Five Portland galleries open new exhibitions between Wednesday, Aug. 5 and Thursday, Aug. 6, with a shared thread running through them: how we perceive, remember, and distort the world around us. All five shows are free to visit.

The marquee evening is Thursday, Aug. 6, when Blue Sky, after/time gallery, Blackfish Gallery, and Carnation Contemporary all hold receptions during First Thursday. Froelick Gallery's show is already on view.

Here's what's opening and where to find it.

Dawn Surratt: 'Real But Not True' at Blue Sky

Dawn Surratt, a photographer and installation artist who spent years as a hospice social worker before returning to art full time, opens her exhibition at Blue Sky (122 NW 8th Ave., Pearl District) on Thursday, Aug. 6. The show runs through Aug. 29.

Surratt's work combines photographs, found images, objects, and layered paper constructions rooted in the distortions of the pandemic years. According to the gallery's exhibition statement, the pieces explore how something can be emotionally real and factually untrue at the same time. Her work is held in major collections including the Peabody Essex Museum and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Blue Sky also presents Mark Maio's "Against The Grain," a photographic series on the industrial history of grain harvesters and silos.

First Thursday reception: 5–9 p.m. | Artist talk: Saturday, Aug. 8 | Hours: Wednesday–Saturday, noon–5 p.m.

Colombian artist Laura Mora Osorio brings a colorful, cross-sensory installation to after/time gallery opening Thursday, Aug. 6 and running through Sept. 5, the longest run of the five shows.

The exhibition explores the interplay between sound, vision, and sensation, engaging viewers through movement, light, and form. As described in Oregon ArtsWatch's August roundup, the show leans into aurally experienced tactility and visually experienced sonic textures.

Amy Turnbull's paintings of warped faces alongside mirrored, repeating images of cellphones open Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Blackfish Gallery (938 NW Everett St., Pearl District) and run through Aug. 29. The works twist together with geometric spirals, evoking the distortions of contemporary social media and digital self-absorption.

Blackfish is also showing Hannah Theiss's tapestry assemblages ("Invite The Cloud In") and Michael Knutson's abstract paintings ("SPRING 1974").

First Thursday reception: 5–8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 6

'Sewing Seeds' at Carnation Contemporary

Nine Southwest Asian and North African artists based in Portland come together for "Sewing Seeds" at Carnation Contemporary (8371 N Interstate Ave., North Portland). The group show, curated by Sarah Farahat and Alexandria Saleem, opened Saturday, Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 30.

The artists use indigenous plants and textile practices to explore memory, migration, land, and grief. Many of the woven pieces contain actual seeds, which the curators call living relatives and ancestral collaborators carrying the memory of land and people across generations. The exhibition was developed over two years as a collective textile installation.

Exhibiting artists: Alexandria Saleem, Amirra Malak, Ara Manoogian, Bint Bandora, Jenna Saadeh, 'Rah Sabino, Rodia Banaei, Sarah Farahat, and Zeinab Saab.

Reception: Thursday, Aug. 6, 6–9 p.m. | Artist talk: 7:30–8:30 p.m. | Hours: Saturday–Sunday, noon–5 p.m.

Kris Hargis's 14th solo exhibition at Froelick Gallery (714 NW Davis St., Pearl District) opened Wednesday, July 22 and runs through Aug. 29. The show features self-portraits alongside drawings of floral arrangements, built with gestural charcoal and expressive pastel marks.

Upcoming calendar

  • Thursday, Aug. 6: First Thursday receptions at Blue Sky (5–9 p.m.), after/time gallery, Blackfish Gallery (5–8 p.m.), and Carnation Contemporary (6–9 p.m., artist talk 7:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Aug. 8: Dawn Surratt artist talk at Blue Sky
  • Through Aug. 29: All five shows remain on view (after/time runs through Sept. 5)