YOU NAME IT, Paintings by Portland Artist Gary Hirsch at Gallery Paradiso

Opening Reception Wednesday December 2nd, 2009 from 6pm – 9pm, the exhibition runs from December 2 -to- January 31, 2009
Gallery Paradiso, located inside Vino Paradiso Wine Bar ~ 417 NW 10th, Portland, Oregon

Gary Hirsch, the artist best know for his Portland public art work “Upstream Downtown” (18 colorful fish that hang from the S.W. Morrison and S.W.3rd parking structure in downtown Portland), debuts a new series of paintings  for his solo exhibition at Galley Paradiso, in The Pearl for the month of December.

The Exhibition, ”YOU NAME IT” features 20 yet to be named, acrylic and mixed media paintings. Over the last year Hirsch has been displaying the pieces on-line and accepting title submissions from friends and strangers alike. All of these titles will be displayed with his new work at Gallery Paradiso. In addition, gallery visitors can add their own title ideas to the exhibition, which will be on display throughout the months of December and January.

Hirsch says, “I love it when kids visit my studio and make up wild and incredible stories about the pieces I am making. They see narrative, characters, and worlds that I hadn’t even thought of. If I hold back on my intended title my audience will often fill it in for themselves and together we co-create a brand new story. In this show I am making incomplete stories and inviting the audience to fill in the rest for themselves.”

The on-line response has been overwhelming. The first painting (pictured above) was first displayed on Hirsch’s Facebook page with an invitation for others to fill in the title. “I had over 50 titles in the first 3 hours”, Hirsch says. The list was extensive with titles such as  “Sanka?”, “Tough Tip”,  and “Super Model Breakfast”. Hirsch exclaims ‘It was great; each new title took me off on a completely new story. I just started the process and the audience did the rest”

Have your own title ideas instantly displayed at Hirsch’s new show “YOU NAME IT”.

Tags: Gallery Paradiso, gary hirsch, Gary Hirsch art, Gary Hirsch artist, Gary Hirsch portland, portland oregon, Vino Paradiso, Vino Paradiso portland, Vino Paradiso wine bar, wine bar