the semi-finalist is:                    notes of persistent awe:

nick wilkinson
5/2/2025

Untitled (Web I)
2023, found trellis, flashe, screws,
​36” x 36” x 3”
(photo by Elliott Johnson)

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mel prest
4/5/2025

Shadow Lily
2025, acrylic on wood panel,
60" x 60" x 2"


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Karen schifano
2/6/2025

Ghosts in the Machine
2024, flashe on canvas, 11" x 14"
​(photo by Katrina Peterson)


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colin kippen
10/28/2024

Kippen's work on the wall of his home in Portland, Oregon.

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Dennis foster
7/14/2024

Foster's studio at night with a view of Perimeter
2023, flashe/acrylic on canvas,
​48" x 108"


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pat boas
4/11/2024
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Saturday Painting #6 (grey)
​2023, flashe on panel, 10" x 8"

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japeth mennes
12/03/2023

Shutters
2022, acrylic on canvas, 26" x 17" 


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Pat Barrett
10/23/2023

Untitled
2023, acrylic on canvas, 54" x 60"

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stacy fisher
08/01/2023

Untitled
2023, oil on wood, 11.5" x 8" x 1.5"


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gwen hardie
7/5/2023

04.18.23, Lavender on Umber Sienna
​2023, oil on canvas, 30" x 30"


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benjamin terrell
5/28/2023

Waterfall
2023, oil and stain on wood panel,
​12" x 9"


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tom bunnell
04/30/2023

Big Talker
2021, oil on canvas, 58" x 60"


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maria T.D. Inocencio and
​Mark R. Smith
02/25/2023

The artists in their North Portland studio.




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brenda mallory
08/09/2022

Reformed Packings #27 (Emergent)
2022, honeycomb packing sheet, paint, encaustic, 18" x 18" x 2" 
photo by Mario Gallucci

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Quiet Advocates
works by:
BEVERLY RAUTENBeRG
Gwen hardie
ingela skytte
JOSH MITCHELL
osamu kobayashi
stacy fisher

07/05/22

Osamu Kobayashi
R, 2021, oil on Canvas, 12" x 10"

The Semi-Finalist's 3rd summer group post.


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Dan gluibizzi
03/06/2022
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Image: 22 Couples Kissing
2019, watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil on paper,
50" x 42"​


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Andrea borsuk
12/5/2021

Image: The Perseverance of Chance 
​2020, oil on wood panel, 24” x 30”
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avantika bawa
9/17/2021
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Image: A Pink Scaffold in the Rann
​2019-20, painted scaffolds, dimensions variable, 2019-20, Kutch, India




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heather watkins
9/16/2021

Image: still-flickering
2021, linen and silk thread,
15 3/4" x 15 3/4"




Kendra larson
7/13/2021
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2021, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 24"
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Under a very big sky
works by:
BILLY GRUNER
deborah dancy
ELLEN WEIDER
​JASON TRAVERS
MICHEL CARMANTRAND
ulla pedersen

Image: Deborah Dancy, Mapping An Afterthought, 2021, Oil on canvas, 38" x 34"
The Semi-Finalist's 2nd summer group post.


michelle ross
5/3/2021
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Scribed
2021, acrylic, oil, fabric, plaster, tape, pastel chalk, and graphite on panel, 23.75 x 30" 

​photo by  Mario Gallucci
This month on The Semi-Finalist I’m pleased to present my interview with Michelle Ross. In it she talks about de-centering, her competing aesthetic impulses, and making sense of the last four years.

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james o'keefe
3/7/2021

For this installment of The Semi-Finalist, James O'Keefe talks to me about Nothingness, life in the Mojave Desert and the impulse to work in a reductive style. 


Laurie danial
12/24/2021

Cock of the Walk, 2020, oil on panel,
​26" x 23 1/2" 
​photo by Rebekah Johnson
Writing about art hints at what is there, but it almost always, and quite understandably, falls short. To stand in front of Laurie Danial’s work is a reminder of this.

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Heidi schwegler and the yucca vally material lab
11/15/2020

Heidi Schwegler on the grounds of the Yucca Valley Material Lab with her sculpture, "Manders."

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RACHAEL ZUR
8/25/2020​​

Fearless/Tender

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Here and there, mostly there.
Work by:
Altoon Sultan
Andrea Borsuk
Ashlynn Browning
Benjamin Terrell
Karen Schifano
​Tom Bunnell.

7/1/2020

Image: Karen Schifano's "Yes, Go"

The painters that I am drawn to all seem to have a few things in common, even when they’re not exclusively painting. 


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​BRENDEN CLENAGHEN
5/17/2020

“If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” ​​​​

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The Pandemic issue
4/8/20

The moment that we're in can be strange, frightening and full of uncertainty. One bright spot, however, has been communicating with past Semi-Finalists and finding out that they are all doing reasonably well...

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TIA FACTOR
2/24/2020

My introduction to Tia Factor's artwork was Private Places, her show at Oranj Studio that was curated by Pamela Morris in 2018. At the time I was reading about Nicolas Poussin, the 17th century French Baroque painter known for elegantly balanced landscapes as well as biblical and historical scenes.

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RALPH PUGAY
1/12/2020

When I visited Ralph Pugay’s studio last month, I was immediately drawn to a small painting of a partially dressed man in a desert at night. He is sitting on the ground near the top of the picture, casually reclining under the light of the moon. Three figures -presumably in graves- are buried deep beneath him, exposed by a  cutaway composition that lets us peer into the earth.

