Blue Sky: The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts at 40

2014

Established in 1975 as the exhibition space of the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, Blue Sky Gallery has advanced and sustained the art of photography in the Pacific Northwest while mirroring the broader trajectory of the medium. This exhibition celebrates the gallery's five determined founders, the more than 650 photographers from over thirty countries whose images have been featured on its walls, and its significant position in the local, national, and international histories of photography.

Blue Sky Gallery was founded when few galleries or museums showed photography consistently or recognized it as an art form. Its leaders have welcomed a range of approaches since its earliest days, actively embracing changes in both technology and modes of expression, often challenging audiences with new ideas and aesthetics. The gallery showed classic and experimental black-and-white images alongside avant-garde postmodernism in the 1970s, established itself as a premier venue for socially conscious work during the 1980s, and was an early proponent of digital photography in the 1990s. Today it remains committed to exhibiting many different photographic styles and subjects.

The gallery has presented distinctive interpretations of landscape, the human condition, and still life—the primary subjects of fine art—since it was founded. It has long promoted art with a social conscience and sought out international voices for its exhibition program, and often returns its gaze to the Northwest, featuring work by up-and-coming local photographers as well as established regional artists. As it enters its fifth decade, Blue Sky Gallery remains true to its core mission: to bring the diverse and meaningful world of photography to Portland.

Curated by Julia Dolan