The countdown has begun for the first public showing of the 2015 GLEAN environmental art exhibit. With a day and a week before the official opening reception, the artists released a sneak peek of works that will be on display at Disjecta Contemporary Art Center in North Portland (8371 N Interstate Ave., Portland). The opening reception is Friday, Aug. 14 from 6 to 9 p..m.; the show runs from Aug. 14 to Sept. 6.
The local artists – Schel Harris, Brian Hutsebout, Beckey Kaye, Brenda Mallory and Rio Wrenn – were chosen by a jury of arts professionals, paid a stipend and given access to a steady stream of discarded materials at Metro Central garbage transfer station for five months. They've reassembled trash into at pieces of art to bring attention to the issues of excessive consumption and waste generation and why we should care about it.
The artists, whose typical media and styles vary from wood, textiles and metals to robotic sculpture and traditional Indonesian mask carving, blog about their experiences and give a behind-the-scene look at their process.
Now in its fifth year, GLEAN prompts people to think about their consumption habits, inspire creative reuse and initiate larger conversations about waste generation. The program is a collaboration between Recology, an employee-owned company that manages resource recovery facilities, Metro, the government that manages the Portland metropolitan area's garbage and recycling system, and crackedpots, an environmental arts organizations. Inspiration for the program comes from the renowned Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program.
The local program and annual exhibit attracts thousands of artists, arts patrons, students of the arts and others. Watch a video of the artists from the 2014 program as they sort through garbage at the dump, shape it into works of art in their studios, and hear people’s reactions to it at the opening reception.
Disjecta, 8371 N. Interstate Ave., Portland.
Artists: Schel Harris, Brian Hutsebout, Beckey Kaye, Brenda Mallory and Rio Wrenn
Exhibit runs from Friday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Sept. 6
Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14
Gallery hours: noon to 5, Friday through Sunday