Quick update: This article was written in 2021. Want to read more about the new PDX?
Fresh art is coming to the Portland International Airport this fall. And much like the recently unveiled designs for the main terminal, the artists behind the new works are taking inspiration from a wide range of natural phenomena.
The artists unveiling their latest pieces this November — Perez Westbrooks, Ben Butler and DeWitt Godfrey — are each masters in their own right. All three responded to an open call from the airport for visual art commissions. Their new works are all part of the continued growth of the airport’s art program, which welcomes rising and acclaimed names to create work for gallery-like displays and unconventional installations throughout PDX’s concourses and common spaces.
Keep an eye out for these three new works when you enter the transitional space leading to the new rental car center at PDX. One piece is a series of large-scale digital art prints meant to reflect growth in the Portland region. Another is a striking wooden mural that mimics organic patterns, and the third is a massive steel honeycomb-like structure.
Here we go behind the scenes with the three artists to get to know who they are and what they have in the works.
Perez Westbrooks reflects on Portland’s growth
Perez Westbrooks' new digital arts mural at PDX comprises several panels featuring prints that are about 20 feet tall and 40 feet wide, building up to one cohesive piece. Perez, who creates art under the name Gaijin, grew up in Sacramento but now calls Portland home. His work is often inspired by Japanese culture and pop art. As a nod to his influences, his moniker is a Japanese term to describe an “outsider” or “foreigner” in Japan. “I chose the name because I grew up feeling like a foreigner in my community schools and a country that is supposed to be my own.”
Today Perez says he’s shifting away from traditional art mediums like paint and paper, and is instead choosing to take on more sculptural pieces and digital work. His bright, colorful pictures have a comics-like aesthetic and feature recurring characters like Sharkie (his original adorable shark) as well as heavy doughnut symbolism (that has garnered him work with Blue Star Donuts).
The Gaijin motto is “Forever Hungry,” and Perez says staying hungry is what propels him to taste sweet success (another cheeky nod to doughnuts). It is also the name of Perez’s online shop, which includes painted apparel and glossy resin sculptures in the shape of cartoonish donuts (one in particular is a commemorative “Dilla Donut,” inspired by American record producer and rapper J. Dilla, who passed away in 2006).
Westbrooks says his new work at PDX is “completely influenced by Portland,” adding that he used to work baggage at the airport, so he had some thoughts about what could be a unique addition to the PDX art collection. “I wanted something that would be very colorful and pop — and I mean my art already is colorful and poppy — so I knew I'd be able to make something that stands out,” he says.
The digital illustrations feature plants that are native to the Pacific Northwest. “I never really came up with an official title, but the idea of the piece is ‘Portland's growth,’” he says, adding “which should probably be the name of the art piece.” Perez says the work is also inspired by “the airport being a place that brings in people from other countries and other areas.”
“[PDX] brings a lot of influence to the city, helps the city grow and helps people see things in a different light. It's the only way to grow, so that's what the whole piece is about.”
Ben Butler brings spontaneous, organic style
Ben Butler’s portfolio sees him working with an array of semi-permanent materials, with a particular liking to wood, and an anti-design method that allows spontaneous elements and organic patterns to take over the direction of the art. Ben’s new piece at PDX is entirely wood, made with 100% recycled Douglas fir reclaimed from old Portland buildings.
“The whole concept of the piece has to do with the story of timber, and specifically Douglas fir, in the region,” says Ben. Eight feet tall by 45 feet long, and coming a few inches off the wall, the work demonstrates Ben’s fascination with the tension between micro and macro and between natural and human-made.
“If you get up close to it on a micro-level, you see all of those great growth rings and all those patterns,” he says. “Backing up, those patterns are echoed on a macro scale, carved into this giant slab. So it's kind of a whimsical play between that micro and macro.”
Since the location of the new artworks is in a “transitional space,” Ben says he knew people were mostly going to be walking by his carved wood piece, so he let movement inspire him in its creation.
