Art Happened

It was a busy weekend in the Alexander household, but a fun one. In a wild convergence of entertainment, an enormous collection of events happened in Seattle. Griffey’s number was retired (24EVER!), Seafair—the annual hydroplane races and Blue Angels air show—were going on right outside my backdoor, and art was happening, a lot of art.

Longtime readers know that my amazing wife and partner in this life, Kari-Lise Alexander, is a painter, so art and art-related things were on our agenda for most of the weekend. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my Instagram Stories over the weekend. But, I am a writer, not a photographer, and I wanted to expand on everything a bit more.

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THURSDAY

It was the first Thursday of August, which meant it was also the First Thursday Art Walk. Kari-Lise had a piece in the Seattle Squared show (this one) at a gallery called Axis. It was a fun little event. It was a good start to our art weekend, and it’s nice to see the neighborhood buzzing with life. I went and hit up another show across the street at a relatively new gallery, and then we bopped over to check out The Drawnk Show. I ended up hanging out with folks until late and arguing why Mad Max was one of the best movies ever made.

 

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FRIDAY

The second Seattle Art Fair was taking place, and we made it a point to attend. This year’s event was even better than the last. A ton of amazing work ranging from sculpture to installation was displayed. Choosing a favorite piece was tough, but I think the highlight for me was Hew Locke‘s The Wine Dark Sea, Group 4. What I saw was just a small selection of his full series, but the works were fascinating, intricate, and carried a lot of meaning. There was a lot to unpack.

After spending three hours browsing the fair, we checked out Juxtapoz x Superflat, curated by Takashi Murakami. It was incredible. It was nice to see a new venue in Seattle focusing on new contemporary and pop-surrealist artists. The artists participating are all well established names and it was good to see another presence like that in Seattle.

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SATURDAY

Roq La Rue has been a mainstay of the Seattle art scene for a long time, and it has become a keystone in the low-brow and pop-surrealism movements. It was the first gallery I ever visited when I moved to Seattle, and I’ve been hitting its events regularly for the last eight years.

Saturday was the launch party for its final show, Death and the Maiden 2. Kari-Lise had a piece in that show as well. Picking the Perfect Poison (pictured right) is one of my favorites and lucky for you prints are available. We spent a majority of the evening at the gallery hanging out with everyone who came out to see the show. It was great to see such a wide selection of Seattle artists represented.

It was also bittersweet. After the pieces come down, Roq La Rue is going away. It closes its doors this September. During the show and at the afterparty, a lot of locals—artists and fans alike—were sharing memories of the gallery and reflecting on how it had impacted our lives. It’s been a focal point of art walks for both Kari-Lise and me, and its exodus will be felt.

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So, yeah, art happened and it was amazing. There were a few shows I missed, in particular, the Out of Sight show, which I regret. Our Sunday ended up being much quieter. We didn’t go to any galleries. I did some reading and spent a little time researching. I couldn’t get my brain in a space to write properly (despite my grand intent earlier in the week). Seafair was winding down. The Olympics were on. The Mariners swept the Angels.

It was a good weekend.