By Conor Risch

This past April 23–26, reviewers and photographers gathered in Portland, Oregon, for the 2009 Photolucida Portfolio Reviews. Over the course of four days, reviewers saw work during 48 20-minute reviews with photographers, at a portfolio walk at the Portland Art Museum, and in informal reviews requested by photographers.

PDN asked three of the 2009 Photolucida reviewers to single out one or two portfolios they liked and tell us what struck them about the work, what if anything they would have changed about the project or the edit, and what they thought was the ideal context for the work. Finally we asked if the reviewer had plans to work with the photographer, or if they made suggestions about where the photographer might find exposure for their project.

Their responses will appear in three separate slide shows over the course of the next week.

First up is Ann Pallesen, gallery director at Photographic Center Northwest, who took note of Philadelphia photographer Rita Bernstein’s work at the portfolio walk at Portland Art Museum.

To read Pallesen’s impressions of Bernstein’s portfolio, please open the “Photo Gallery” link above.

Part two of the series, featuring ClampArt gallery owner and director Brian Paul Clamp's review of Sarah Malakoff's work, can be found here.

Below is the bio and description of the Photographic Center Northwest Pallesen submitted to Photolucida:

Ann Pallesen is the Gallery Director of the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, WA, a position she has held since 1996. The PCNW gallery exhibits the work of both emerging and established artists working in the photographic medium. Pallesen has curated and installed over 150 exhibitions including the work of Julie Blackmon, Elliott Erwitt, Graciela Iturbide, Chris Jordan, Mary Ellen Mark, Ken Rosenthal & Hiroshi Watanabe.  She has coordinated dozens of lectures with artists and curators, and regularly appears at portfolio review events, on panel discussions and has served as a juror for several non-PCNW exhibitions. She is an active photographer herself and is represented by Benham Gallery. Pallesen is interested in reviewing comprehensive bodies of work for exhibition.
 
PCNW MISSION
 
The mission of the Photographic Center Northwest is to advance the study, practice, and appreciation of fine art and documentary photography through education, exhibitions, and public programs that convey our passion for photography.
 
The Photographic Center Northwest Gallery exhibits contemporary fine art and documentary photography by emerging and established artists. We are interested in the dialog and exploration that comes from viewing, collecting and appreciating an artist's vision. As a fine art educational institution we curate exhibitions which challenge perceptions, tell stories and express a point of view. The work we exhibit and sell includes traditional black and white, alternative processes, color and digital media of the highest quality. PCNW features two annual members’ juried exhibitions open to all photographers.