Books! Books! Books!

Our new Wall of Books with this month’s Featured Favorites

Books at Blue Sky

Along with the photography on the walls of Blue Sky that translates the digital copy and otherwise ubiquitous medium to a tangible object to see and experience with awe and wonder, the photobook gives us something to hold, with pages to turn as we make connections between images and see a story unfold. Anna Atkins’ Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (1843–53) goes down in history as the first photobook, and ever since, this new form of communication has been influencing artists and audiences alike.

Last fall we introduced the nascent Blue Sky Book Club, to celebrate the book concept, resulting in new ways to support our Blue Sky artists and local writers. We started to engage with locally-based imprints like Gnomic Book, and added beautiful editions to our library. We continued to produce Blue Sky Books for a number of exhibitions. We saw an increased number of Book/Library Level Memberships. We’re re-visiting our array of vintage Blue Sky yearbooks and collections. And most recently, we’ve added the inspiring Wall of Books to our space.

Apart from the photographs that may grace your own walls, the photobook is a special kind of collectible that offers a different kind of creative endeavor for the artist and the consumer. The Photobook can be amassed, cared for as prized object, shared far and wide or discussed among friends.

At the Gallery

Peruse our selection of book highlights from the past few months below. Come in to take a look. Keep an eye out for book sales in March. Stay tuned for virtual programming with artists and publishers.

  • A Blue Sky Book, Dear Friend, illustrates the creative mind of Kensuke Koike, whose work was exhibited at Blue Sky in January. Copies available in the gallery and on our website.

  • A beautiful catalog accompaniment to Jana Sophia Nolle’s January exhibition, Living Room: San Francisco and Berlin, is available at Blue Sky ($45) along with a selection of posters of her work ($25).

  • The photobook project, The Place Between, by Ebenezer Galluzzo that was inspired by his Blue Sky residency at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology comes to fruition. Editions available at the gallery.

  • Purchase a Special Edition print by December Artist, Sonia Lenzi, and receive a free copy of Lenzi's brand new photo book, Take Me to Live with You - A Social Family Album. Available at the gallery. 

  • Revisit M.L. Casteel’s powerful examination of of an aspect of Veterans’ lives in American Interiors.

Watch: Ward Shortridge Panel on Public Access

This month at Blue Sky celebrates the work of late Portland photographer Ward Shortridge. Opening weekend entailed a private memorial with friends and family, followed by a public panel discussion, featuring those closest to Shortridge. In case you missed this hybrid program, so adeptly captured by Open Signal, Portland’s Community Media Center,  you can view the panel on Open Signal’s public channels:

  • Channel 23 / 323 HD: Friday, 02-25-2022 08:00 pm

  • Channel 29 / 329 HD: Sunday, 02-27-2022 07:00 pm

  • Channel 23 / 323 HD: Monday, 02-28-2022 08:30 pm

  • Channel 22 / 322 HD: Tuesday, 03-01-2022 07:30 pm

  • Channel 22 / 322 HD: Thursday, 03-03-2022 07:00 pm

  • Channel 11 / 331 HD: Sunday, 03-06-2022 11:00 am

  • Channel 29 / 329 HD: Friday, 03-11-2022 08:00 pm

In the News

 
 

You might also enjoy this recent article by Blake Andrews in Oregon ArtsWatch that covers the exhibition.

Variable West also published a thoughtful review of the August 2021 Ingeborg Gerdes: Out West exhibition.

We at Blue Sky stand firmly in our belief that requiring Covid vaccinations and a booster is in the best interest of the health and safety of our community of artists, patrons, volunteers, and staff, and we support our fellow galleries and organizations that are doing so. We hope you’ll pay us visit soon, and we welcome you with open arms and masks in place!

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