In a corner of Seattle that sees a particularly diverse crowd, BONFIRE Gallery is a cultural whirl of activity. Shoko Zama and Joan (Thornbrugh) Laage dance Butoh in the shop windows to a varying line-up of musicians. Behind them are large, gilded canvases which reflect upon that which transpires in front of them, adding a […]
Margie Livingston doesn’t just push paint around. She layers it, folds it, quilts it, weaves it, mends it, and drags it behind her on a harness. She has also explored the substrate by playing with stretchers, or weaving loosely knotted grids of string and applying paint so that the whole stiffens into structure. Her current […]
Phillip Levine’s sculptures are a sculptor’s dream. These are sculptures to learn from, more eloquent than any text and more accessible. To see the work in person is to step into an intimate space, graced with a lightness of spirit. We are invited to wander through that space, allowing our sense of gravity to lead […]
Dolan/Maxwell’s booth at the Seattle Art Fair was well laid out and well attended. Though they brought a multitude of prints, it was a sculpture by Helen Phillips that drew my attention. A direct carving, the gessoed wood of “Untitled” bears small pencil marks and other traces of its making. Although not more than 12” […]
Steve Jensen is a prominent and prolific artist on the Seattle scene, with public sculptures from Washington to Florida and China. His work is in museums in Washington and California. When I first saw his work in 1999, he was carving naturally felled logs into shapes reminiscent of a blend of Polynesian and Pacific NW […]
The Tashiro-Kaplan Building in downtown Seattle houses a variety of artist-run galleries and artist residences. 4Culture anchors a corner of the building, providing experimental gallery space and other artist services. This month, Kathryn Thibault’s installation “The Encroaching Field” leads the viewer into and through the space following the meticulously handcut vellum and other components, all […]
Weldon Butler’s show at G. Gibson Gallery reveals the hidden forces at work in Seattle. Although Weldon Butler’s artwork is in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum as well as numerous design and architectural firms, it is not well known locally and it should be. Here, he is finally brought to the foreground in […]
The Pacific Northwest suffers every year under rainy skies. Some locals soak up the darkness and put that energy into their art. A different energy emerges from Kathy Gore Fuss’ work at Prographica/KDR. She has distilled the forest onto surfaces that glow with the energy of slow, thoughtful growth. Her use of a synthetic paper […]
The Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) is showing a retrospective of Mel Katz’ work dating back to 1966. Concurrently at Russo Lee Gallery, more recent work by Katz is on display. The museum show includes a video and drawings that show traces of erasure, as well as more three-dimensional works, providing an avenue to understand […]
Bold, ambitious and packed with color, Tracy Boyd’s paintings indulge our sight, whether you linger on the drips in the paint or see the horses in the rain. These paintings shift in and out of their layers of meaning, shimmering with a kind of nostalgic looking-forward, a potential future once imagined. Boyd has stepped up […]
