The Portland Art Museum is set to reopen on November 20 after a transformative nine-year, $111 million renovation project that promises to solve the institution's longtime navigation problems. The completely reimagined campus will welcome visitors back with a four-day celebration featuring free community access, marking the end of an extensive architectural overhaul that touches 100,000 square feet of space including both renovated areas and new additions.
For years, visitors to the Portland Art Museum frequently found themselves lost within the building's confusing layout, often missing entire exhibitions or buildings they had paid to see. "It was beautiful in spots, but it was a rabbit warren," says Brian Ferriso, PAM's director, describing how getting lost while trying to find the underground tunnel connecting the museum's two primary buildings had become "practically a Portland rite of passage." The tunnel connected the original Main Building, designed in 1932 by famed Portland architect Pietro Belluschi, with the adjacent Mark Building, a former 1924 Masonic temple.
The centerpiece of the renovation is the new Mark Rothko Pavilion, a stunning glass structure that adds 21,881 square feet of new space while serving as the museum's new front door. The pavilion creates an intuitive connection between the two historic buildings, eliminating the confusing underground tunnel that has been replaced by a new media gallery outside the Whitsell Auditorium. Visitors can now navigate between buildings using hallways on the four floors above ground level, as the basement no longer links the historic structures.
The pavilion honors abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, who spent his childhood in Portland after emigrating from present-day Latvia in 1913. Rothko took his first art classes at PAM and graduated from Lincoln High School, establishing his deep connection to the city. The museum will feature artwork from the collection of Rothko's children, Christopher Rothko and Kate Rothko Prizel, over the coming years, beginning with an exhibition of eight paintings from different periods in Rothko's career that opens alongside the new pavilion on November 20.
The architectural team, consisting of Portland's Hennebery Eddy in collaboration with Chicago's Vinci Hamp Architects and builder Mortenson, drew inspiration from an unexpected source: the downtown Apple store at Pioneer Place, located just eight blocks away. "I've been thinking about the impact Apple stores have had on us," Ferriso explains of the famously transparent tech retail chain. "They invited us in." This philosophy led to the pavilion being clad in custom German glass that was finished in Spain and arrived in Portland in panels as tall as 28 feet. The specialized glass is heat-resistant, remaining cool to the touch even on scorching summer days, and features white-fritted semitransparent design with small lines that birds can see, making it bird-safe.
The pavilion's design faced significant challenges in 2017 when PAM's initial sketches sparked fierce backlash from cyclists and pedestrians who were outraged that the museum planned to eliminate the Madison Street walkway between Southwest 10th and Park avenues. The walkway had served as both an open sculpture garden and a convenient east-west thoroughway, though it closed nightly. Responding to community criticism, PAM redesigned the project to incorporate a sheltered public passageway through the pavilion that will remain open 24/7, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to glimpse the museum commons and an art gallery as they pass through.
Following the model of New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, the renovated space features extensive seating throughout the commons and various areas of the pavilion. "Areas for relaxation and contemplation are really important," Ferriso emphasizes. The museum also added new outdoor plazas where visitors can enjoy fresh air, view sculptures, and take in panoramic views including the First Congregational Church spire, the famous pine tree growing on the 25th floor of the PacWest Center, and during winter months when leaves have fallen, sightlines extending all the way to the Hawthorne Bridge.
The expanded and renovated galleries will showcase nearly 300 major new acquisitions alongside items that have rarely or never been displayed publicly. Visitors can expect to see new works by prominent contemporary artists including Jeffrey Gibson, Simone Leigh, Ugo Rondinone, Wendy Red Star, Pedro Reyes, Marie Watt, and Carrie Mae Weems. Notable highlights include Portland artist Lisa Jarrett's installation "Tenderhead" on the first floor of the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art in the Mark Building, a space dedicated to artwork exploring the Black experience. Jarrett's work uses objects from beauty supply stores and salons to examine these locations as critical intersections of Black community life, with the title referencing a question many remember from childhood hair appointments: "Are you tenderheaded? It's a loaded question," Jarrett notes.
Another must-see attraction will be Pipilotti Rist's installation "4th Floor to Mildness," marking the West Coast premiere of this 2016 work by the experimental Swiss artist. The immersive experience invites visitors to lie down on raft-like beds while watching overhead projections of aquatic environments, accompanied by a chill, melodic soundtrack that can create a floating sensation for those who stay long enough. According to Rist's artist statement, the work "describes the fantasy of being an organic plant and simulates our dissolution into water, mud, slime, molecules and atoms." This unique installation will be housed in the new Crumpacker Center for New Art, formerly the library space, through January 2.
The museum's grand reopening celebration begins November 20 with a four-day festival of free community access, featuring music performances, food carts, and hands-on art-making activities. The institution has also elevated its dining options by announcing Coquelico (pronounced ko-KLEE-koh), a new cafe operated by the team behind Providore Fine Foods. The menu will feature European bistro-style offerings including toasted house loaf with ricotta and caramelized honey, Lyonnaise salad, artisanal tartines, and seasonal pavlovas.
"Food is art, and we hope that people will come and see some really beautiful art, and then sit down and have a continuation of that on the plate," explains Kaie Wellman, Providore's co-owner. While it's typically advisable to wait for opening crowds to subside before visiting new venues, the museum's winter-long programming and improved navigation make this an ideal time to explore the transformed cultural institution. As the museum's promotional materials note, there are certainly worse ways to lose yourself on a winter's day than getting absorbed in world-class art while staying warm and dry in downtown Portland.
