Staff Picks
With long days and warm temperatures, summer is a great time to visit cool art spaces in Seattle. Here are some suggestions for what to see in July — a handful of noteworthy exhibitions that emphasize a search for community and the creative potential of relationships. Check them out, possibly with a friend or two!
“MAD STUDIO”
This really is a last-chance scenario. Our last chance to see MadArt Studio, the lovely South Lake Union space — which is closing — that has fostered so much original site-responsive art and our last chance to see MadArt’s final exhibition. Since Alison Wyckoff Milliman founded MadArt in 2009 (in Madison Valley, hence the name), the organization had several nomadic iterations before moving to a redesigned space in South Lake Union in 2014. It has been brilliantly stewarded by MadArt director and curator Emily Kelly since 2017.
For the farewell exhibition, all 84 past MadArt artists were invited to propose works that “referenced, extended, or resonated with their original MadArt creations.” The resulting 51 works from local, national and international artists — in a delectable array of medium and form — by 56 artists are an exuberant testament to the creative variety and vitality that MadArt has ignited over the years.
Through July 13; MadArt Studio, 325 Westlake Ave. N., #101, Seattle; free; 206-623-1180, madartseattle.com
“Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century”
A lot of scholarship has centered on Paris as a creative mecca for Black Americans, but this is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine the stories and creative legacies of African American visual and performing artists who sought inspiration, escape and community in the Nordic countries. The paintings, photographs, textiles, film, music and dance performances within the exhibition reveal previously untold stories of Black Americans searching for creative outlets and freedom from discrimination. It’s a fascinating exhibition and a significant contribution to art history.
Through July 21; National Nordic Museum, 2655 N.W. Market St., Seattle; $10-$20, free for members and children under 4, $5 on first Thursday of each month; nordicmuseum.org
“live with it: masterworks from the steve and caryl baron collection”
Solas Gallery continues to pack big exhibitions into its small space with this show of photographs collected by Steve Baron, who oversaw production at the Aperture Foundation and magazine for more than 40 years. When his wife, Caryl, died in 2023, she left the collection to Steve’s student, employee and friend, Seattle’s own Michelle Dunn Marsh, former director of Photographic Center Northwest and founder of Minor Matters Books. For this exhibition, Dunn Marsh has selected multiple photographs by Paul Strand and prints by Dorothea Lange, Eikoh Hosoe and Edward Weston, among others. It’s a unique opportunity to see some outstanding examples of photographic genius, shepherded through an enduring friendship, in an intimate setting.
Through July 28; Solas Gallery, 300 S. Washington St., Unit Z, Seattle; free; solas.gallery
“Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture”
This irreverent and lively exhibition showcases artists who deliberately did things differently from the mainstream art world of New York during the 1960s and ‘70s. In contrast to the serious sleekness of minimalism, “funk art” was funny, weird and a little messy. A poke in the eye, if you will. This show adds nuance and diversity to the traditional telling of the California funk art story by including art by women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. It also extends the geographic reach to emphasize the exchange of jokes and ideas up and down the West Coast, and the pockets of creative activity centered on places like University of California, Davis and the University of Washington, where Patti Warashina, Howard Kottler and others were doing some wild things in the ceramics studio. Drawn almost entirely from the Seattle Art Museum’s permanent collection, associate curator Carrie Dedon has gathered some real gems from the past and sprinkled in some contemporary art as well.
Through Sept. 2; Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., Seattle;tickets $19.99-$32.99, free for members and children under 14; 206-654-3100, seattleartmuseum.org
“A Radical Alteration: Women’s Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making”
Founded in 1974 by artists Ann Kalmbach, Tatana Kellner, Anita Wetzel and Barbara Leoff Burge, the Women’s Studio Workshop, based in Kingston, N.Y., has become an inclusive institution that serves women and trans, intersex, nonbinary and genderfluid artists, offering training and support in various media. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, this exhibition of artists' books showcases how the skills of papermaking, printing and bookbinding — along with writing/documenting, creative expression and critical analysis — have been integral parts of this visionary program. In an exhibition statement, curator Maymanah Farhat says the show highlights how “the conditions of art making and institutional support are in the service of a sustainable and more equitable art ecosystem.” The traveling exhibition’s stop at Bainbridge Museum of Art is aligned with that institution’s strong commitment to book arts.
Through Sept. 22; Bainbridge Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island; free; biartmuseum.org
