{"id":10921,"date":"2015-08-28T12:55:24","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T16:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10921"},"modified":"2015-08-28T12:55:24","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T16:55:24","slug":"portland-after-dark-night-galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/portland-after-dark-night-galleries\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland After Dark: Night Galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Collecting fine art is not just for Mellens and Guggenheims. In Portland, you might find something you love\u2013and can afford\u2013at your neighborhood bistro.<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Claire Z. Cramer<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Night-Galleries-Sept15\"This show has been really well received,\u201d says front-of-the-house manager Katharine Hall at Local 188 on Congress Street at Longfellow Square. She waves a hand at the restaurant and lounge\u2019s east wall. \u201cHer name is Anna O\u2019Sullivan, and she\u2019s sold quite a few prints already.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The framed prints are charming two- or three-color portraits of web-footed shore birds\u2013herons, pelicans, ducks\u2013plus the odd hen and rooster, done in a style that recalls old Chinese block prints but with Maine birds. They\u2019re stunning and graceful, priced quite accessibly between $100 and $300. French Fry Gulls<\/em> is $250.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cafe-Art Commerce<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Local 188 has always hewn to the motto \u201cEat, Drink, Art,\u201d and its walls have always served as a gallery for local art. Meg Walsh, a potter who\u2019s worked on and off at Local for half a dozen years, curates the shows, hangs them, provides viewers with titles and prices, and manages the sales details. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love the opportunity to give local artists a place to sell their work,\u201d she says, speaking for herself as well. When we sit down and order drinks, we find Walsh\u2019s bud vases on the restaurant\u2019s many tables. These are available for sale in the retail shop at Portland Museum of Art down the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

On a subsequent visit, a new exhbit has just been unveiled, that is, released. Chad Creighton\u2019s startlingly expressive owl paintings preside above diners\u2019 heads. \u201cHe paints on salvaged pallet wood,\u201d Walsh says. \u201cHe sands it just enough to be able to paint it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The restaurant\u2019s commitment to art in<\/span>forms its very atmosphere. It\u2019s a bohemian place, with ceiling fans spinning lazily way, way up among the antique chandeliers and exposed ductwork, seating that includes couches and church pews scattered with colorful pillows, and a soulful soundtrack in the background. Owner Jay Villani\u2019s welded iron sculptures stand here and there\u2013one serves as a plant stand, and others as stanchions for the rope around the outdoor sidewalk seating. Artist, illustrator, and sign painter Patrick Corrigan has painted dreamy murals here and there on walls and bar tops.<\/p>\n

Local 188 has you at hello when you first walk in, because it always smells utterly delicious in a lively Spanish or Italian way. And as the song says, the gin is cold and the jazz is hot.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spoon On the Hill<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

At the other end of Congress Street, the Blue Spoon\u2019s rich gray walls are hung with a collection of what at first looks like framed sepia pen-and-ink portraits. Closer inspection reveals these are actually dyed cotton and linen napkins.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have formal training with wax resists; [I\u2019m] just winging it, learning what does and doesn\u2019t work,\u201d artist Amelia Fais Harnas says. Wax resist is the fabric-dying method used in batik. Using wine, Harnas achieves a remarkable level of detail dying fabric in stages. \u201cI tend to use old-vine wines,\u201d she says, which lend the brownish brick-red color.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve arrived at the Spoon in time for \u201cWine Time\u201d happy hour, so we order up $3 glasses of the house Italian white and take a seat under wine-stain portraits of Ernest Hemingway and Joan of Arc. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Blue Spoon, though much smaller and more minimalist in decor, has the same sensual, earthy appeal as Local 188. Chef\/owner David Iovino is a master of gourmet peasant food. We sip our icy, mineral wine and devour crostinis topped with hot melted blue cheese and allow ourselves to pretend we\u2019re on the Left Bank. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 2015
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