TWO EXHIBITS YOU'VE GOTTA SEE!

In Portland right now.....

At the Art Museum, easily reached from The Fulton House by public transportation, 84 works of art by 60 of Holland's greatest painters, including the immortal Rembrandt van Rijn. These paintings, all from 17th century Dutch masters, called the country's "Golden Age," are on loan from June 2-September 16 from the 122 year-old Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. One of Rebrandt's most famous and glorious paintings, "Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul," and a master work by Govert Flinck, "The Governors," are perhaps the most prominent in the collection. These paintings will visit only two other U.S. cities while the Dutch museum is under extensive renovation.

The other outstanding exhibit, entitled "Body Worlds 3," is at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) from June 7-October 7. The 23,000 square-foot display will permit crowds (expected to reach 850,000 over the three-month run) to enjoy and contemplate the wondrous inner workings of our physical selves. You'll also be able to understand the ill affects of tobacco or a steady diet of Big Macs and fries. According to "Portland Monthly" magazine, anatomist, artist and exhibit creator Gunther von Hagens infused actual human remains with plastics and resins, and rendered them in a variety of dynamic poses -- on a skateboard, in ballet shoes, dancing in pairs -- to highlight muscle groups and organ functions. Pardon the pun, but the exhibit will give you an unusual insight into "the heart of the matter."