On the first Thursday of every month, hundreds of people head to Pioneer Square to view the latest art shows. Seattle’s oldest neighborhood is home to dozens of galleries. First Thursday showcases new exhibitions and artists from 6 to 8 p.m.
Parking is free for artwalk visitors at Frye Garage (117 3rd Ave S), Butler Garage (114 James Street), and 450 Alaskan (450 Alaskan Way - entrance on King Street).
Arts reporter Lisa Edge shares the following suggestions for what to check out during your self-guided tour.
“Re-Thinking Digital Nature” at SOIL
“Re-Thinking Digital Nature” is a group exhibition curated by Leah St. Lawrence. Participating artists include Coley Mixan, Elizabeth Mputu and Richie Brown
From the gallery: “When our bodies and the earth become digital avatars of what was once tangible we end up rethinking these connections — which have now become virtual. How do we heal today? Digital artists Richie Brown, Coley Mixan, and Elizabeth Mputu explore the themes of health, humor, the body, and emotional prosperity in their newest works as our experience of ‘the digitized’ becomes integral to our everyday lives.”
WHAT: “Re-Thinking Digital Nature”
WHEN: First Thursday 6 – 8 p.m. Runs until Sept. 28
WHERE: SOIL, 112 3rd Ave S., Seattle
“Alla Goniodsky – In Between” and “Chin Yuen – Fantastic Journeys” at ArtXchange gallery
From the gallery: “Alla Goniodsky’s new body of abstract paintings, In Between, explores liminal spaces in her memories — the borders between dream and wakefulness, concrete and abstract, known and unknown. Expanding upon the narrative works she is known for, these deeply emotional and atmospheric oil paintings evoke hazy remembrances of landscapes from the past, leaving room for the viewer to connect to their own personal narrative. Goniodsky is a Russian-born stage designer, puppet-maker, painter and sculptor. After studying at the State Academy of Art and the St. Petersburg Theatrical Academy, she enjoyed a successful career as a theatrical designer. Now residing in the Pacific Northwest, she is a full-time artist and private art instructor.
“Through extensive travel and having called seven countries her home, Chin Yuen’s abstract paintings are evocative of diverse cultures and aesthetics. In “Fantastic Journeys,” Yuen takes the viewer beyond physical destinations and into realms of personal translation and creativity. Yuen, an internationally recognized and award-winning painter, was born in Malaysia and studied in Singapore and England before moving to Canada.”
WHAT: “Alla Goniodsky - In Between” & “Chin Yuen – Fantastic Journeys”
WHEN: First Thursday 5 – 8 p.m. Runs until Sept. 21
WHERE: ArtXchange Gallery, 512 First Ave S., Seattle
“Salish Brilliance: Dan Friday & Maynard Johnny, Jr.”
From the gallery: “Dan Friday (Lummi Nation) has been working in glass for decades, and makes sculpture informed by the anthropological and historic objects made and used by his ancestors. His “woven” mosaic glass baskets are tributes to the weavers of the Lummi, while his small glass totemic sculptures are a testament to the Lummi totem carvers, including his great-grandfather, Joseph Hillaire.
“Maynard Johnny, Jr. (Penelakut/Kwakwaka’wakw) uses bright color and bold design to interpret his dual Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw heritage through his prints, paddles and paintings. He is first and foremost a painter; his designs exhibit clarity, confidence, motion and grace. The ultimate success and transcendence of both Northern and Salish art hinges on an understanding and clarity of line, and this is something he has proven time and time again.”
WHAT: “Salish Brilliance: Dan Friday & Maynard Johnny, Jr.”
WHEN: First Thursday, 6 – 8 p.m. Runs until Sept. 30
WHERE: Stonington Gallery, 125 S Jackson St., Seattle
“Girlfriends of the Guerrilla Girls” at Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA)
“Girlfriends of the Guerilla Girls” is a group exhibition featuring feminist artists Ann Leda Shapiro, Sheila Klein, Alice Dubiel, Hanako O’Leary, Cecilia Concepción Alvarez, C. Davida Ingram, Dawn Cerny, E.T. Russian, and Deborah Faye Lawrence with collaborator Rachel J. Siegel.
From the gallery: “Alongside this amazing talent, we are elated to include posters of the internationally-acclaimed group of anonymous women that go by the moniker, Guerrilla Girls (yes, THOSE Guerrilla Girls). As per ‘Lee Krasner’ in a Q&A from their book, Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls, they wear gorilla masks in public to ‘join a long tradition of (mostly male) masked avengers like Robin Hood, Batman, The Lone Ranger, and Wonder Woman’ to keep the conversation about the inequity of women vs men in museums and galleries at the forefront in place of their individual art or what lipstick they might not be wearing. Artwork in the show ranges from images previously censored by the Whitney Museum of American Art, crocheted body-centered pieces, reproductive and seed installation, feminist content collage and video, clay in-your-face vaginal vessels, powerful mujeres/madre imagery, identity/gender exploration, invisibility/visibility watercolors, comics, and hot off the press new, as well as old — but sadly still timely — classic posters created by the Guerrilla Girls.”
From 6 to 8 p.m. on First Thursday the featured artists will talk about their works. From 8 - 9 p.m. the gallery will have a special secret celebrity guest visit, who will be autographing bananas.
WHAT: “Girlfriends of the Guerrilla Girls”
WHEN: First Thursday, 6 – 9 p.m. Runs until Sept. 21
WHERE: CoCA, 114 Third Ave S., Seattle
Lisa Edge is a Staff Reporter covering arts, culture and equity. Have a story idea? She can be reached at lisae (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Lisa on Twitter @NewsfromtheEdge
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Read the full August 28 - September 3 issue.
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