Continuing through March 15, 2015
For reasons that are self-evident to anyone who has hiked the waterfall-and-moss wonderland of the Columbia River Gorge, the Pacific Northwest has become a beacon for the “eco-art” movement. Portland-based artists such as Bruce Conkle, Marne Lucas, Dan Attoe, and Michael Brophy have infused woodsy Northwest regionalism with an alarming relevance in our era of climate change, polluted oceans, and diffuse environmental devastation. Titled “Dark Paradise,” Wesley Younie’s current exhibition addresses ecological issues with a lighter touch than those other artists. His paintings, sculptural tableaux and still lifes temper gravitas with whimsy.
When he paints (“Zoo Antwerp”) a pair of sad owls glumly perched on a barren tree in a zoo, or, as in “Timeshare," a flamingo strutting through wetlands with condominiums and resort hotels looming in the background, these animals are standing in, gently, for the larger specter of our troubled relationship with nature. His faux-naïve style, with its candy-colored palette and lack of perspective, well suits his approach to the subject matter, lending an irony to idealized landscapes such as “Wild West.” His frequent use of gold leaf also creates a satirical distance.