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IVÁN CARMONA
12/1/2019

My first encounter with Iván Carmona’s work was seeing Imprint of Place, the two-person show that he was in last year at PDX CONTEMPORARY ART with Liz Rob. I went during the first Thursday opening and the gallery was filled with supporters, collectors, and casual onlookers, but I remember immediately feeling like I was the only person in the room. 
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CARA TOMLINSON
​8/2/2019

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to visit the studio of Cara Tomlinson for a Semi-Finalist interview. I've followed Cara's work since the early 1990's and have always been drawn to her subtle use of color and the scale of her forms. She somehow makes her compositions appear both intimate and monumental at the same time, a combination that has kept me coming back to look at her work again and again.

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AMY BAY
3/19/2019

I first met Amy Bay about a year ago when I attended one of her ART HOUR discussions at Private Places, an exhibition space in northeast Portland. The show, Teeth and Consequences, was both thoughtfully curated and rough around the edges in all the right ways.

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​DOUG DAVIDOVICH
12/7/2018

I recently had the chance to visit with Doug Davidovich at his studio in Portland, Oregon. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Doug, the first thing you'll notice when you do is that he's a big, angular guy. And in my opinion, his artwork invariably resembles him. Even when he's working small, Davidovich's prints and paintings seem larger than the surface that they're on.

Foolish men and searching women- on the work of Shelley Turley
By Benjamin terrell
01/5/2025

Untitled
Mixed media on paper

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On the work of
​jovencio de la paz
by benjamin terrell
8/27/2024

A work in progress by Jovencio de la Paz.
Courtesy of the artist and
​Chris Sharp Gallery


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on the work of gosia machon
by benjamin terrell
7/23/2024

Try
2022, ink on paper,
40cm x 30cm (15 3/4" x 12")

On the work of jonathan ryan
by benjamin terrell
​2/28/2024

Fall
2024, oil and sand on canvas, 60" x 52"



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stefanie popp: The heart is the pilgrim's hollow
by benjamin terrell
07/16/2023

Asterisms (Wurmhandler)
2019, oil on canvas
23.5" x 19.5" (60 x 50cm)

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Now on lamP
parallel visions: benjamin terrell and john richardson
5/28/2023

John Richardson, Field/Gate No. 816
2023, graphite and colored pencil on Arches Cover, 7" x 7"

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On the work of scott beck
by benjamin terrell

Untitled
​2022, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"





Now on lamp:
​
Re-circulation: The Art of Benjamin Terrell
by john richardson

Untitled #2
Benjamin Terrell, 2022, oil and stain on wood panel

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benjamin T. Heiken: recent work at one wall gallery
by benjamin terrell

Image: Colors
2022, paint and jute,
​approximately 5" x 7"


Something with more volume than praise, a Coyote story: essay about Uwe Henneken
By Benjamin Terrell

Image: Pattern Interrupt #3
2022, acrylic on canvas,
​160x125cm (63" x 49.2")

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my foolish boat leaning-on the work of brian scott campbell
by benjamin terrell

Image: Like A Bridge
2020, flashe on canvas, 20" x 16"
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the painting is a sad song- on the work of ben walker
by benjamin terrell

Image: Goodbye goodbye it won't be long till we meet again
2021, oil on linen
14" × 18" (35.56 × 45.72 cm)


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Long Afloat on Shipless Oceans- the Paintings of Spencer Shakespeare
by benjamin terrell

Amongst Friends
2021, acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12"




​Cleaning coins with ashes
benjamin terrel on dan gluibizzi
03/08/2022

Forty-eight Kisses
2019, watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 50" x 42"



​benjamin terrell on mark beldan
10/21/2021

Image: Orange Mill
2021, gouache on paper, 19 x 14 cm (about 7 1/2" x 5 1/2")
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photo courtesy of the artist

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Benjamin terrell on David Schell
8/20/2021

Image: David Schell, Intimate (2), 
2021, oil, pumice and cold wax on panel,
approximately 21” x 24”




benjamin terrell on jovencio de la paz
5/6/2021

Image: Jovencio de la Paz, Bionumeric Organisms 2.0, 2021 handwoven TC2 textile and canvas, cotton, 36" x 24"




benjamin terrell on brian scott campbell
3/10/2021

Image: Brian Scott Campbell, Someday, flashe on canvas, 20" x 16", 2020


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Benjamin Terrell on Joan Nelson
12/20/2020

Image: Joan Nelson, Untitled, 2020, spray enamel, acrylic ink and marker on acrylic sheet, 24H x 24W in

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Benjamin Terrell on lois dodd
11/19/2020

The Semi-Finalist is proud to announce that Benjamin Terrell will be joining the team and contributing a regular column titled Notes of Persistent Awe. He recently wrote about the poetic, understated paintings of Lois Dodd that were shown last month at Adams and Ollman in Portland, Oregon.

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BENJAMIN TERRELL ON THE WORK OF HAROLD ANCART, JOHN DILG AND HELEN MIRRA
10/10/2020

Image: Helen Mirra's "Pale tying bale edging."
Photo courtesy of The National Exemplar

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BENJAMIN TERRELL ON KEVIN MCNAMEE-TWEED
9/6/2020

Artist and writer Benjamin Terrell recently wrote about the enigmatic work of Kevin Mcnamee-Tweed. He describes his piece as "...a COVID column written without a gallery visit, inspired by a new book and Instagram." ​

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