Artguide Northwest -- Around the Sound

	Around the Sound: Winter 2007

by Brenda Tipton

If you haven't been to the all-new Seattle Art Museum yet, then I insist that you put this visit at the very top of your list of things to do. While the Robert Venturi-designed building at First and University is still there, it is now just a part of the new museum, and a small part at that. We have finally arrived as a first-class museum city with the opening of the new SAM extension. If you get the opportunity, take your grandchildren or children with you as they will marvel at the jazzy cars suspended from the ceiling in the entry. The restaurant is much larger and has a few items on the menu kids might like too.

SAM's big and fabulous exhibit this winter is "Gates of Paradise," three stunning panels from Lorenzo Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise," one of the most celebrated works of the Italian Renaissance, on view at SAM Downtown. According to the SAM website, this exhibition "marks the first time that the gilded bronze panels have traveled to the United States since their creation over 550 years ago. Generations of admirers have praised the monumental doors of the Florence baptistery for their compelling portrayal of scenes from the Old Testament and their innovative treatment of architectural space. After they tour four cities in the United States, including Seattle, the panels will return to Florence to be reassembled within the original doors and kept in an oxygen-free environment at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, never to leave Florence again." If everything goes as planned, the exhibit opens January 26 and will be on view through April 6.

Another must-see exhibit at SAM this winter is "Roman Art from the Louvre," opening February 21 and on view until May 11. This extraordinary selection of ancient art from Paris's famed Musée du Louvre portrays nearly 300 years of imperial Roman life and history. The exhibition includes approximately 180 pieces, many that have never before traveled to the United States, from one of the richest collections of ancient Roman art in the world.

The only museum in town open to the public at no charge is the Frye, located at 704 Terry Avenue. Opening November 3 and showing through April 6 is "Dreaming the Emerald City: The Collections of Charles and Emma Frye and Horace C. Henry." The Henrys and the Fryes are old Seattle families who were responsible for donating two important museums to this town in the days when they didn't get a tax deduction to do it. In the case of the Henry family, Horace Henry first invited people into his own home to see his art collection. Can you imagine a rich person doing that today?

On view until January 20 at the Henry Art Gallery on the edge of the University of Washington campus, is Kim Jones: A Retrospective, which shows a network interconnecting his performance, drawings, and sculpture. Children's toys such as tricycles and plastic soldiers are combined with sculptures from the 1970s--transforming them into vehicles that race around the gallery walls--life-size rubber rats, old coats swathed in built-up acrylic, and fields of star sculptures made of bundled sticks are presented alongside drawings, photographs, and collage to create what he considers a complete work of art.

Joseph Goldberg: Owl at Dusk

Joseph Goldberg, Owl at Dusk, 2005, encaustic on linen. Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery-Seattle

Patricia Piccinini: Bodyguard

Patricia Piccinini, Bodyguard (for the Golden Helmeted Honeyeater) (detail), 2004, silicone, fur, acrylic resin, timber, DVD, and monitor, 59.5" x 30" x 24" ©Patricia Piccinini. Private collection.

Mary Lee Bendolph, Blocks, strips, strings, and half squares, 2005, cotton, 84" x 81". Collection of the Tinwood Alliance. Photo: Stephen Pitkin, Pitkin Studio, Rockford, Il.

Bellevue Arts Museum says visitors are flocking to the first major survey on the photographic and conceptual work of Vietnamese and American artist Dinh Q. Lê, who creates unique woven photographic works exploring personal and cultural identities in conflict. 19 woven photographic works, 2 white-on-white embroideries and 2 multi-channel video installations, drawn from both museum and private collections nationwide, span twenty years of the artist's creativity. The exhibit is on view until December 30.

If you're down in Tacoma, be sure to see "Threads that Bind: Works by Pacific Northwest African American Quilters," on view from December 18, 2007 to February 18 at the Tacoma Art Museum. For glass lovers, make sure you visit the Museum of Glass while you're in Tacoma as there are always impressive glass exhibits.

"Love, Murder and Magic," paintings by Todd Horton will grace the walls of the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham from October 21 through April 27. With a title like that, who can resist a drive to Bellingham to see the rest of the story?

LaConner's Museum of Northwest Art has scheduled a retrospective of Paul Horiuchi's work from March 15 through June 15, so it should be convenient for you to see it during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival next spring.

"Giants in the Mountains: The Search for Sasquatch," organized by the Washington Historical Society, will be on view from October 6 through September 2008 at the State Capitol Museum in Olympia. On loan from the Maryhill Museum of Art is a prehistoric, ape-like Stone Head found in the Columbia Basin. Created especially for the exhibit is a full size mural of the legendary Dzoonokwa or Basket Women of the forests, a carved mask by renowned Native Artist Pete Peterson, Sr. and artwork by Sean Peterson. Take the whole family to Olympia for this one.

As far as the individual galleries go, make an effort to see new exhibits on opening night by attending a gallery walk. East of the lake, Kirkland has a fun gallery walk on second Thursday First Thursday in Pioneer Square, and Tacoma has one on third Thursday. There is no charge to wander from gallery to gallery, Actually, there are gallery walks in nearly every hamlet in this part of the world, so be sure to check out the events calendar at the front of Art Guide Northwest for a complete listing of gallery walks as well as art fairs and festivals.

For daily art news look for our blog on the world wide web at www.seattleartblog.com. Enjoy! --Brenda Tipton

Around the Sound: Winter 2007