Adam Sorensen

Biography
Adam Sorensen (b. 1976) paints fantastical landscapes that are formed by an intuitive process. Rather than predetermining a composition, Sorensen paints elements as they unfold. His signature style is inspired by imagination, 19th-century romanticism, Japanese woodcuts, the Hudson River School, abstract expressionism, and painters of the American West.

Adam Sorensen has shown widely and is in many collections including the Portland Art Museum, Boise Art Museum, and Meta Platforms. His work has been written about in Art Forum, Juxtapoz, and The Huffington Post, among others. Sorensen studied at Alfred University in New York and at Studio Art International in Florence, Italy. The artist lives and works in Portland, OR.

The scenes I end up composing, function as both utopian and eerily post-apocalyptic, both of which can be seen metaphorically as social concerns in contemporary life. By inviting the viewer in visually, I ask them to recall where we have been, explore where we are now, and confront where we may be headed. —Adam Sorensen

Education
1999
Post Baccalaureate Certificate, painting, Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy

1998
BFA Sculpture, School of Art and Design at Alfred University, Alfred, NY

Solo Exhibitions
2024
Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle, WA
Adam Sorensen • Edges, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

2022
Water Color, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2020
Skeleton, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2017
Places, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2015
New Paintings, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
In Situ, Cult Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA

2014
Calderas, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA

2013
The Optimist, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2012
Honey from the Sky, Yogurt from the Mountaintop, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
VOLTA NY, New York, NY

2011
APEX project space, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR

2010
New Westerns, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2009
Waterwegen, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA

2008
False Fjords, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Hinterland, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA

2007
The Glows, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR

Group Exhibitions
2024
Momentum: New Work in the Collection, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
Work After Work, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2023
Vantage, Good Mother Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
You belong among the wildflowers, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Wonder Rooms, curated by Anna Fidler, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

2022
The Dreik and Michael Zirinsky Gift, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT

2021
The Color of Breathlessness, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2018
Space Rocks, Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, WA
Encounters, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2017
Dislocation, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2016
A Stand of Pine in a Tilled Field: 21 years at PDX, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2015
CHRONODRIFT, The Lumber Room, Portland, OR

2014
Mountain, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR

2013
Thinking Like The Universe, K Imperial Fine Art, San Francisco, CA

2012
True Places, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA

2011
Wild Kingdom, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX

2010
Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA and Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, OR

2009
Out of Bounds: Art from the collection of Driek and Michael Zirinsky, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
Considered Space, Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, WA

2007
Weirding and the Uncanny, Newberg Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, SCOTLAND
High Five, Juried Exhibition, The CW, Los Angeles, CA
It’s all about Maps, Beppu Wiarda Gallery, Portland, OR

2006
Fresh, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR

2005
6th Annual Young Painters Competition, Hiestand Galleries, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2004
Introductions, Seattle Art Museum Rental and Sales Gallery, Seattle, WA

2003
Core Sample, Portland, OR
Oregon Biennial, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR

Collections
4Culture, Seattle, WA
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
The CW, Los Angeles, CA
Meta Platforms, Inc.
The Nines, Portland, OR
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Fine Art at Utah State University, Logan UT
Oregon Health Sciences University
City of Portland
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Progressive Insurance
Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Westfalisches Industriemuseum, Glashutte Gernheim, Germany

Press
2022
Hale, Corianton, Adam Sorensen’s Supernatural Sensibilities, The Stranger, October 3
Gifford, Ashley, Portland Art Galleries, a Reintroduction, Portland Mercury, September 12
Costello, Lindsay, VizArts Monthly: TBA and Beyond, Oregon ArtsWatch, September 1

2019
Scott, Gabe, Adam Sorensen: The Electric Light Landscape, Juxtapoz, Winter 2020

2017
8 arts picks, The Oregonian, November 9

2016
Dalton, Trinie, Diary: Pacific Objects, ARTFORUM, August, 12

2015
Speer, Richard, It used to be Better, Favorite Shows, Willamette Week, April 1

2012
Stouffer, Hannah, Juxtapoz New Contemporary, (book) Juxtapoz Art and Culture Magazine

2011
Motley, John, Adam Sorensen’s landscape of abstract reality opens at the Portland Art Museum, The Oregonian, September 15
Speer, Richard, At the APEX: With his fantastical landscape paintings, Adam Sorensen is on the cusp of breakout success, Willamette Week, September 14 [cover image]
Into the Land, Out of Language, PORT, September 2

2010
Speer, Richard, Best of 2010, Willamette Week, p31, December 29, January 4
Speer, Richard, Adam Sorensen: ‘New Westerns’ at PDX Contemporary Art, art ltd., Nov/Dec
Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment [exhibition catalog], University of Washington Press
Speer, Richard, Top Summer Shows You Can Still Catch, North and South, The Huffington Post, September 14
Speer, Richard, Adam Sorensen at PDX Contemporary, Visual Art Source, September 10
Adam Sorensen, Nick Blosser, WW Pick, Willamette Week, September 1
Row, D.K., September First Thursday: Critic’s Picks, The Oregonian, September 1

2009
Zevitas, Steven T., New American Paintings, vol. 14, issue 6, The Open Studios Press, December 2009/January 2010.

2008
Motley, John, A Year In Review, The Portland Mercury, December 23
Motley, John, Updating the Sublime, The Portland Mercury, December 16
Hicks, Bob, Gallery watch: The Pearl District’s imaginary landscapes, The Oregonian, December 12
Libby, Brian, Pop traits inform artist’s landscapes, The Oregonian, December 4
Hackett, Regina, Painters at Different Stages of Their Careers Show Strong in Three Exhibits, Seattle Post Intelligencer, February 7
Jahn, Jeff, Portland Openings in Seattle and New York, PORT, January 10
Row, D.K., Shows of Note, The Oregonian, January

2007
Pagel, David, High 5: Emerging Art in America [exhibition catalog], CW Television Network (publisher)
Motley, John, Adam Sorensen, Portland Mercury, March 8-14
Jahn, Jeff, Adam Sorensen’s ‘The Glows’ at Elizabeth Leach Gallery, PORT, March 7

2004
Zevitas, Steven T., New American Paintings, vol. 8, no. 6., (back cover photo), The Open Studios Press, January

2003
Oregon Biennial [exhibition catalog], Portland Art Museum

Press Release
2024 Adam Sorensen • Edges at Richard Levy Gallery