The rain is back. It's OK, again, to be inside.
The neighborhood gallery scene is one of the Hill's worthier indoor sports and March appears to be a good month on that front.
Baas Gallery & Framing: In case anyone's forgotten, an intense rendering of flowers, their whorls and folds and pistils, is much ado about sex - and yet the images really are flowers. That's the beauty of it. Portland artist's Barbara Eiswerth show, "Centering," opens Wednesday, March 2, with an artist reception running 5-8 p.m. Eiswerth gazes deeply into the sensuous floral universe and paints what she sees on panels in vivid colors. Through March 28. 2703 E. Madison St.
Ballard Fetherston Gallery: Dorothy Rissman's paintings focus on the organic world and what she terms in her artist's statement, "the interdependency of all physical matter. Presently I am comparing and contrasting the vastness of space with the hidden world that lies beneath the earth, literally, under our feet." Rissman's paintings sometimes have up to 40 layers of paint and shellac, with titles like "Crop Circles," "Birth Out of Chaos" and "Into the Silence."
Benton Pugh's series of paintings look upon the world as if through a rainy window, creating impressionistic vignettes and beautiful abstractions. March 5-April 2. 818 E. Pike St.
Bluebottle Art Gallery: As an artist, Mike Maas is a unique manifestation, drawing inspiration from the horror punk music of the Cramps, Kurt Vonnegut, B-movies, comic books and pop culture detritus.
To call Maas a multi-medium artist is an understatement: He's been known to employ custom resin kits, Super Sculpey and Magic-Sculpt, multi-dimensional masonite paintings and computers. There's twisted humor here and fine detail and startling symbolism. The artist's reception is Saturday, March 5, 7-10 p.m. Through March 31. 415 E. Pine St.
Frye Art Museum: Joseph Park's paintings are on display through May 22. A blend of Eastern and Western visual sensibilities, Park's cinematic paintings frame intimate interior dramas, landscapes and portraits, all in vibrant Technicolor.
Allen Magee's paintings, sculptures and graphics are on display through April 23. He is a realist who reminds us that the act of looking is a disciplined source of wonder.
Philip Pearlstein's drawings run through May 1, and trace 50 year's of development. Pearlstein draws real bodies, not archetypes, the way the sometimes-distorting eye actually sees them. 704 Terry Ave.
Miner Gallery: Adele Eustis' oil and water color nature scenes concentrate on trees in their various moods - in snow, in mist, in leaf and in their winter bareness.
Ken Barnes' sculptures examine, according to the gallery, "the abstract nature of thought and creates a solid form of substance within the natural world."
Artist reception is Saturday, March 6, 7-9:30 p.m. This hard-working gallery has been showcasing local artists and hanging what it likes for the past five years. 346 15th Ave. E.
Wingnut Galleries: Lisa Mei Fong has created a series of assemblages she calls "Introversion Boxes." It's a walk through past lives; a walk described as "eerie." Through March 20. 1205 E. Pike St.31.[[In-content Ad]]
