Art in the Commons
New art show explores
Portland history and memory

City Club's “Art in the Commons” program explores the nexus between artistic and civic life. In keeping with the purpose of this program, City Club Commons will host a new exhibit – Julia Gardner's “PDX Series: Mixed Media with Resin Artwork – through July 31.

Gardner creates her mixed media pieces with multiple layers of resin – an extremely tricky and often unpredictable medium – to create artwork that results in an almost glass-like final work. Built up between layers of resin are photographs of buildings, trains, and utility poles, along with found objects and drawings, which capture the essence of the city's history and contemporary life.

The show is on view Monday through Friday during office hours.

Julia Gardner creates her mixed media pieces with resin- an extremely tricky, often unpredictable medium.  She first creates wood panels with “windows” in which she layers images and multiple layers of resin.  Each layer has to be created with precise temperature and humidity conditions to create artwork that results in the almost glass-like final piece.  The work Gardner has created for this exhibition is a preservation of memory of Portland and an extension of her fascination with how these buildings and streets withstand change and contemporary life.  To quote Gardner , “I am interested in both the history the buildings tell and the industry in which they currently live.”  She began by exploring the city with her camera, capturing what she felt was the essence of both the history and contemporary life of the city.  Working with her photography, Gardner transfers images of bricks, trains, cranes, utility poles, and buildings. In addition to each photographic layer, found objects, painting, and ink and charcoal drawings are built up within the layers of resin (usually 1-4 layers), producing a layer of a story within each layer of resin.  

Julia Gardner Mixed Media with Resin Artwork

on view at City Club Commons through June 30