The coronavirus has silenced the city, but Greenhut Galleries reminds us what Portland is like in its vibrant glory with the return of the “Portland Show.”

The biennial exhibition, which can be viewed online, celebrates Portland as a social and cultural hub, as well as a community of artists that contributes to its vibrancy. This year’s show includes work from 50 artists, each with a unique perspective on Portland.

The coronavirus has forced the gallery’s closure, along with most of the rest of the city. The empty streets, midday and night, are testament to how much Portland has changed. But Greenhut is showing paintings in its street-facing windows, so people who walk by on Middle or Pearl streets get a sense of the work in person, albeit behind glass. And when Portland comes to life again and Greenhut reopens, the “Portland Show” will be up.

“None of us knows what will happen, but this show will be open to the public at some point,” Danos said. “It’s usually one of our best-attended openings and just an incredibly popular show. People really like the show and they like the concept. We get a lot of people who do not normally come into the gallery come in to see this show.”

It’s driven a spike in Greenhut’s web traffic, Danos added.

The Portland show is a biennial, with artists represented by the gallery and invited artists submitting new work depicting Portland. It always attracts a wide range of artists and styles of art. The theme is loosely about Portland. Artists are asked to submit paintings of personal importance to them that represent Portland in some way.

“We try to pick artists and balance it out between styles and what they are doing. We like to have a few abstract and others are more realist and everything in between,” Danos said.

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