Portland Art Museum expansion will restructure its galleries, unveil nearly 300 unseen pieces

When the Portland Art Museum wraps up its $111 million campus expansion project next year, it won’t just be unveiling 95,000 square feet of upgraded space. It’ll also debut a brand new layout and nearly 300 unseen pieces by both Portland locals and international artists.

The project, which has been in the works since 2023, will transform the museum into a cultural centerpiece of downtown Portland by linking its two existing buildings (the Main Building and Mark Building) with a 22,000-square-foot glass pavilion.

Named for Latvian-born, Portland-raised painter Mark Rothko, the pavilion will increase accessibility between all four floors of gallery space. It’ll sit between plazas on its west and east side, creating two entrances and featuring new art like Swiss sculpture Ugo Rondinone’s “the sun.”

The museum announced in April its plans to complete the expansion in late 2025. As of Sept. 30, it had raised $125.9 million of its $141 million goal, which includes $30 million to grow the museum’s endowment. The fundraising campaign is ongoing.

But come next year, visitors returning to the revamped Portland Art Museum may not find the place exactly as they remember it.

Instead, patrons can expect “entirely reimagined permanent galleries; new, more intuitive pathways to encounter art; and increased visibility for PAM’s Native American and contemporary art collections,” according to a Wednesday press release.

For one, the museum will change its organization — moving away from collections based on time period or region toward more thematic displays. The Rothko Pavilion’s inaugural exhibition, for instance, will feature old and recently acquired sculptures to “explore how artists use natural materials and depict nature” in 3D.

“The newly unveiled galleries will invite our community to see themselves in our collection,” museum director Brian Ferriso said in the release, “highlighting the myriad identities that make up the Pacific Northwest and presenting works by generations of nationally renowned artists who have drawn inspiration from Oregon’s natural beauty and Portland’s creative culture.”

New acquisitions that will debut along with the museum’s expansion include pieces by Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee painter Jeffrey Gibson; multimedia artist Simone Leigh; Apsáalooke multimedia artist Wendy Red Star; Mexican artist Pedro Reyes; Portland-based Seneca artist Marie Watt; and Portland-born Carrie Mae Weems.

The Portland Museum includes thousands of pieces across collections ranging from Native American art to modern art to photography. Here’s a more detailed look at what each revamped collection will bring.

Native American Art

Spanning the Main Building’s second and third floors, the collection includes 3,500 pieces and represents about 200 Indigenous groups. “Shifting the Narrative: 21st Century Acquisitions” will highlight pieces acquired over the past 25 years, including a portrait by Diné photographer Will Wilson. “Rick Bartow: Storyteller” will link the Native American and Northwest Art collections through the work of the Oregonian artist and member of the Wiyot Tribe.

Northwest Art

An exhibit on the Main Building’s third floor will feature work — some never before exhibited — by Mary Henry, a painter who settled in Washington in the 1980s. The fourth floor will pull from the museum’s collection of more than 10,000, including newly acquired pieces by artists like Seattle-born Frank Okada and Eugene-based Iranian artist Tannaz Farsi.

Modern and Contemporary Art

All four floors of the Mark Building will feature modern and contemporary art, including an inaugural exhibition space in the Jubitz Center that will highlight Black experiences in the United States. Works on display will include pieces by Portland artist Lisa Jarrett and new acquisitions like one from visual artist Derrick Adams. The second floor will show new pieces like Wolfgang Tillmans’ “Greifbar 50,” Simone Leigh’s “Sentinel IV (Gold)” and include a 2,700-square-foot space dedicated to large or innovative projects. The top-floor gallery will feature a Mark Rothko gallery, alongside new pieces including one by Reginald Sylvester II.

Photography

On the second floor of the Main Building will be a 3,300-square-foot photography gallery. It’ll showcase the first new photography exhibit from the museum’s collection since 2021: “Together,” which will explore connection through newly acquired pieces from artists like Leah Kolakowski.

New Media

The Main Building’s lower level will feature only Marco Brambilla’s large installation “Heaven’s Gate.” It’ll also create a second space for media showings and events by PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, which currently take place at Tomorrow Theater in Southeast Portland.

Asian Art

The Main Building’s first floor will feature the inaugural exhibition “MAKERS: The Culture of Craft,” which will draw from the museum’s Japanese collection. Other galleries will show new works like those recently gifted by Japanese photographer Kenji Nakahashi.

Prints & Drawings

One exhibition on the Main Building’s lower level, “Inkling Studio: Printmaking in Portland, 1980-2010,” will honor the medium’s legacy in the Pacific Northwest. Another, focused on lithographer Paul Harris, will feature recently gifted works from his “Shut-in Suite, 1969-70” series.

European and American Art Pre-1930

Scattered across nine galleries in the Main Building’s second floor, the collection will include the return of Claude Monet’s “Waterlilies” — now newly restored. Works will also include paintings by American artists John Singer Sargent, Albert Bierstadt and Eliza Barchus, who lived most of her life in Portland.

— Veronica Nocera covers life and culture. You can reach her at vnocera@oregonian.com, 503-221-8111 or @vernocera