The artwork of Brent Wear will be on display at Launch Pad Gallery for the month of May. If you are familiar with Brent’s work, you likely associate him with birds, birds in hats, birds in pants, otters, trains and the like; unlike his signature found-wood, character-driven work, this show is completely abstract, spatially deep and elegantly finished in dark wood frames.

Read an interview with Brent Wear

Launch Pad Gallery invites you to come out and join them for the opening festivities which include: Live music (starting around 10 pm) by The Rostropobitches, an all-womens side project of the Portland Cello Project, sets by DJ Nealie Neal, DJ B.Hill, Mr. Romo, and special guests The Merce Cunningham Duo

Show Opens: Friday May 2, 2008 from 6pm-12am
On Display: Through June 1st, 2008

Chris Haberman @ Destroy Store

Chris Haberman unveils a brand new series of work + 2 new t-shirt designs tonight at Destroy Store on East Burnside. These limited-edition shirts are the first of their kind, so stop by and pick one up before they’re gone!

Opening reception, Friday, April 4th from 7-10 PM - free beer from Widmer Brewery - DJ sets from Infamous 1

Jaik Faulk @ Launch Pad Gallery

Launch Pad Gallery presents “A Ghost, A Possesor/The Deposed” New Oil Paintings by Jaik Faulk. Jaik has volunteered at Launch Pad for some time now, helping to install large group shows and teaching others. For all of you artists and PNCA students out there, you have likely encountered Jaik’s good natured and helpful ways at Art Media where he has worked for the past 5 years. Now it’s time to give back and support Jaik at his first solo show here at Launch Pad; he has been focused on this body of work for the past two years, and the 12 large scale oil paintings that he is presenting show it. Please click here for preview. As an added bonus, Jaik’s band, The Black Globes will be playing at 10pm, along with the choice tunes of DJ Dr. Yes.

Opening reception: Friday, April 4th from 6pm-12am - 534 S.E. Oak St

Trish Grantham & Amy Ruppel @ Grass Hut

Grass Hut presents installation and exhibition by Trish Grantham and Amy Ruppel.

Opening reception: Friday, April 4th from 6-9pm

Ivan Wentland @ Newspace

Newspace is pleased to present Ivan Wentland’s stunning series of color photographs titled “Beautifully Broken.” Experimentation and curiosity drove Wentland to develop a unique chemical and heat manipulation using an SX-70 Polaroid camera with Time Zero film. For this exhibition, high-resolution scans were made and printed as large limited edition Lambda prints.

Opening reception: Friday, April 4 6-9pm - Newspace Center for Photography - 1632 SE 10th Ave

Kathleen Simpson @ Janovec

Janovec Studios presents This Horizon a showcase of brand new work by Kathleen Simpson. This Horizon features acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings of different views of the earth. A new direction for Simpson, these paintings and drawings explore the confluence of science and fiction and the place of humans in our environment… and our effect on it.

Opening reception, Friday, April 4th from 6-9 PM. 4504 SE Milwaukie (on the corner of SE Holgate)

The 5th D’Merde Salon is right around the corner and if you have yet to make it out to one of these functions, I recommend that you put it on your calendar. The salon brings together creative minds in a loosely structured, open setting merging visual, performing and literary arts. A sliding scale donation of $5.00 - $15.00 will get you beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and food.
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