Seattle Art Blog - News, Discussion, and Events

Apr 29, 2006 Surely you know by now that the only museum in the area devoted solely to Northwest artists is the Museum of Northwest Art In La Conner.  Currently on view is "Wordless Stories," featuring works in several media, by artists who are telling a personal story. Featured artists in this group exhibit are Mark Bennion, Pat DeCaro, Drake Deknatel, Randy Hayes, and Catherine Eaton Skinner." Read the Lucia Enriquez review of the exhibit in the Seattle Times. 

Apr 27, 2006 In a report just released by the Pew Research Center, internet use continues to increase by leaps and bounds, particularly by households with college educations and making over $75,000 per year.  91% of the adult population in that category use the internet and a majority have a broadband connection.  By way of contrast, 53% of adults making less than $30,000 go online. Only 32% of adults 65 and older use the internet, so if you're over 65 and reading this, you are most certainly young at heart, educated and smart as a whip. I'll bet you have a great art collection too!

Apr 26, 2006 Sue Peters interviews Michael Darling who was recently appointed SAM curator of modern and contemporary art. One of the key things he said to her was, "I'd like to increase the profile of SAM on an international and national stage." We'd all like to see that happen, and Mimi Gates says he'll have "the freedom to fly." You can read Sue's article in the Seattle Weekly.

Earlier in the month  The Stranger's Jen Graves interviewed Darling in a web exclusive.

Apr 25, 2006 And they're making it tough on anyone seeking bargains at auction. Case in point: two Chinese famille rose bottleform vases estimated to go for $400 to $600 went for $545,000 at Northeast Auctions. Read all about it in Forbes Magazine, but you do have to register in order to read it. I've been reading Forbes for years hoping to learn how to make money in the stock market -- uh, it hasn't worked yet.

Apr 25, 2006 President Hu is hoping to bring his country into the 21st century and make nice with the world as evidenced by the recent hugging of a Boeing employee and dinner with Bill Gates. However, things are not quite so cozy with contemporary artists in Beijing's Dashanzi art district. Read all about it in the UK's Guardian.

Apr 25, 2006 The hard copy of Art Guide Northwest is now out and being distributed throughout Western Washington as we speak. Follow the bolded link for the web version. For the first time you can download a 4.5 mb pdf file and have the entire booklet on your hard drive for future reference. For those of you with a dsl or modem connection, it will take less than a minute, but for those of you who still live in the dark ages of dialup, it will take considerably longer. Art Guide Northwest is a complete directory of art galleries, museums and antique dealers in Western Washington. Every single gallery who has been in business for one year or longer is listed at no charge under the appropriate city directory heading. 

Apr 18, 2006 Yesterday afternoon the Seattle Art Museum sent out a press release announcing the purchase of Cai Guo-Qiang's, "Inopportune:Stage One," an exhibit involving nine Ford Tauruses suspended from the ceiling and flying through the air.  Apparently former modern art curator Lisa Corrin saw the work and convinced Mimi Gates that buying it was the right thing to do. SAM trustee Robert Arnold forked over the money. Regina writes about it  and has a picture in this morning's Seattle P.I. There's no question it will be dramatic and very different, but it looks kind of like it would be more at home at a museum in Detroit?

Apr 17, 2006 Is "Chihuly victimized by his own success?" asks Regina Hacket. In an excellent in-depth article she examines Chihuly's career, his recent legal troubles and a host of fascinating insights into the man himself. Read it in the Seattle P.I. After you read this article and the two accompanying pieces in the sidebar, you'll know why Regina is the queen of art writers in this town.

Apr 16, 2006 I don't  know if you're following the trial and story about Marion True, former antiquities curator at the Getty, but I can't get enough of it. Furthermore, when and if a book about all this is published, I'm going to be first in line to buy it at Amazon.com, and I'll definitely go see the movie. Here's another twist from the New York Times today. This  time it involves Greek shipping heiress Dimitra Papadimitriou whose brother, Christo Michailidis, was a partner of Robin Symes, the London dealer who sold many of the questionable antiquities to Marion True. 

Apr 15, 2006 Do you ever read Carolyn Zick's Studio Notebook? For some reason I discovered her page when she was in Iceland and looked forward to her daily ruminations which weren't even particularly upbeat at the time as she sounded homesick. Her ability to draw the reader in as witness to thoughts running though her head is captivating. Anyway, to make a short story longer, I've pointed toward her site today as she brings up a time past and a 17-year old article by Regina Hackett who predicted the gentrification of Belltown would be the end of cheap space for artists. Of course, all came true. Carolyn says she's starting a "Recollected Seattle," a series of articles examining previous eras of the Seattle art world. It should be most entertaining and informative.

Apr 13, 2006 The Stranger has two writers opining on the Paul Allen collection currently on view at the Experience Music Project. Jen Graves discusses the content while Annie Wagner examines form. Although Graves is less than impressed with the presentation, she waxes enthusiastically over "individual treasures"  Annie Wagner maintains that curator Paul Hayes Tucker has, with his compare and contrast art history style, unleashed the secrets of the art critic trade.

Apr 10, 2006 You read about it here first compliments of Steven Michael Vroom. University of Washington professor and Seattle artist Reily Brewster has just been selected for inclusion in the prestigious National Academy's 181st. Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art.  Go to Art Radio to hear the details.

Apr 8, 2006 I just read this article by Lynn Jacobson in the Seattle Weekly who rounds up  various critics and curators in town for their opinions on the use of EMP for the Paul Allen collection, "Double Take." Frankly, I don't think there has even been an exhibit in town where the people who write about art are so obsessed with quoting each other. Readers would be best served if they just talked about the art.

Apr 3, 2006 Writing for the Seattle Times, Sheila Farr says, "What's great art like you doing in a place like this?" She goes on to be impressed with the quality of the art but unimpressed with using the Experience Music Project venue. Read what she has to say, go see the show as soon as it opens, and judge for yourself.