Ladies and gentlemen, you may not think of this western corner of Seattle as Art Central, but I assure you, yours is a neighborhood where there's art for connoisseurs and collectors of all tastes and pocketbooks as well as for the neophytes willing to learn. Take a look at just three current exhibitions to get a sense of what we have.
So you don't have much money but you want art on your walls. Don't think you have to settle for those pre-framed, cheap prints on sale by the thousands at retail stores. For you, there's original art available, in your price range, at MPSR Gallery at 3202 15th Ave. on the corner of Dravus.
Jon Reilly, who opened the gallery about two years ago, set it up to feature his own work and that of his artist friends. The current exhibition consists of acrylic layouts on paper by the artist VBlast. These are preliminary works for his larger canvas and Masonite pieces. They consist of bright swirls of color and pattern that fall somewhere between representational and abstract art. The works are about 18 by 24 inches and cost only $50 each.
The gallery doubles as a studio for Reilly, and he's there most days working on his own paintings and sculptures as he gets ready for a show of his work in June. But, just in case he's walking the dog when you drop by, call first - 263-9003 - to make sure you and he will be there at the same time.
Up Queen Anne Hill from the MPSR Gallery is the Fountainhead Gallery at 625 W. McGraw St. The artists whose works are displayed here are more advanced in their careers, and most have already achieved national acclaim. Fountainhead's current exhibition features 22 small to medium-sized works and one elephantine piece by Seattle artist Louise Britton.
Her realistic oil paintings have a surreal edge. Everything is perfectly rendered, but somehow the placement is odd or the juxtapositions are surprising. These are paintings that you don't want to rush by. There's one of a large tapir in a carefully manicured garden. The portrait of a baboon family looks as if it might have been photographed by Yousuf Karsh.
My favorite is a rendition of Adam and Eve. The apple tree and snake are there, but the tree trunk is wrapped in Christmas lights, and there's a ring of barbed wire around it. Eve has a pierced navel. Adam has a tattoo. The animals around the couple suggest it's a peaceable kingdom, but what's that discarded truck tire doing there? Britton's works sell in the $1,500 range.
In addition to the Britton show, Fountainhead is exhibiting nine brilliantly colored acrylics by Paul McCall, who loves koi and paints them and the waters in which they swim to marvelous effect. On display also are a number of the stoneware animals by popular Queen Anne artist Bill Evans, as well as some bronzes and porcelain vessels by other artists.
This gallery is especially known for the basket artists it represents. Right now there's an eclectic assemblage of baskets by a number of these artists just inside the door. Made from unusual as well as standard basket material in expected as well as surprising shapes, they are well worth attention. You can learn more about these exhibits by calling 285-4467.
The final show to mention today is at the Experience Music Project. This is an exhibition of works from Paul Allen's private collection, and they definitely aren't for sale. But not to worry, you probably couldn't afford them anyway. These are by the grand masters of the past 400 years. There's one J.M.W. Turner on display. A similar but smaller piece by Turner sold at Christie's auction house last week to Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn. Its price? $35.8 million.
So, no, Allen is not displaying his collection for sale. He and his guest curator, Paul Hayes Tucker, have selected these works and presented them in this unusual venue in an effort to introduce nontraditional audiences as well as the customary art-museum crowd to masterworks that are almost never seen by the public.
There's a marvelous introductory film presentation that employs humor as well as 3-D effects to provide an abbreviated Art Appreciation 101 course. It advises the viewer to use his own judgment, to try to figure out what the paintings and photographs are saying and how the artists are saying it. Then it offers pointers about how to make those educated judgments. The film never talks down to the visitors as it leads them to a better understanding of art and thus a higher level of enjoyment than might otherwise be likely.
The exhibition, called "Double Take," consists of 28 works grouped in twos, threes and fours. Initially, most of the groupings appear to have nothing in common, but, with the background provided by the film and an audio guide, visitors actually look closely rather than glance at the works and begin to notice texture, style, color, cultural content. It's an effective strategy to teach the uninitiated about art. For the sophisticate there's the fun of questioning the pairings and deciding how else they might have been juxtaposed. For everybody there's the joy of seeing some extraordinary works of art.
Seurat, Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Picasso, Lichtenstein, Ernst, de Kooning - all there. There's also an absolutely exquisite depiction of Venice's Grand Canal by the king of painters of Venice, Canaletto. That one's matched with three other paintings: a Manet, a Monet and the Turner (whose value we can estimate from the recent Christie's sale). And speaking of Monet, one of his ethereal water-lily paintings is in the show. The best of Monet's water lilies are in Paris at the Marmottan Museum, but the one at EMP is awfully good. You can almost see those flowers move along the surface of the water as you look down into its depths.
EMP is open seven days a week. Call 1 877-EMPLIVE for further information.
From emerging artists to established masters, you can find them all in our community right now. What's more, these are only three of our many art venues.
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