Portland Museum of Art 2011 Biennial, It's Back!!!

 What happens when you put 900 artists in a room with...
Sounds like the start of a Joke but it really happen 

Natasha Bowdoin's "Untitled Alice"

902 artists submitted 3600 works of art and 3 art critics reviewed all the works then distilled that down to the best 47 artists and 65 of their efforts, well all that math adds up to some diverse and darn good art in the Port city for the next 90 days.
Yes , Portland's Mack-daddy  
the Portland Museum of Arts Biennial exhibition 2011 is here! It's a big deal here is art heaven, it's an exhibition that has one requirement for all artists they must be from Maine or have some tie to Maine.
This years offerings are diverse in style and forms ( that in it self is refreshing): digital video, sculpture, print , photography (as a matter of fact there is so much Photography in various formats that a glossary of photo terms had to be printed to help everyone understand this exploding form). Oh yes, there is the traditional Oil on canvas Maine land-sea scape stuff , but there is so much more.  The PMA Biennial begets artists to as Bruce Dickinson said in a Saturday Night Live skit More Cowbell said: "Explore the space"  and this is represented well by installation art of several artists.
  . My current Fav and this may change as time progresses is Natasha Bowdoin's  "Untitled Alice".

Michael Shaughnessy's Vanquished...

it is a visual take on the Lewis Carol's  Through the looking Glass.  It's a look down quite a different rabbit hole.  The piece is composed of cut paper it's 3D & enchanting, occupying a massive wall space in the main gallery room.  In the entry Great hall Gallery,  Westbrook artist and University of Southern Maine Art department director Michael Shaughnessy has created whirlpools out of hay & twine, this incredible piece of installation art cascades the one wall in the Great Hall gallery from ceiling to floor (3 stories) and is a tribute to the vanquished Presumpscot river falls. 

There is so much more to discover the Portland Museum of Art Biennial opened April 7th and runs through June 5th.
The Museum is free on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Why explore the many artists & works at the PMA 2011 biennial? 

Because your good mind needs good art! 




The Gallery Talk is made possible by the generosity of the WMPG Radio listening community.  The blog is the text version of the art rant heard every Thursday at 7am, 5 & 9:30pm on WMPG college and community radio
Broadcasting from the University of Southern Maine
90.9 , 104.1 and streaming on the web at http://www.wmpg.org/

Here is a listing of Artists and works in the 2011 Biennial:

Here is the time lapse video of Natasha Bowdoin installing "Untitled Alice" in the 2011 Portland Museum Biennial

PORTLAND Museum of art Information
The Portland Museum of Art is located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with I.D., $4 for youth ages 6 to 17, and children under 6 are free.  
The Museum is free on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Museum Cafe and Store. For more information, call (207) 775-6148. Web site www.portlandmuseum.org.