“The depth of the carving results in a kind of interesting phenomenon where it reads as primarily two-dimensional, but as you pass, it shifts a little bit because it has a depth to it,” Ben explains. “So it's sort of a layered story. Obviously, Douglas firs are hugely important to the city, the state, [and] the region economically. In terms of the future, that region is kind of leading the way in thinking about how those industries can be sustainable.”
DeWitt Godfrey’s sculpture is deceptively light
Specializing in creating public art around the world, DeWitt Godfrey tends to work in permanent materials like steel, typically stacking and arranging them and letting them mimic natural circular processes like plant spores and honeycombs. His soon-to-arrive PDX sculpture “Atlas” is no different.
DeWitt’s been working on the sculpture since the end of 2020. He says it took longer than his team hoped to get started, since the airport’s “stringent seismic standards” led him to scrap his first vision and return to the drawing board.
“The piece is very large, [with] these packed loops or so underneath,” he says. “The works are also transparent. So there's a lot of volume, but there's also a lot of space in there.” In fact, the metal sculpture appears to bubble out of the floor and hold the ceiling aloft. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t!) You may find yourself circling it a few times, wondering how something so solid could look so ephemeral.
Like Ben, DeWitt was intrigued by the thought of how people encounter his new work at PDX. Some, he thinks, may be caught by surprise. “And then there's also a second floor [with] another second viewing area, too, so you can kind of look down into the piece,” he says. “It’s a really dynamic space.”
Tom Strong - Chief Executive Officer, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Skokomish Washington
"We're foresters in that we're stewards," says Tom Strong, Chief Executive Officer of the Skokomish Indian Tribe, which manages 2,000 acres of Washington forests for its 800 tribal members. "We're not cutting and planting, seeking to develop our lands into a commodity. Instead, we're doing it to restore the forest."
Over the past 100 years, the two dams on the North Fork Skokomish River have had a major impact on the entire ecosystem of Skokomish land. "We want to restore the entire Hood Canal watershed," Tom says. The forests are just one part.
Selling wood from Douglas fir trees the tribe selectively thinned will help fund this restoration. "We don't have an endless amount of money," Tom says. "But we would like to think we've got an endless amount of time."
Ben Hayes - Co-owner, Hyla Woods, Cherry Grove, Oregon
Ben Hayes is a sixth-generation forester who manages Hyla Woods, outside Cherry Grove, Oregon, with his father, Peter. He is also a sustainable-forestry consultant. At Hyla Woods, the Hayes experiment with selective thinning and patch cutting, instead of clear-cutting, to foster diversity of tree species, ages, and sizes.
"When you look 100 years out, having greater complexity in terms of species and the structure of the forest, you can increase the forest's resilience in the face of extreme weather and drought," he says.
"We're working toward a model of forestry that you could practice for the perpetual future,” Ben says. “It's a model that lifts up both rural and urban communities and the ecosystems we rely on."
Richard and Ann Hanschu - Owners, Doneen, Forest Grove, Oregon
Ann Hanschu's father first bought land outside Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1956. Ann grew up trailing her father around the forest, learning from him. The Hanschus now have three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Richard says, "We're planting trees that our grandchildren will see the profits from — not even our children. It's long-range thinking."
"A lot of the timber is older,” Ann adds. “We're laddering it with trees of different age groups — some 30-40 years old, some 10-20 years old — so the land can continue to produce a sustainable amount of wood."
Herman Flamenco - Central Cascades Conservation Forester, The Nature Conservancy, Cle Elum, Washington
"We know historically that the stands we're working on were overstocked," says Herman Flamenco, Central Cascades conservation forester for the Nature Conservancy, of the 50,000 acres outside Cle Elum, Washington, the organization manages. Thinning the trees welcomes in light and biodiversity.
Some loggers in the region worry that this low-impact approach to forestry yields less lumber, and less profit, than clear-cutting. One local outfit took on this labor-intensive challenge, selectively harvesting Doug fir trees from steep slopes.
"Western Washington is wetter. In our dry climate, there's less moisture and increased fire risk," Herman says. "As we look at climate change, it's just going to get dryer. We want to make sure we can keep our forests around."
In the 1950s, back when people wore fancy hats to the airport, PDX’s main terminal had brown terrazzo floors.
