Road trip to Seattle and the Bellevue Art Museum (BAM)

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As you know, it’s been a crazy couple of months with two shows – ‘Emergence’ and ‘Caught Red Handed’ – coming back to back. As a break, my friend Andrea suggested a trip to the Bellevue Art Museum to see Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ before it ended. Sounded like a great rejuvenating idea!

 

I’ve been an admirer of Kathy Venter’s work for years now and feel privileged to be able to visit her studio on Salt Spring Island. What a thrill to see her work all together in a beautifully displayed exhibition. (Click here to read my blog about Kathy Venter’s work.)

 

Kathy Venter's show Life at the Bellevue Art Museum

 

Naturally, I was particularly interested in the ‘Woman Drawing’ piece. If you don’t know why, you’ll see in a moment 🙂

 

Kathy Venter's show Life at the Bellevue Art Museum
“Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing,” terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum

 

"Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing," terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum with Andrea posing again
“Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing,” terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum with Andrea posing

 

"Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing," terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum with Andrea posing
“Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing,” terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum with Andrea posing. Andrea had posed in that position for so long that it came back to her instantly. Body memory!

 

"Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing," terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum - the model
“Metanarrative Series: Woman Drawing,” terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum – the model. So powerful!!

 

One of the things I enjoyed most at the exhibition was being so free to move around and interact with the pieces. For instance, nothing prevented me from backing into the pieces in the Immersion series!

Three pieces from the 'Immersion series,' terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum
Three pieces from the ‘Immersion series,’ terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum
Three pieces from the 'Immersion series,' terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum
Pieces from the ‘Immersion series,’ terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum
'Immersion 11,' terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum. A rare male figure
‘Immersion 11,’ terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum. A rare male figure…and clothed

 

Most of the other pieces were on slightly raised pedestals. This one for instance:

'Revision Series: Occupy,' terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum.
‘Revision Series: Occupy,’ terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum.

 

Andrea having fun with 'Revision Series: Batavia,' terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter's show 'Life' at the Bellevue Art Museum.
Andrea having fun with ‘Revision Series: Batavia,’ terra cotta and polychrome, from Kathy Venter’s show ‘Life’ at the Bellevue Art Museum.

 

After immersing ourselves in Kathy Venter’s show (we must have spent an hour there among the figures), we had a look at the other three shows at the Museum: ‘Fragile Fortress: The Art of Dan Webb,’ ‘At Your Service,’ and ‘Folding Paper: The Intricate Possibilities of Origami.’ Here are some of my favourite pieces from each.

 

Work by Dan Webb in his show Fragile Fortress, Bellevue Art Museum (I'm ashamed to say that I forgot to capture the title of this piece.)
Dan Webb, ‘Splash,’ 2006, carved fir with varnish, 33 x 15 x 13 in, in the show Fragile Fortress, Bellevue Art Museum

 

Giang Dinh, 'Fly,' folded from watercolour paper, in the show Folding Paper at the Bellevue Art Museum
Giang Dinh, ‘Fly,’ 2010, folded from watercolour paper, 25 ¾ x 6 x 6 ¾ in, in the show Folding Paper at the Bellevue Art Museum. ‘Fly’ recreates the 19th century woodblock illustration by Katsuchika Hokusai of the Japanese diviner Abe no Seimei who was said to have folded paper birds that transformed into real birds that took flight.
A copy of the 19th century woodblock illustration by Katsuchika Hokusai of the Japanese diviner Abe no Seimei who was said to have folded paper birds that transformed into real birds that took flight.
A copy of the 19th century woodblock illustration by Katsuchika Hokusai of the Japanese diviner Abe no Seimei who was said to have folded paper birds that transformed into real birds that took flight.

 

Herman van Goubergen, "Gecko and Fly on the Wall," elephant hide paper, in the show Folding Paper at the Bellevue Art Museum
Herman van Goubergen, “Gecko and Fly on the Wall,” elephant hide paper, in the show Folding Paper at the Bellevue Art Museum

 

Gesine Hackenberg, "Kitchen Necklace," Delft Blue earthenware plate, in the show At Your Service at the Bellevue Art Museum
Gesine Hackenberg, “Kitchen Necklace,” 2013, Delft Blue earthenware plate, in the show At Your Service at the Bellevue Art Museum

 

Amelia Toelke, " Light and Shadow, Part 2," plates and faux gold leaf, in the show At Your Service at the Bellevue Art Museum.
Amelia Toelke, ” Light and Shadow, Part 2,” 2014, plates and faux gold leaf, in the show At Your Service at the Bellevue Art Museum.

 

Andrea and I had a fun couple of days away. I’d never been to Seattle before so was delighted to visit the Pike Market, to see the Space Needle, to ride the monorail, to enjoy delicious food, and to take in the general atmosphere of the city. It was a great way to take a break from working and refresh my artistic soul!

 

You know I’d love to hear from you. Have you been to the Bellevue Art Museum? Have you seen any of the shows mentioned above? If so, what did you think?

 

Until next time,

~ Gail

 

PS. Andrea and I also strolled through the marvellous Olympic Sculpture Park situated along the shoreline.

Claes Oldenburg, "Typewriter Eraser, Scale X,' 1998, stainless steel and fibreglass painted with acrylic urethane
Claes Oldenburg, “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X,’ 1998, stainless steel and fibreglass painted with acrylic urethane, Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Loved this. It was as if it had escaped and was rolling down the hill towards the traffic!
Alexander Calder, "The Eagle,' 1971, painted steel, Seattle Sculpture Park
Alexander Calder, “The Eagle,’ 1971, painted steel, Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park

PPS. And just a few more photos….

Flowers at the Pike Market - gorgeous!!!
Flowers at the Pike Market – gorgeous!!!
Pike Market - vegetables as art!
Pike Market – vegetables as art!

 

4 thoughts on “Road trip to Seattle and the Bellevue Art Museum (BAM)”

  1. Gwen McDonald

    You are making me homesick! I miss Seattle. Yes, have been to all those wonderful quirky places. The Ventner show is remarkable. I gather that Andrea was the model for the painter. How cool!

    Cheers,
    Gwen

    1. Gwen, I was so happy to finally make it to Seattle. What a fabulous city!

      Well done! Andrea was indeed the model for the artist 🙂

  2. Thank you for introducing me to Kathy Ventner, I would probably never have seen and enjoyed her work without you. I found your site thru your mini interviews of artists at IAPS. Love the thought provoking art history segments.
    Appreciate your work with the figure and your experimentation.
    Do you know Jylian Gustlin’s work? Jyliangustlin.com

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