Bullseye Gallery is a testament to Portland's hippie DYI mentality. In 1974 three hippie glassblowers teaching stained glass courses were challenged to developed a palette of colored glasses specifically designed for fusing in a kiln, something large companies in Europe were unable to do at the time. By the early 1980s they were successful and opened the world to a whole new level of glass artwork.
I have been known to say Portland is a large town, at best, and a prime example of this is the lack of world class galleries and the monetary support needed for artist to survive here. However, Bullseye is the exception to this rule. Housed in an old fish smoking factory in the Pearl District, even the building evoke a sense of its unique history and sense of accomplishment. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Artist Reception for Michael Endo and Stacey Lynn Smith's "The End and After" Exhibit currently showing at the gallery - "Two Northwest artists look through an apocalyptic lens, meditating on the end of things and what may or may not come after." The show is great, with a mix of Stacey's interactive pieces, such as the reverberating broken glass micro-phoned to give the gallery owners and staff heart attacks; the sound of breaking glass must be horrifying and to have an exhibit where people are encourage to not only allow glass pieces to break, but to magnify the sound throughout the beautiful space was so much fun to participate in. As well as her unnerving draw on glass panel piece.
It was such a fun exhibit that on a sunny Saturday we made a special trip down to the Gallery just to experience the space in the soft sunlight and see Michael Endo's incredible glass paintings up close and personal. If you are in the Pearl District and just finished up a filled cupcake from Cupcake Jones or did a little shopping in Cargo, we would highly encourage you to stroll on down to Bullseye Gallery and catch the exhibit while it lasts. March 6 - April 27, 2013, it truly is a worthwhile exhibit in a world class gallery.
Bullseye Gallery
300 NW 13th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
503.227.0222
1 comment:
This is such a great post. I am always looking for new art to check out, I'm going to try to visit the Bullseye next weekend. I stumbled onto your site via pdxbloggers, glad I found you. My blog is similar although I've been very food focused in the last couple weeks.
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