Portland Artists Only Use Dump Material for Exhibition

GLEAN Residency Supports Art Collection that Endorses Use of Recycling

Figure 1: “Thanks for Your Service: ‘Sticky Floor’” by Adia Gibbs

Every year, for thirteen years, Parallax Art Center hosts a collection of artists a part of the GLEAN juried art residency program. The art that is made for the show is entirely made out of recycled materials recovered from Portland’s Metro Central Transfer Station. With these materials from the dump, the artists create a series of new contemporary sculptures and installations in their own unique style.

Available between February 9 and March 15 of this year and located in the hub of Portland’s high society neighborhood (The Pearl) this year’s exhibition showed a wide gradient of talented artists. The 2023 GLEAN artists that are in exhibition are Arielle Brackett, Santigie Fofana-Dura & Sapata Fofana-Dura, Adia Gibbs, Diego Morales-Portillo, and Nathaniel C. Praska. Each one had their own vision and interaction with the recycled materials.

When I walked through the doors during opening night, the energy was high and cheerful. People were calling out to each other, hugging and kissing cheeks before showing their art. Father’s held their kids in their arms or followed behind the toddling figures trying to convince them not to touch the art. As I wove through the crowd, the first artist…