Some nights are special; last night was one of them. Two weeks before the release of our latest title, The Tall Trees of Portland, we hosted a private party for all of the artists who contributed their work to the book. This was the first time many of them had been able to see the book and it was a treat to see so many people’s reactions. Since everyone was in the same place at once, it was a chance for everyone to get a copy of their book signed by everyone else. We laid out books for everyone, gave the artists Sharpies and ball point pens, and let them loose—it was like a yearbook party for the Class of 2014. Sizzle Pie provided the pizza, Gigantic Brewing contributed the beer, and Antler Gallery’s amazing Revolve show was still gracing the wall. Several of the book's featured artists brought in their work for the book launch / group show at Hellion Gallery on April 3. The concept behind The Tall Trees of Portland is pretty simple: Portland is having a significant moment in the number and depth of great artists who have chosen to live here. We wanted to document it. It’s not going to last forever, so we wanted to capture it for what it is right now. It was pretty great to see so many artists meet other artists for the first time. Not everyone in the book was familiar with everyone else in the book, and it was amazing to see so many people get exposed to new work by fellow artists here in town. Personally, I was humbled and honored to work with so many talented people whom I’ve gotten to know even better through this process. They are also excellent judges of quality, and I knew that if they were pleased with the book all of our readers would be as well. By the looks on everyone’s faces below I think we did alright.
The Tall Trees of Portland Group Show and Book launch is on First Thursday, April 3 at Hellion Gallery. If you’re based in Portland, please come out and join in the festivities. Copies of the book will be for sale and each artist featured in the book will have a piece in the show. Hope to see you there!
