Exploding Art Scene – Portland, Oregon Travel Guide

Exploding Art Scene

Portland’s transformation from a sleepy Northwest city, to a hip culture capital, is now official. You see it in the papers. You hear it on the streets. You can almost smell it in the air.

But perhaps the strongest evidence of the metamorphosis is in Portland’s exploding art scene. The influx of prominent artists, the increase in the number of galleries, the revolutionized Pearl District, all point to a new era of art in the city. Now “gallery hopping” is an essential part of the Portland experience.

First Thursday
On the first Thursday of every month, Portland’s art scene comes to life. First Thursday is an event for gallery-hopping, live music and winetasting. Most galleries in the Downtown and Pearl District stay open late, and the streets flood with eager art viewers.

But the event is not exclusively for art enthusiasts. First Thursday has become a veritable tradition that draws a diverse crowd that includes anyone looking for an exciting night on the town.

Yet trying to visit every gallery can be a dizzying task. To help you hop effectively, here’s a list of reviews on the city’s “must-see” galleries.

Portland’s art galleries concentrate around 2 sections of town: Downtown and the Pearl District.

Downtown

Shaffer Fine Art
Location: 308 SW First Avenue Suite 158, Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: +1 (503) 295-4979
URL: www.shafferfineart.com
Shaffer Fine Art stakes it claim as “Oregon’s showcase for major, world-renown artists.” Few galleries in Portland exhibit a comparable quality of work. Their popular paintings include vivid depictions of European street scenes, seascapes, landscapes, marine abstracts and florals, all from celebrated artists.

The gallery’s owner, Gail Shaffer, brings a wealth of experience from the art world. She worked in many galleries abroad, including the prestigious Wyland Galleries, before branching off on her own. She is also founder of Portland’s Downtown Art Gallery Association, DAGA, which consists of 20 galleries.

Chetwynd Stapylton Gallery
Location: 615 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon, 97205
Phone: +1 (503) 223-4226
URL: www.chetwynd.com
This huge gallery features the most diverse art collection in all of Portland. Inside the beautiful, 4,500 square-foot gallery, is an outstanding collection of original art from all over the world. The gallery has a huge inventory of watercolors, etchings, and prints by internationally known artists.

Photographic Image Gallery
Location: 240 SW First Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: +1 (503) 224-3543
This gallery brings some much-needed diversity to a market dominated by paintings. The Photographic Image Gallery features the work of nationally emerging artists. They also have the nation’s largest inventory of fine photography posters.

Quintana Gallery
Location: 501 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97205
Phone: +1 (503) 223-1729
URL: www.quintanagalleries.com
This unique gallery brings the Northwest Native culture to life. Quintana showcases the finest contemporary Northwest Coast Native artists. Exhibitions include hand-carved red cedar masks, totem poles, boxes and panels, as well as silkscreen prints and jewelry. Stone carvings depicting the Inuit of the Eastern Canadian Arctic are also featured.

Gottlieb Gallery
Location: 55 SW Taylor, Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: +1 (503) 241-1070
Landscapes, cityscapes, still life, sculpture, photography, glasswork – this is what you’ll find at the Gottlieb Gallery. Although the gallery has a broad array of artistic mediums, they are best known for their dream-like land- and cityscapes, from some of the Northwest’s finest artists.

Attic Gallery/First Avenue Gallery
Location: 206 & 205 SW First Ave., Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: +1 (503) 228-7830
URL: www.atticgallery.com
These 2 galleries merged to form the largest gallery in Portland. The galleries feature a wide collection of paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs and ceramics. The location also provides a full-service custom framing shop and shipping.

Belinki & DuPrey Art Gallery
Location: 1224 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97205
Phone: +1 (503) 227-1242
URL: www.BelinkiandDuPrey.com
For the local perspective on the arts scene you have to check out this gallery. Their wide variety of mediums includes paintings, sculpture, textiles, hand-blown glass and pottery, all by internationally known local artists.

Pearl District

The Everett Station Lofts
Location: 625 NW Everett St., Portland, Oregon 97209
This unique art experiment consists of 47 work/live gallery units, which are rented out to artists at affordable prices. The lofts have high ceilings, hardwood floors and make for perfect galleries. And because of the affordable prices, they are ideal for beginning artists looking to showcase their work.

The Lofts are also an excellent resource for art seekers who crave something a little different from the art hung in typical, commercial galleries. The Everett Station Loft Galleries usually feature daring, subversive, but high-quality art. Plus visitors can peruse dozens of galleries, all within the same block!

PICA (Portland Institute of Contemporary Art)
Location: 219 NW 12th Ave #100, Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: +1 (503) 242 1419
URL: www.pica.org
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sun 12-6pm
PICA features a wide variety of art including experimental theater, performance art and educational exhibits. PICA’s purpose is to promote “risk-taking, original thinking, new ways of seeing and communicating and challenging the public’s perception of art.”

PICA has been instrumental in the explosion of Portland’s art scene. The institute brings internationally known artists to the region while increasing awareness of local talent.

Butters Gallery
Location: 520 NW Davis, Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: +1 (503) 248-9378
URL: www.buttersgallery.com
This family-owned gallery has gained recognition as an important source for contemporary art. Although they represent nationally known artists, they constantly search for new work that is fresh and innovative. Mediums of art include paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures.

Mark Woolley Gallery
Location: 120 NW 9th, suite 210, Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: +1 (503) 224-5475
URL: www.markwoolley.com
The Mark Woolley Gallery specializes in diversity. You’d be hard pressed to find a medium they don’t exhibit. The gallery is a gold mine of paintings, sculptures, photography, prints, mixed-media works, installations and unusual ceramic pieces.

The gallery is conveniently located just a block from Powell’s Books, right along the Trolley Line.

Blackfish Gallery
Location: 420 NW Ninth Ave, Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: +1 (503) 224-2634
URL: www.blackfish.com
When a group of starving artists with little business sense pooled their resources to start a gallery, few predicted success. Yet over 20 years later, Blackfish is going strong. It’s neared extinction more times than the Panda Bear, but it always seems to hang on, through the dogged determination of its co-op of artists. Perhaps more than any gallery in Portland, Blackfish promotes the arts scene by providing a chance for artists to make the transition from student to professional.

The Laura Russo Gallery
Location: 805 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: +1 (503) 226-2754
According to a city search review, The Laura Russo Gallery is “a head above the rest of the field.” The gallery makes the case for such claims by showing the works of artists like Tom Fawkes, Manuel Izquierdo, Mel Katz and Fay Jones – all pillars of the Northwest regional art world.

The Lawrence Gallery
Location: 903 NW Davis St., Portland, Oregon 97209
URL: www.lawrencegallery.net
After the wild success of its first location in Sheridan, Oregon, The Lawrence Gallery opened a second location in the Pearl District. With a vast collection of artwork from over 200 artists, the gallery is showing that its success in Sheridan was no accident. Artwork at the gallery includes paintings in acrylic, mixed media, oil, watercolor and pastel. There are bronze and outdoor garden sculptures and accessories. Clay, glass, jewelry, and woodworks are displayed as well.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.

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