Tuesday 01.04.11

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Scott Johnson, "Splinter #2," detail

Continuing the light in winter theme, Chambers@916 presents Incidentals, works in light by Scott Johnson. The body of work "plays with flatness, dimension, and atmosphere by using light as a substance, producing halos on reflective surfaces that evoke such phenomena as light on the horizon, glowing snowdrifts or the corona around the sun during an eclipse." (Full disclosure: This blogger works for Chambers@916.)

Opening reception • 6-8:30pm • January 6
Chambers@916 • 916 NW Flanders • 503.227.9398

http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2011/01/first_thursday_58.html

First Thursday critic's picks

Published: Wednesday, January 05, 2011, 5:00 PM

Unlike the weather, the local art world has had little trouble thawing out from the cold. That's because some local dealers spent part of December under the warmer skies of Miami at the high-powered art fairs that have become an annual rite for cognoscenti, collectors and various kinds of cultural aspirants.

But now they're back in Portland, to cooler climes and a cooler reality. The month's offerings again highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the local scene -- lots of talent but not enough serious collectors or galleries to showcase them properly.

But for the general public on First Thursday, none of this matters much. The free monthly art walk is an evening of casual enjoyment. Here are a few stops to keep in mind while touring the Pearl District and downtown galleries.



Chambers@916: Scott Johnson's new show could pair quite well with the light and space works of Hap Tivey and Anna Von Mertens across the street at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Johnson projects subtle, radiant, optical light effects -- illusions -- onto various surfaces.

Also, Ethan Jackson continues his similarly rigorous space-and-time-bending exploration of projected imagery using mirrors and different surfaces. (916 N.W. Flanders St.; chambersgallery.com)

Scott Johnson, Incidentals & Ethan Jackson, Strait
January 06 - 29, 2011
Opening reception January 6   6 - 8:30pm 
      Scott Johnson: The body of work in Incidentals skirts the ground between materiality and representation. It plays with flatness, dimension, and atmosphere by using light as a substance, producing halos on reflective surfaces that evoke such phenomena as light on the horizon, glowing snowdrifts or the corona around the sun during an eclipse. Informed by the tradition of trompe l’oeil painting and the history of virtual spaces, Incidentals explores our long-time enthrallment with illusion, offering simple alterations of the picture plane that are meant to be easily discernible without reducing the magic of the optical experience.

Ethan Jackson: Strait is an unconventional video work in which distorted imagers swirl together on a pedestal’s surface. Viewed in the accompanying cylindrical mirrors, the images resolve into paired elemental landscapes.