PORTLAND, OR.- The Portland Art Museum presents APEX: Chris Johanson, on view through May 27, 2007. APEX: Chris Johanson is the artist's first major installation in Portland and the second installation in the Portland Art Museum's series celebrating the region's most noteworthy contemporary work. This site-specific installation by the internationally known, Portland-based artist will combine paintings and drawings bearing his poignant social narrative and psychedelic abstraction with Johanson's first DIY light show. While his work is known for commenting on society's faults, the artist's activist approach is intended to connect viewers with their world and ultimately reflect positive energy and optimism.

Johanson gained worldwide attention during the 2002 Whitney Biennial. Known for combining social-political statements with a handmade, do-it-yourself, comic book aesthetic, Johanson is often credited as one of the original San Francisco skateboard and graffiti artists who helped define what is now known as the Mission School.

Although he rarely exhibits in Portland, Johanson's work has been shown extensively around the world. Recent solo exhibitions include: Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen; Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago; Jack Hanley Gallery, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Deitch Projects, New York; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; SFMOMA, San Francisco. Recent group exhibitions include the 8th Istanbul Biennial; the 4th Berlin Biennial; Beautiful Losers, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; and Baja to Vancouver: the West Coast and Contemporary Art, Seattle Art Museum.