Palette and Palate

Portland Art Museum series explores what wine and visual art have in common

By Greg Norton

Is a bottle of wine a work of art? Or is it the product of skill and craftsmanship? Maybe it’s merely a beverage? And what is a work of art, anyway?

These questions (and more) are on the menu at the Portland Art Museum’s monthly Maker’s Table series, running through September.

Pairs of Oregon winemakers and visual artists come together for evenings of conversation moderated by Julia Dolan, interim chief curator and Minor White senior curator of photography at Portland Art Museum, or PAM.

Each Maker’s Table event begins with a walk-around wine tasting, accompanied by the featured artist’s work. A conversation between the winemaker and artist follows, exploring the creative processes behind both disciplines. The evening concludes with an optional three-course meal of selected wine pairings and menus showcasing the artistry of local chefs. Tickets can be purchased without the dinner.

A CULTURAL COMMONS

The series takes place in the museum’s new 22,000-square-foot Rothko Pavilion. At $116 million, almost entirely privately funded, it’s one of Oregon’s most significant investments in the arts. The light-filled glass structure connects two historic buildings, creating a central entrance and gathering space. It’s named after the famed Latvian-born painter Mark Rothko, who spent his youth in Portland. Rothko took art classes at PAM, and the museum hosted his first solo exhibition.

“We’ve got this beautiful space to introduce the museum to people who might not have interacted with us before,” Dolan noted.

The Maker’s Table series convenes on the pavilion’s ground floor and invites dinner guests to the third floor overlooking the Whitsell Family Gallery, the first public dining use of the space.

Moving food and wine through galleries filled with art is not a task the museum takes lightly. “We met with our art conservators and other members of the collections team, because we want to ensure everyone’s comfort. We are respectful of our guests and also the objects we care for,” Dolan explained.

“This is a bit of an experiment in using a space that’s really in the heart of the museum,” added Dyana Soul, head of sales and experiences for the museum and the organizing force behind the series. After years in national marketing and event planning for local wineries, Soul recently joined the PAM staff.

“I was having a conversation– my very first week here– with our interim director, Donald Urquhart, who told me he wanted to connect regional makers, creators and artisans,” she recalled.

That openness, alongside her passion for art and wine, inspired the Maker’s Table series.

ART AND CRAFT

“I feel the best winemakers are artists,” affirmed Soul. “It’s not only science, it’s not merely farming, but also intuition and interpretation of a vintage and a vineyard. That’s what separates good wine from great wine. This felt like such a natural pairing.”

“I think about what constitutes ‘art,’ and prefer an expansive understanding of that,” stated Dolan, whose curatorial career included roles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard before coming to Portland 16 years ago.

She believes a thoughtful approach to daily life can reveal beauty. “I’d much rather people think critically about what they’re seeing; how they’re receiving information through art, or how they experience a wine, meal or even their clothing. If we can expand the art circle and embrace folks who think of what they do as artistic, I’m all for it.”

REALIZING A VISION

Painter Clare Carver and winemaker Brian Marcy moved to Oregon from Napa two decades ago. They live on a 70-acre organic farm near Gaston alongside sheep, goats, chickens, horses and cattle while making art and wine for their Big Table Farm label. The pair appeared together at the Maker’s Table in June.

“When I’m doing a painting, I see it as an analogous thing to when Brian’s making wine,” Carver explained during a pre-event interview. “You have a point of departure, something that stirs your creativity as an artist. From there, you run with it.”

Reflecting on the boundary between craft and art, she observed that “when you make things over and over, with time, it becomes a craft. When you add inspiration, your own soul and humanity to that craft, it becomes art.”

Both begin with mastery of craft. Only then can a vision be realized.

Marcy added, “When you hone that craft, and have an expectation of how you want it to look or taste, you are much more likely to execute the final product you have created in your mind. The art aspect is the vision in your mind. And if you don’t have the craft, you can’t get there.”

COMING TOGETHER

In May, painter Hazel Schlesinger was paired with Alexana Estate’s Tresider Burns for the first event of the series. “Dolan and Soul, along with Mark Tindle of the Museum’s Rental Sales Gallery, worked closely with participants to create pairings whose work and backgrounds resonated with each other.” Burns and Schlesinger both grew up on the Oregon coast, and their shared interest in color sparked this collaboration.

“Hazel is really focused on color, and sources color from a lot of different places. She has a paint color sourced from the soil in France,” Burns described, noting how his graduate research in Oregon State University’s Fermentation Sciences Program focused on color stability in Pinot Noir. The variety’s thin skin can challenge winemakers seeking depth of color in the glass.

“Hazel was fascinated by how we can control the color of our wines using specific methods,” he added, through leaf removal in the vineyard and various cellar techniques to influence the color.

“Winemakers consider the aroma and the mouthfeel of a wine. We can also do a great deal to control the color of the wine. That helps you enjoy it with your eyes.”

Burns was eager to share common artistic ground with Schlesinger. “You create something that speaks to you, and you hope it speaks to other people,” he observed. “I think that works with both wine and painting. Hazel uses her exploration of color to create paintings she hopes people will like. I’m trying to create compelling ferments that represent this place where we’re growing Pinot Noir, and I hope other people enjoy them.”

GAINING APPRECIATION

Both wine and art face accessibility barriers. Fear of not understanding “the rules” in either discipline intimidates many people. The Maker’s Table series hopes to dispel those hesitations.

Soul brought together her deep love of both art and wine. She hopes the series encourages exploration by introducing wine lovers to art and art lovers to wine.

Dolan looks forward to learning more about wine as she moderates the presentations. “I don’t know tons about it,” she acknowledged, “so I’m learning something new about my palate while inside the museum.”

“In the past, museums and art galleries haven’t felt particularly warm and inviting,” she confessed, with insider terms and an assumption of knowledge. “I don’t want our visitors to feel uneasy. Their questions are important, and it’s okay not to know everything. I’m a little uncomfortable myself and still learning about wine. But I love it, and am excited to partake,” continued Dolan.

The Maker’s Table series invites guests to bring openness and curiosity to the intersection of wine and art. As artists, winemakers and the rest of us gather, a new kind of cultural conversation can emerge– one rooted in craftsmanship, creativity and shared discovery.

Portland Art Museum Maker’s Table series

July 16: Antica Terra with winemaker Maggie Harrison and artist Vince Skelly. Dinner will be catered by Vibrant Table.

Aug. 20: Cristom Vineyards with winemaker Daniel Estrin and visual artist Satoko Motouji. Dinner will be prepared by Devil’s Food Catering.

Sept. 17: Soter Vineyards with winemaker Tony Soter and artist Dave Haslett. Dinner will be catered by Vibrant Table.

Tasting Experience (6 to 8 p.m.) $135

Maker’s Table Dinner (Tasting + Dinner) $295

Tickets are available at portlandartmuseum.org/event.

Greg Norton is a freelance writer in the Pacific Northwest with a broad background in nonprofit communications and the arts. He studied journalistic writing through the UCLA Extension and has traveled to wine regions around the world. Greg is a Certified Specialist of Wine and received the level two award from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. When not writing about wine, he can be found pouring it in a tasting room or wine bar near West Linn, where he lives. Read more by Greg at onthevine.blog.