From Portland gallery openings and studio tours to exhibitions on the Oregon Coast and in Eastern and Central Oregon, fall 2026 offers plenty of ways to see new work by local and nationally recognized artists. Here are some of the Oregon art events, exhibitions, open studios and gallery shows worth adding to your calendar this season.
Portland Metro
Whimsical Animal Portraits Fill a Pop-Surrealist Gallery, Portland – thru Oct 25, 2026
Gina Matarazzo’s colorful, wide-eyed animal portraits take over Nucleus Portland starting with an October 2 opening reception, bringing her award-winning, magic-tinged style to the gallery’s walls through the month. Nucleus Portland
A Self-Taught Sculptor’s 15-Foot Carved Ash Tree Goes on Public View, Hillsboro
After years of making carvings for private clients, Hillsboro artist Manuel Regalado is sharing his work publicly: his monumental Guendanabani — a 15-foot ash tree carved with animals including herons, beavers, frogs and other wetland wildlife — is now on view along the River Trail at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. More of his carvings are on display through October at Forest Grove’s Valley Art gallery. Regalado traces his artistic breakthrough to a 2018 epiphany on the Oregon coast that changed how he saw forms hidden in wood and stone. Oregon ArtsWatch
Portland Art Dealers Mark 40 Years of First Thursdays With a Pop-Up, Portland – Nov 22, 2026
The Portland Art Dealers Association throws its third annual Pop-Up at Building 5/NW Marine Artworks, gathering member galleries and ORVAA partners under one roof to celebrate four decades of the city’s First Thursday gallery walks. Mark the calendar now for a rare single-stop sampler of Portland’s gallery scene. PADA
Willamette Valley
16 Indigenous Pacific Northwest Artists Fill a Salem Gallery, Salem – thru Oct 25, 2026
Salem Art Association’s Bush Barn Art Center hosts the Indigenous Northwest Biennial, bringing together traditional and contemporary weaving, beadwork, painting, and photography from 16 Indigenous artists across the region — a rich, still-running show worth catching before it closes next month. Salem Reporter
Oregon Coast
An Astoria Printmaker’s Landscapes Get National TV Attention, Astoria
Native Hawaiian printmaker and painter Miki’ala Souza, who has taught art for a decade, is the subject of a new episode of the Seattle-based PBS series “Art by Northwest,” filmed at her studio and at Fort Stevens State Park. Her prints of shifting winds and clouds explore the connection between people and landscape, and the episode is streaming now at cascadepbs.org. The Astorian
Eastern/Central Oregon
Thousands of Tiny $20 Artworks Return to a Bend Museum, Bend – Oct 10-27, 2026
The High Desert Museum’s “20-Dollar Art Show” fills its galleries with thousands of miniature original works by local and emerging artists, all viewable with regular admission. The exhibition runs Oct. 10–27, with the Extravaganza kickoff Oct. 23 and additional purchase opportunities Oct. 24–25. Cascade Business News
60 Artists Paint Baker City’s Streets for an Autumn Plein Air Event, Baker City – Oct 14-18, 2026
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center’s “Brushstrokes and Byways: Autumn’s Palette” sends up to 60 juried plein air painters out across Baker City for a month-long, city-wide exhibit, capped by a downtown quickdraw competition and more than $4,000 in cash prizes. Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
