"Between Here and There" at Good: a gallery
Good: a gallery
4325 N Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR
Fri 6-9
Sat 12-7
Sun 12-6
In honor of Veteran’s Day “Between Here and There” is a two-media portrait project focused on Portland-area military veterans from various backgrounds. A collaboration between painter Paul X. Rutz, veteran, and sculptor Christopher B. Wagner, “Between Here and There” focuses on human connections and goes beyond raising awareness of veterans issues, sharing opinions and stories while celebrating the variety in our experiences as we work together toward a common goal. Made possible through a generous grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, each portrait comes in two parts: an oil painting and a sculpture, done live and simultaneously with a combat vet as the subject. To make each of the ten portraits,... the veteran, painter and sculptor worked together for 30 to 40 hours, negotiating lighting, pose, schedule and tempo. Setting aside the image of vets just off a plane from Iraq or Afghanistan, the series portrays individuals in the community in their everyday lives, such as posed as a squash player, naked bike rider, inventor, smartphone junkie, guitarist, and more. Each portrait and sculpture exists honors the veterans' sense of being between battlefield and home, as well as respecting the gaps between all of our experiences.
Closes Sunday, November 30th.