out.

Jen DeNike

Seattle’s Claire Cowie’s Homunculi has a solo show called “Homunculi” at Elizabeth Leach (417 N.W. 9th Avenue, Portland OR). Her artist statement says:

Wikipedia defines Homunculi as “creating another being with bits and pieces of another’s past.” There is also reference in the definition that this new being can turn on its creator.

I particularly liked “Homunculus (hyena)”, which seems to be often associated with this show.

Claire Cowie “Homunculus (hyena)”

In the back room was Dianne Kornberg’s “Out-of-Print”. Since Kornberg is no longer working in B&W, these images are from her collection of silver gelatin photographs. Some of these images date from 1992.

Aas I walked down 9th street I saw some images I almost recognized at Bella Perla/ (327 NW 9th Avenue, Portland OR), as it turned out I did recognize them to be the work of Smith Eliot. I met Smith at Photolucida and have seen here work at Pushdot Studio’s (830 NW 14th, Portland, OR 97209) where we have both shown work in the past. Smith’s show is called “Dark Glass”.

Smith Eliot

I then headed down to the see the shows at Blue Sky Gallery (122 NW 8th Ave, Portland OR), Augen Gallery (716 NW Davis, Portland OR), Froelick Gallery (714 NW Davis, Portland OR), and Hartman Fine Art. At Blue Sky I really like the work of Sage Sohier called “Perfectible Worlds” which is about people’s private passions. I need to spend some more time with this at crowded time. This work will be published by Photolucida/Critical Mass in the fall/winter of this year. Sage Sohier will be giving a lecture at Blue Sky this Saturday at 3 pm.

I also ran into Christopher Rauschenberg who had another installment of his work up at Nine Gallery. A couple of months ago he had another set at Elizabeth Leach. I think this is my favorite of the set so far.

Heading down to the Everett Station Lofts and walked into Ogle. This month Ogle had another Solo show by Rebecca Steele. Rebecca’s previous work consisted of photos that she hand-stitched together, this show focuses more on pure photography. She is getting reading to start a photography program this fall - best of luck!

Rebecca Steele

I then headed down see the new Mark Woolley Gallery downtown (817 SW 2nd Ave, Portland OR). This was to prove quite the party. But I was cutting it close so I zipped into a lot to park the art car in.

{obiligatory 1st Thur art car photo, silly me but look in the back of the lot }

Fortune smiled on me as I picked the same lot that the “Marching Forth Marching Band was was warming up in.

I followed them to Mark’s new gallery.

…of course growing up in the midwest you know that no party is really a party until the cops show up…

But it was only 8 different police vehicles (of different types)… art is so dangerous! But no worries everyone was cool and after people promised not to stand in the streets everything was back to the party.

Inside was Melinda Thorsnes’s “Recent Work” and Rebecca Guberman-Bloom’s “Freehand”. Both very worthwhile shows. And of course a crowd inside looking at the art.

…and the party wraps up… for now.

Tags: 1st Thur, art