[lit-ideas] Re: Russo
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 04 Aug 2004 19:25:25 -0700
on 8/4/04 6:30 PM, David Ritchie at ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> Coincidence--same age, same day of death:
>
I realized after I sent the post that google may not easily get you to an
understanding of Mike Russo--too many Russos listed.
Here's a good lead into who he was: an important person in the making of art
in Portland, a man of slight international repute, a good painter, one of
the people who helped shape the college that employs me.
David Ritchie
Portland, Oregon
FOCUS ON:
Laura Russo
In 1974 the Smithsonian Institution launched an exhibition called "Art of
the Pacific Northwest, 1930s to Present." For the first time, a cohesive
sense of this region's artistic character and history emerged on a national
stage. During this period, Arlene Schnitzer's Fountain Gallery dominated
Portland's art scene and represented the bulk of the artists presented in
the Smithsonian show. Moreover, the gallery served almost single-handedly to
educate the collectors of the region.
But regardless of how well Portland played at the Smithsonian 25 years ago,
the city was still widely considered a backwater western town. And while
much has changed, Portland's reputation for entrenched conservatism still
lingers today. Charges of stagnation and mediocrity are often leveled at
gallery owners and curators alike. Laura Russo, owner of the gallery that
bears her name, is no stranger to such criticism.
Russo, who worked with Schnitzer at the Fountain for 11 years, is both
lauded and criticized for keeping old-guard artists in her stable--painters
such as her uncle Michele Russo, a pillar in Portland's contemporary-art
scene, and Carl Morris, who along with his wife, sculptor Hilda Morris,
brought national attention with their abstract expressionist works. Although
some complain that Russo is too conservative and not cutting-edge enough,
many young artists still consider representation by her a worthy achievement
because of the blue-chip status that goes with it.
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