Short Summary of Our Swing Through Seattle

Our trip to Seattle was a whirlwind of mountains and sea and lovely people and awesome art. We spent our tourtist time heading up to Whidbey Island, so we missed the Space Needle and Experience Music Project (photo to right was taken through a bus window). We didn't get to see anywhere near as much art as we had hoped, but we were thrilled by what we did see. In addition to some spectacular collections we got to a number of galleries in Pioneer Square, where everyone was incredibly generous with their time and information, making us feel very welcome (we can't thank you enough!). Here's a quick summary of the exhibitions we did catch:

Greg Kucera explained that the two-person exhibition at his space was a bit unusual for him. Being a huge fan of Bourgeois's multiples and always delighted to spend some time viewing anything by Matisse, we were happy to you catch this anomaly. Greg (pictured at left) was very gracious and we bonded over a shared nightmare dealing with another dealer (not from NY or Seattle). We had hoped to get together for coffee the following day, but our respsective schedules ended up making that impossible. Kucera Gallery boasts an incredible list of important modern and contemporary artists. I have immense respect for dealers who know how to mix art historically important artists with those who have yet to make it into the history books. It displays a passion for art that transcends fashion. Greg is a prince in this realm. Here's a shot of his gorgeous space:

Unfortunately, we didn't catch James Harris in his gallery, but his colleague Todd Simeone (who is also an artist) was kind enough to spend some time initiating us to the emerging scene in Seattle. The exhibition in the space of large pen and ink on paper pieces by Keith Tilford is elegant and the work is remarkably well priced (hint, hint, collectors in the area). Here's a shot of Todd in the gallery with a piece by Keith behind him:



We were already in love with (and in eternal debt to) the awesome folks at Platform Gallery. Not only are a few of their artists friends, but they were the organizers behind the Aqua Art Fair in Miami, which remains the single most pleasurable art fair expierience we've ever had. The trio of Blake Haygood, Stephen Lyons, and Dirk Park are the brains and heart behind the program, but we were missed Stephen and Dirk unfortunately. We loved the installation by Matt Sellars and Blake (see below) was a charming host:



Of all the spaces I discovered at the Aqua fair, the most impressive for sheer creative energy was the artist-run space Soil Art Gallery. I had that same experience when entering their gallery, where a group exhibition of work by their new members, Satomi Jin, Isaac Layman, and Chauney Peck blew my socks off (well, only figuratively speaking...it was too cold to walk around sockless, but I loved the show). We were greeted by two artists/members (seen below), Margie Livingston and Brian Murphy (who just had an exhibition at Winston Wachter Fine Art that we were sad to miss, but heard many folks rave about).

We ended our tour of Pioneer Square galleries at the beautiful Howard House gallery. We had had the pleasure in Miami of meeting HH's class-act associate director Gary Owen (see below with sculpture by Seattle superstar Lauren Grossman). Gary spoke so eloquently about Lauren's work, we wanted to stay all day. Like all the folks we met in our tour, Gary made us feel welcome and we truly appreciated it. Thanks to all!