Learn how the Midway Business Association helped launch a new gallery that celebrates recycled art and community, just a bit west of its business district …
Inside Bohio Studio’s Foster-Powell space, guests take in the “Soul and Movement” exhibition during the official Open House.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Neighbors, business leaders, and art lovers turned out June 28 as Bohio Studio’s “Soul and Movement” exhibition welcomed visitors into artist Hampton Rodriguez’s new gallery space in the Foster-Powell neighborhood, on SE Powell Boulevard. The Open House also introduced the public to the artist’s latest work – his studio also doubles as a gallery for ongoing cultural events.
At an easel in his Foster-Powell studio, artist Hampton Rodriguez creates a custom T‑shirt design, during Bohio Studio’s “Soul and Movement” Open House.
Midway Business Association (MBA) President Laura Martinez called the gathering part of a broader push to connect local businesses and artists across East Portland. She pointed out that the MBA has been “branching out, and collaborating with additional businesses, and other business districts” – including Bohio Studio.
Midway Business Association’s role
Martinez confirmed that the partnership with Rodriguez grew out of his long involvement with the business group. “Hampton used to be the Treasurer of the MBA, and we’ve been partnering with him and helping him get his business up and running,” she explained.
Artist Hampton Rodriguez welcomes guests to Bohio Studio’s “Soul and Movement” exhibition during the Foster-Powell Open House.
Artist rooted in two worlds
In follow-up comments, Martinez outlined how Rodriguez’s background shapes the work on display. Having grown up in the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez was deeply influenced by the contemporary abstract art movement there. After exhibiting in Spain and Belgium, he arrived in Oregon in March of 2002.
Martinez said that his focus then shifted to Portland’s “idiosyncratic” neighborhood culture – the cadence of daily life, and the friction of urban vs. rural experience – leading him to create images that tap shared feelings. Those themes run through “Soul and Movement”, blending color, texture, and narrative to reflect both his Caribbean roots and his East Portland home.
Showing art he made from recycled transit tickets, artist Hampton Rodriguez talks with guests, during Bohio Studio’s “Soul and Movement” Open House in Foster-Powell.
Recycled materials, layered stories
Rodriguez’s artist statement underscored his approach: “I create art mostly from recycled materials – using acrylic, mixed media, and collage techniques,” he explained through an interpreter. “I use discarded magazines, postcards, advertisements, and promotional materials in my work, to create a fusion between painting and background materials in the collage imagery I have chosen.”
“Bohio”, Rodriguez explained, is a Spanish word used to describe a simple and rustic hut or cabin in the Caribbean, and Central America.
A new cultural stop on Powell
Bohio Studio’s Soul and Movement exhibition offers a compact gallery filled with layered, color-rich works that invite close-up viewing. Bohio Studio is situated at 5108 SE Powell Boulevard, 97206. More information is online: CLICK HERE.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
