Sidestreet Arts is delighted to have a one-man featured show, “Werkstatt” with Gregory Hergert. An extremely gifted and dedicated painter, Hergert is a local artist, living and working in SE Portland. He is also one of the founders of Brassworks Gallery and has invented a form of Urban Surrealism Art Movement which captures the grittiness of the city with a unique sense of humor. In his form of Urban Surrealism, he is both a master of light and shadow and realism, making him a formidable painter. Hergert has had a huge impact on the art community and has influenced many younger painters in the Portland area.
Hergert was born in Corvallis, relocating with his family to Madison, NJ at the age of 17. After graduating with his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, his career as an illustrator took him to Manhattan where his ability to illustrate stories on demand was forged based on the daily job deadlines he was under. He still applies that skill every day when making his art.
Hergert’s life took a turn when he moved to Pennsylvania to take on the role of full-time caregiver for his mother as her health deteriorated. This life-altering experience began to implement changes in his creative thinking, and over time he began a gradual shift toward a career in fine arts which was perfectly timed with the growth of the Pop and Lowbrow art movements online.
After the passing of his mother, Hergert met his wife, Robin, and moved to Portland. He secured an art studio in the then un-gentrified part of the inner city, finding inspiration in gritty, urban life. That influence crept into the art he created and he began to focus more on the movement of life in the city surrounding him, eventually leading to the foundation of the Urban Surrealism Art Movement.
The show runs Thursday, October 31-Saturday, November 30 and Hergert will be in house for the First Friday Artwalk, 5-7 pm. Sidestreet Arts, 140 SE 28th Ave., is open Thursday-Sunday, 12-5 pm.
