Weirdness Thrives at Curious Gallery This Weekend

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Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Mario Ross, GoLocalPDX contributor

Attention, fans of the eccentric--one of Portland's stranger pop-up galleries is in town for the weekend. Organized by Northwest artist and author Lupa, Curious Gallery is a 2-day affair featuring oddball treasures, taxidermic delights, and phenomena from the natural world. 

The event springs from its creator's appreciation for "wunderkammern"--literally "wonder cabinets." Originating with Renaissance-era monarchs, aristocrats, and aspiring scientists, these were mini-museums filled with a variety of collected objects: natural history artifacts, religious relics, works of art, and geological oddities, among others. They served both to display one's personal taste and take on the world, and to establish and maintain rank in society.

But it's not just one such wunderkammern on display at Curious Gallery. The event incorporates a broad variety of esoteric presentations, art shows, and exhibits. Curious Gallery's biggest draw may be its hands-on workshops, which run the spectrum of strange, from home taxidermy to stone tool-making to analyzing owl poop. (Fortunately, there's also a workshop that teaches you how to talk about your off-kilter interests with squeamish friends and family.) An impressive array of vendors will also be on hand, including purveyors of carnivorous plants, skulls and bones, occult woodcut prints and esoteric jewelry. 

So, lest you begin to think "Keep Portland Weird" is but a slogan, its message sinking in a sea of mediocrity--get your strange sensibilities down to one of Portland's more interesting weekend events.

Curious Gallery runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. this weekend, January 10-11, 2015 at Crowne Plaza Downtown-Convention Center, Portland, OR. Tickets and further information can be found here.

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