PDX Art – 1st Thursday gallery opening “Atomic Tiki” show @ Elroy Artspace – 1720 NW Lovejoy

Atomic Tiki
Group Exhibition
Preview Reception – Wednesday, August 4th, 4-7pm
Opening Reception – Thursday, August 5th, 5-9pm
Show runs August 2, 2010 through August 31, 2010

Elroy Artspace Gallery to Feature Tiki Style Fine Art in “Atomic Tiki” Group Show Opening Reception on August’s First Thursday Artwalk

Portland, OR (July 8, 2010) — Elroy Artspace gallery is pleased to announce Atomic Tiki, a group exhibition of ‘Tiki Style’ fine art. The exhibition will include the works of over 20 artists – including several already famous for their tiki works, and many of our local favorites who soon will be. In Portland’s largest exhibition exclusively of this art genre whose pull has waxed and waned in recent decades, Atomic Tiki aims to excite Portland’s art fans with Tiki Style, because it’s back and more powerful than ever.

Although dictionaries define ‘Tiki’ as “a wooden or stone image of a Polynesian God,” the art and lifestyle they inspire are a wholly American artistic creation. More than just an art show, Atomic Tiki is an examination of a larger cultural phenomenon – a peek into the modern Tiki lifestyle which thrived during the Atomic Age, one in which people decorate their homes and social gatherings in the retro tropical motif and dreamy island trimmings of yore; wooden masks, grass skirts and velvet paintings of nubile women – Tiki style had more to do with what Americans wanted the South Pacific to be than what it really was… Also dubbed “Polynesian Pop,” this “Tiki Style” is becoming recognized as a bona-fide art movement whose resurgence is met with excitement because, of course, Tiki is fun.

The Artists:

Oregon artists: Amy Ruppel, Arnold Pander, Ben Adams, Ben Burch, Brent Wear, Brian Cook, Chris Haberman, Chris Young, George Perrou, Ian “Pian” McWilliams, Jack Pollock, Jackie Avery, John McClain, Jonathon Hill-Jacquard, Mark Randall, Myah Bailey, Renee Hartig, Robert Wiles and Tim Oakley – and artists from the Tiki coasts: Bob ‘Tiki Hana’ Ho, CZM/El Gato Gomez, Dawn Frasier, Derek Yaniger, John Mulder, Luis Diaz, Richard Becker, Rob Kramer, Robert Jiminez and Sherill Anne Gross.

The Venue:

Elroy Artspace is a gallery whose mission is to enhance the human experience by introducing fine, fun art to those concerned with bringing color and beauty into the home and workspace. Elroy Artspace is located at NW 17th & Lovejoy in Portland’s Pearl District. (www.ElroyArtspace.com)

Tags: Art, first thursday, lowbrow, opening reception, pearl district, tiki