Karyn Shearer.

KARYN IS NOT SO EASY TO DESCRIBE, but she's very hard to miss. Audacious comes to mind--tattoos, pigtails, glasses, old school shoes, and about to run you over--her skateboarding is well rounded. She likes pools and gnarly stuff, like Donald and West Linn the best, but can be occasionally found at underground street spots and techy wood parks. Her art can hit you like a ton of bricks, dissecting the most uncomfortable aspects of gender, society, religion, and politics. Or it can be about a really nice pool in the most luscious, subtle gradations of value. Her sarcastic post- post-pop culture critiques are almost inscrutable to the adult establishment but they are hilarious to the youth, and appreciated by the more discerning and provocative local curators and patrons. My favorite Karyn Shearer series is about mesh hats. Think Andy Warhol and Campbell's soup, but substitute Karyn Shearer and mesh hats. It made me happy walking into the gallery and seeing a huge mesh hat emblazoned with "BAD COP! NO DONUT." The mixture of bright colors, kind of a hick style, and a Gulf War protest slogan was, like I said, hilarious.