Seattle Art Blog

Poulsbo’s newest gallery, Liberty Bay Gallery, located at 18830 Front Street celebrates their grand opening all day on February 11 and will be open for the Poulsbo Art Walk from 5-8pm Owner’s  Terry and Karyn Cott say they are anxious to help make Poulsbo a destination for people who love art.

Front Street Gallery, located at 18881 Front Street in downtown Poulsbo,  presents a group show in honor of Valentines Day featuring two new artists, painter Joanne Scott and the wire sculptures of Colleen Cotey. Opening reception is Saturday, February 11 5-8 pm as part of the Poulsbo Second Saturday Art Walk.

Alfred Currier’s latest show, “Glacier National Park 101” opens at the Howard/Mandville Gallery, 120 Park Lane, in a reception from 6-8pm. A visual chapbook, "Alfred Currier: Glacier National Park 101", is being released to coincide with the show, with a preface by Amy Marquis, Associate Editor for National Parks magazine. A complimentary copy will be included with the purchase of a painting. During the reception, the artist will share stories from his experiences in the park as well as his philosophy of life as an artist. The University of Washington Press, in association with Marquand Books, published Alfred Currier: Impasto, a book written by Ted Lindberg, former Curator for the Vancouver Art Gallery. Currier was the cover artist for American Artist Magazine as well as the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles over the years.  His works can be found in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. He maintains his studio and residence in Anacortes, Washington with his partner, artist, Anne Schreivogl. Shown: Glacier Park Series #22.

Paintings by Emily Gherard will be on view in the main space at Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Avenue North from  February 10 through March 4. Showing in the upstairs gallery are works by Michael Howard. In 2011 Gherard’s work appeared in Material Witness at the Shircliff Gallery, Vincennes University in Indiana.  Howard has shown in numerous museums and is a recipient of the Northwest’s Betty Bowen Award and the Milwaukee area’s Mary Nohl Fellowship in the professional artist category. The public is invited to the opening reception on Sunday, February 12 from 2-4pm. Shown: Emily Gherard, untitled (Painting_01).

Opening today from 6-10pm today at Bherd Studios, 8537 Greenwood Avenue, is “Pretty Sexy, Dirty Girly.” On view through March 2, the exhibition features Crystal Barbre, Cat Davis, Jackie Kingsbury, Jenn Brisson, Jenny Dayton,  Maggie Schneider, Sadie Beaudett, Andie deRoux, Debora Spencer, Niffer Calderwood and Siolo Thompson. Curated by Siolo Thompson, the show is a multimedia expression of all female artists addressing the topic of feminine sexuality. Another featured artist, Andie deRoux, who has worked as a model and been photographed by a wide array of fashion and fetish photographers, is also a transsexual female. deRoux brings a unique perspective to the exhibit through the opportunity to understand her unique version of feminine sexuality. In addition, burlesque performers Lyla la Coeur and Cherry Manhattan will perform during the exhibits artist opening. Burlesque and its recent explosion in popularity represent a powerful antithesis to the ‘ideal’ version of female sexuality that society typically promotes. Showing concurrently in partnership with the Bherd exhibit, is “Girls Gone Wild,” at Tasty, 713 Greenwood Avenue.

“INDULGE: jewelry marketplace” returns to Bellevue Arts Museum  for its third year from February 9 – 12. This one-weekend-only boutique jewelry event brings together the talent of twenty independent designers and, new this year, leading art jewelry galleries, all hand-picked by BAM curators. Stemming from the success over the past two years, the event has been extended by another day, giving more opportunities for visitors to acquire hand-crafted, avant-garde jewelry.

Opening tonight, from 5-8pm, is the work of Sisko Gallery’s newest artist, Andrew Myers.  Myers’ work has been showcased in Art in America, the Portland Modern, Portlandart.net, Creative Quarterly and the Eugene Weekly. Myers is also part of the viewing program at the Drawing Center in New York. The gallery is located at 3126 Elliott Avenue in Seattle.

The only U.S. stop for “Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise,” a landmark show presenting nearly 60 of Gauguin’s brilliantly hued paintings, sculptures and works on paper, opens on February 9 at the Seattle Art Museum downtown. Gauguin’s art is displayed alongside 60 major examples of Polynesian sculpture that fueled his search for the exotic. The show is comprised of works on loan from some of the world’s most prestigious museums and private collections. Get your exhibition tickets early as this show, on view through April 29, should be a blockbuster. Gauguin scholar Richard Brettell, of the University of Texas, Dallas joins Chiyo Ishikawa, Deputy Director for Art at SAM, at 7pm on opening night  in a conversation about Paul Gauguin’s placement in the pantheon of his peers. The first 100 people in line wearing yellow get in free on opening day. Also, anyone who joins SAM or renews an existing membership, will be entered to win a 7-night cruise to Tahiti. SAM is really going all out for this exhibition.

ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery Gallery, 4711 California Ave. SW, is showcasing an exhibit featuring  Alan Abdulkader, Debbie Bianchi, Shawn Foote, and Rebecca Woodhouse through March 10. The artists’ reception is February 9 from 6-7:30pm during the West Seattle Artwalk. Shown: Stock Trader by Shawn Foote.

One of the galleries whose reception was cancelled owing to the snowstorm, Simon Mace Gallery, 236 Taylor Street in Port Townsend, is extending their January show through February 27. The exhibit includes three artists who have never shown their work in Port Townsend before—David Ridgway, Sharon Kingston, and, Chris Theiss. Also included are three artists from December’s show—Victor Sandblom, a Snohomish painter, Jeff Weekley, a Port Townsend painter, and, David Eisenhour, a Port Hadlock sculptor. Shown: The Edge by David Eisenhour.

On view through March 6, Karen Hackenberg’s new work, “Strand,” opens at the Shoreline Community College Gallery, 16101 Greenwood Avenue North, on February 9 from 5-6pm with a reception and talk by the artist about the exhibit. Painting in oil and gouache, she  crafts images of commercial beach flotsam. As gyres of garbage swirl in the Pacific, plastic becomes the new sand.

“Personal Spaces,” new work by Svetlana Shalygina, opens at the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery, 800 Bellevue Way NE, on February 8 in a reception from 6-8pm. Also  on view are additional works by Ray Pelley in an exhibit titled “Color Studies in the Third Dimension.”  Gallerist Nordstrom says, “Come by for refreshing artwork, cool cocktails and great networking.” Shown: Separation Anxiety by Svetlana Shalygina.

Seattle jeweler Mary Lee Hu’s first retrospective opens at the Bellevue Arts Museum on February 7 and continues through June 17.  Featuring more than 90 exquisite earrings, rings, brooches and neckpieces, drawn from both public and private collections all over the world, “Knitted, Knotted, Twisted & Twined: The Jewelry of Mary Lee Hu” traces the artist’s early experimental designs of the 1960s to today’s creations full of light and movement.

Second Thursday

Blitz, Capitol Hill’s Art Walk from 5-8pm. More information and maps: www.blitzcapitolhill.com

West Seattle Art Walk, 6pm-9pm, Visit www.westseattleartwalk.blogspot.com.

Second Friday

Greenwood-Phinney Art Up Art Walk, 6pm-9pm, along Greenwood Ave. North from 67th-87th St. Visit http://artupgreenwood-phinneyblogspot.com/

Kirkland Art Walk 6-9pm

Second Saturday

Ballard Art Walk, 6pm-9pm. Call Ballard Chamber of Commerce at 206.784.9705. www.centraldistrictartwalk.com/.

Central District Art Walk from 1pm-5pm. at various locations around 23rd Ave & E Cherry St.

Georgetown Art Attack, 6-9pm. Visit www.georgetownartattack.com

Port Angeles Art Walk, 5-8pm. Visit www.portangelesdowntown.com/

Poulsbo Art Walk from 5-8pm. http://poulsboartwalk.com/default.aspx

February 9

ArtXchange Gallery, 512 First Avenue S., is hosting a special happy hour art event from 6-8pm featuring Rock Hushka, Curator of Contemporary and Northwest Art at the Tacoma Art Museum. Enjoy drinks, desserts, and Rock Hushka’s sneak preview of “HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.” HIDE/SEEK is the first major, national exhibition to address the question of how gender identity and sexual orientation have dramatically shaped the creation of modern American portraiture. The public is invited.

Fine Impressions Gallery, 8300 Fifth Avenue NE, honors Valentine’s Day in February with a special collection of fine prints that depict caring. The Chinese watercolor at the right is one in the selection.

Gallery Cygnus, 109 Commercial in La Conner, is featuring the work of Peter Boome, Kevin Paul and Peter Dunthorne in a show called “Natural & Supernatural: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art.” The opening reception for the artists is February 4 from 3-7pm. The show is on view through March 25.

Local Color, 1606 Pike Place, opens February 4 from 6-8pm with a group show featuring Diana Grant, George Jennings, Sarah Forbes, Dena Henry and Isabela Gabrielson. Also on view is a jewelry trunk show showcasing the work of Lois Mintzer.

The grand re-opening celebration of the Northwest Woodworker’s Gallery (formerly known as Northwest Fine Woodworking) is scheduled for February 4 from 12-5pm in their new location at 2111 First Avenue at Lenora in Seattle. The gallery is inviting the public to the unveiling of the new space in Belltown and to meet the woodworkers who keep the gallery supplied with art.  Enthusiastic woodworkers are shown at the left.

Plasteel Gallery, 3300 First Avenue S, presents Kimberly Cole Trowbridge in "Dystopia". The opening reception is February 4 from 5-8pm. The show is a selection of paintings that explore the loss of innocence through gesture and geometry, figuration and abstraction.