By the 1970s, blue carpet sporting the old Port of Portland logo replaced the terrazzo. The airport was so concerned about keeping the carpet clean that we banned gum-chewing indoors.
In the 1980s, PDX replaced the ski-chalet paneling in the Clocktower Plaza with high ceilings and skylights, but kept the blue carpet.
SRG Partnership, a Portland-based architecture firm, designed the pattern for the now-iconic carpet on the layout of the airport runways.
The Clocktower Plaza, post-1988, with the iconic carpet.
The Clocktower Plaza (before its demolition in 2021-22) with the new carpet.
The flexible interior spaces were designed with the future of travel in mind — and to give you plenty of comfortable spots to recharge before your next flight.
Two permanent installations from acclaimed contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto hang like clouds above the concourse’s common areas.
Shops and restaurants are clustered together like city blocks, with a pedestrian-friendly scale and lots of room to spread out.
PDX’s swanky new bar, Juliett, honors women in aviation with mid-20th-century style, top-class cocktails, and local wines and beers.
Sky-high windows fill the interior with daylight while maximizing the concourse extension’s energy efficiency.
At the east end of the concourse, a wall of windows opens up this epic view of Mt. Hood, where you’ll definitely want to pose for a photo before takeoff.
The Concourse E extension project is the dedicated home for Southwest Airlines at PDX, with six new gates.
Remember the view of Mt. Hood on Concourse E? It’s coming back, brighter than ever.
Tillamook’s menu includes the best of the classics with fried cheese curds and a signature grilled cheese.
Calliope takes its name from one of Oregon’s native hummingbirds and showcases creative and playful keepsakes.
Grab your favorite book, magazine or newspaper at Your Northwest Travel Mart.
Concourse B's 38-foot-high ceilings and 6,900 square feet of windows don't just let light in. They let you watch the airport in action. "I think this airport gave us a chance to celebrate the romance of flight," says Gene Sandoval of ZGF, the architecture firm that designed the new concourse.
ZGF Architects was inspired to bring the Pacific Northwest’s natural world indoors. You can contemplate the plants hanging from the ceiling and the Oregon white-oak walls as you relax in B’s comfy new seats. (Bonus: More power adapters!)
RYAN! Feddersen’s art installation, which fills the concourse, is made up of three interconnected pieces. The “Sentinel” landscapes and abstract “Habitat Tiles” are pictured here.
RYAN! is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. She draws inspiration from the region’s traditions and landscape for these pieces, which include the gently rolling “Cloud Walk” overhead.
Nicole and David Mouton, in partnership with HMSHost, opened an outpost of Portland’s beloved Screen Door Restaurant on Concourse B. Find Screen Door’s legendary fried chicken and waffles here from breakfast until dinnertime.
Sam and Nick Purvis, the brothers behind Good Coffee, source fresh coffee beans and teas from all over the world. Pick up a pastry or a bag of beans, too!
Our new rental car center opened in November 2021.
All rental car brands are now on-site at PDX – no more shuttles to pick up your car.
Perez Westbrooks' colorful digital mural celebrates Northwest flora.
Ben Butler's swirling wood sculpture is made from reclaimed Douglas fir.
The new facility also adds 30 ADA parking spots, more than 30 electric vehicle charging stations, and 2,200 long-term parking spaces to the airport.
Adding more lanes to our new, relocated exit toll plaza helps you leave PDX more quickly.
Every design decision we make is about keeping the heart and soul of PDX intact. You’ll see homages to all the things you love about our city and region in the new airport designs.
You’ll notice subtle nods to the Pacific Northwest landscape throughout the space. Natural light, living trees, and native Oregon foliage may give you the feeling of walking through a park.
The new terminal’s wooden ceiling, made from sustainably grown, local Doug fir, might remind you of daylight filtering through forest canopies.
This will be your new view when entering the spacious ticket lobby at PDX. The nine-acre wood roof is so distinctive you’ll be able to spot it from the air.
The ripples and currents of pristine Northwest rivers inspired the new terminal’s curvy profile.
Expanding the heart of PDX creates more space for our beloved local shops and restaurants — not to mention local humans (and visitors, too).