Many of the artists currently exhibiting in “In the Process” at Hellion Gallery in Portland are process-oriented rather than driven by goals. Founder and owner Matt Wagner and guest curator Monica Choy put together a group of artists, both international and domestic, underground and well-known, and gave them sketchbooks. Using the returned books, a show was created that allows a glimpse into the creative process as well as artworks in their raw state. Some of the exhibiting artists include Souther Salazar, Stella Im Hultberg (Hi-Fructose Collected 3), Edwin Ushiro, Keita Morimoto, Fumi Nakamura, Rachell Sumpter and more. The show opened May 2, and runs through June 1 at Hellion Gallery. Take a look at some artwork and opening night photos after the jump!

This week, May 16-19, San Francisco will play host to a variety of galleries for the annual art fair ArtPadSF in the Phoenix Hotel. Each gallery is given a hotel room with a pool-side view to set up shop, and visitors can stroll from room to room to see what each art space has to offer. This year’s iteration of ArtPad is packed with special events, including a Tumblr Arts Summit, performances by Bay Area synchronized swim team Tsunami Synchro in the pool at the center of the hotel’s architecture, panels, tours, discussions and more. Some of the exhibiting galleries this year include Spoke Art, New Image Art, Gauntlet Gallery, moniquemeloche, Beta Pictorus Gallery and others. Take a look at a sneak peek of artwork after the jump!

Italian artist Dirittura d’Arrivo created an art installation depicting the disaster of a flight torn apart and frozen in midair. This intricately detailed scene complete with people, seats, and luggage, is entitled Integrity of Arrival. He used sinterized nylon to create this eerie installation. See closeup details of the exploding plane and more of his installations after the jump!

Jeremy Enecio‘s dimly lit paintings and illustrations take viewers into a ritualistic space that doesn’t seem to belong to any specific cultural setting. Placid, empty-eyed characters appear statue-like; their actions, however simple, appear secretive and significant. The spaces they find themselves in glow with color-saturated light as they enact these inexplicable behaviors. Enecio chooses to cultivate suspense, allowing us to fill in these people’s stories with our own imaginations. Enecio has three new works up in “Vanguard” group show currently on view at Thinkspace in Culver City. Take a look at more of Enecio’s latest work after the jump.

Although the show is titled “Wider Than a Postcard” it can really only be described as an embarrassment of riches. Curator Sven Davis (of Arrested Motion) started with a simple idea: gather a collection of more than 200 of contemporary art’s best and brightest (including Aaron Nagel, Adam Wallacavage, Amy Casey (HF Vol. 5), How & Nosm, Hush, Josh Keyes (Hi-Fructose Collected 3 cover artist), Kevin Cyr, Know Hope, Mark Dean Veca (HF Vol. 23), Robert Hardgrave (HF Vol. 8), Syliva Ji (HF Vol. 16), Rone and too many others to name), have them make art on 4″ x 6″ postcard and let the chips fall where they may. Because of the size and geometric spacing, the show was digestible without being overwhelming despite the viewer being deluged by more than 400 pieces of art of all types and styles. The show opened on May 2 at Breeze Block Gallery and runs through June 1.

A trained painter, Cayce Zavaglia creates portraits from wool thread using an embroidery method she developed to mimic the effect of drawing and painting. Her realistic portraits nod to the mechanized precision of photography but also pay homage to handmade crafts with their tactile qualities. Because of her unique embroidery method, Zavaglia’s portraits can be viewed as distinct artworks from either side. The clean portraits on the front sides appear fractured and abstracted from the back. Each piece takes about eight weeks to complete, and Zavaglia says that the backs of the portraits have inspired a forthcoming series of gouache paintings. Zavaglia currently has work up in the three-person show “String Theory” on view at Scott White Contemporary Art in La Jolla, CA through June 1. Take a look at some of Cayce Zavaglia’s works after the jump.