October Brings New Exhibits to Capitol Hill Art Galleries – The Spectator

Seattle University Hedreen GalleryThe Frye Art Museum and the The Northwes Photographic Centert (PCNW) are all showcasing new collections from talented artists this month. Artists from here and abroad created stimulating works on display in each gallery throughout the month of October.

The Hedreen Gallery presents ‘Both Sides Now’, an exhibition featuring the multimedia works of three artists centered on themes of immigration, history and identity. Seattle-based artist Tara Tamaribuchi created “Camouflage Net,” a piece inspired by the forced labor of Japanese Americans in internment camps, weaving camouflage nets for the U.S. military during World War II. world. Tamaribuchi replaced the traditional war materials woven into the camouflage nets with strips of colorful Japanese kimonos to create a sense of cultural salvage. The net was constructed at the Vachon Gallery in Seattle U with the help of student artists and later moved to the Hedreen Gallery. It is held at several points on the ceiling, allowing the viewer to examine it from any angle.

“It’s interactive. You can move around it, you can walk around inside it, it catches the light at different times. Emily Harper-Johnston, a third-year photography student and reception assistant at the Hedreen Gallery, said.

Samatha Wall’s ‘Transmission’ is presented at the entrance to the gallery, an intimate piece exploring the emotional complexities of being an immigrant with a conflicted sense of belonging and identity. Arielle Simmons, curator of the Hedreen and Vachon galleries and assistant art professor at Seattle U, described it as a visceral expression of belonging to multiple cultures.

“The figurativeness of the work, we see exactly what it is about. I like her strength and her feminism. Just see it now next to Tara’s work, those echoing shapes, like the black of the textile work,” Simmons said.

Rodrigo Valencia’s video piece “Prole” focuses on conversations among migrant workers about unionization and their American identity. Valencia inspires questions about what it means to be part of the American workforce and to find a sense of cultural belonging in a capitalist society. “Both Sides Now” will be open until January 5.

The Frye Art Museum has opened “Same Old Song,” a collection of oil paintings by Portland-based artist Srijon Chowdhury. Each painting in Chowdhury’s first solo exhibition showcases a different human sense organ, incorporating everything from religious motifs to scenes that resemble family portraits. The sheer size of the paintings, coupled with the vibrant purple incorporated into each, evokes an existential longing and connects humanity’s past and present. “Same Old Song” will be open until January 15.

The PCNW hosts “Rewriting Art History”, a collection of erasing pieces that reconstruct old photographs and works of art to give them new meaning. Artists Kelli Connell and Natalie Krick modified text and images found in Edward Steichen’s 1955 exhibition and photography book “The Family of Man” at the Museum of Modern Art. Their collection is called “o_Man! », a modified version of the original title of the book. Steichen’s work has been criticized for being riddled with racism, sexism, selective cultures, and American propaganda. Connell and Krick call attention to the messages implicit in the original images by modifying them, and interrogate political motivations and intended audiences through their deconstructions.

“It’s just kind of a horrifying image, because this woman is surrounded by all these men, and they’re all pointing at her and grabbing her, and there’s these creepy phallic beer bottles in the corner. In the original image she looks like she’s smiling, I don’t know if she’s actually smiling, but once we remove it you really pay attention to the other gestures,” Krick said of her and of Connell’s piece, “Arms Up”, during their artist talk at the opening of the exhibition.

Anita Schwartz’s “This Magnificent Volume” collection, also at PCNW, features altered images from an art history book. The original book portrayed women’s art through a patriarchal lens, with text portraying them as docile, feminine, and often partially nude. Schwartz sought to liberate the women in this collection, removing all text and removing parts of the women to create new stories and provide them with a more personal and nuanced narrative. “Rewriting Art History” is open until December 8.

All three galleries are both free to the public and within walking distance of each other. The exhibits are worth visiting while they are still available.