This September, we’re exploring patterns in works of art. From recurring sequences of shapes to lines, colors, and textures, these patterns can be predictable or completely surprising. They can create harmony, rhythm, and often provide structure to the work of art. Patterns can be overt and obvious, or be a faint echo of other visual elements in the piece.

Alongside the Pattern show, we’ll also have an exhibition of Johnpaul Jones drawings and Amy Dapice’s mixed media work.

For more information:

https://jameswashingtonculturalcenter.com/

Courtesy of Dr. James W. Washington, Jr. & Mrs. Janie Rogella Washington Foundation.

On February 23, 1944, Anne Frank wrote in her diary, “I firmly believe that Nature brings solace in all troubles.” Inspired by the wisdom of a young girl who endured unimaginable fear and depended on the kindness of others for survival, we offer this quiet moment of reflection in turbulent times.

Back to Nature features selected works from the Power of the Presses exhibition, including the extraordinary botanical books of Radha Pandey. Her pieces, Flora of Mughal India and Anatomia Botanica, are given special focus to allow for deeper appreciation. Flora of Mughal India invites us into the lush gardens and floral heritage of the Indian subcontinent through a collaboration with contemporary artisans. Anatomia Botanica, with its intricate cutouts and fold-downs, reveals the inner structures of flowers—each book a result of deep research and exquisite craftsmanship.

Also featured is Farewell Florilegium by Alisa Banks. Reflecting on the personal nature of place, Banks writes, “Farewell Florilegium is an ode to my former garden—my first ‘real’ garden.” The book’s covers are formed from recycled paper dried in plaster molds, and the back cover contains a vial of tinctures made from plants she harvested before moving. Banks crafted handmade paper from cotton and abaca fibers and created hand-cut stencils of simplified plant shapes to echo the essence of her lost garden. Her writing, prompted by the invitation to reflect on a beloved place, reminds us that solace often resides in memory.

With several dozen artists represented—many of whom are also naturalists or part-time scientists—Back to Nature brings a blooming collection to the Sherry Grover Gallery. Here, visitors are invited to rest their minds and find comfort in the enduring beauty of the natural world.

Header Image: Lucia Harrison, Stitching the Forest Together, 2019. Wire binding, letterpress printed, photo engravings, 9”h x 17w” x 17″d. Photo: Art Grice.

Michael Stasinos (Seattle) seems to capture quick moments in time. But Stasinos’ plein air (“open air” or “outdoors”) painting process can take weeks, months, or even years to complete one scene. He paints directly on location, as opposed to using photographs for reference. Natural light, weather, colors, and surrounding activities change in the moment, by the minute—or certainly by the following week.

Stasinos was born in Canoga Park (Los Angeles), California. He attended Southern Utah University, where he studied both theater and fine art. “I began my university education by studying to become an actor,” he says. “However, exposure to the visual arts diverted my interest into new creative possibilities. The years I spent developing back-stories for my characters as an actor, or dressing sets to enhance the story as a director, had an influence on the type of artist I would become. I discovered early on that I was interested in representational and figurative art.”

He decided to pursue an MFA at the New York Academy of Art, a program dedicated to exploring contemporary figurative ideas in art, with respect to its history and past techniques. Mentors and instructors at the Academy included many well-known figurative/representational painters, such as Alfred Leslie, Eric Fischl, Vincent Desiderio, and Martha Erlebacher.

After earning his MFA, he found it financially challenging to pay back his student loans while also hiring models necessary for his figurative work. His solution was to make the city his studio. “The sidewalks became my studio and the city my new model,” he writes. “I consider every landscape a portrait, and just like a quality portrait, I want to capture a likeness and display the personality of my subject.”

He has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in Seattle, first at Martin-Zambito Fine Art, and then at Woodside Braseth Gallery beginning in 2007.

While pursuing his passion for painting, Michael has always been a teaching artist, having been an instructor of Art & Design at Pacific Lutheran University and Eastern Illinois University. He also taught briefly at Cornish College of Arts, and landscape and figurative painting at Gage Academy of Art. Michael is now focusing on his painting while also developing new coursework.

“The freeway in a Stasinos painting is like the Grand Canal in Canaletto’s Venice, an omnipresent force of nature.” – Cornichon.org

For more information visit woodsidebrasethgallery.com or michaelstasinos.com

Header Image: Michael Stasinos, Green Lake, oil on panel, 10”h x 30”w. Courtesy of the Artist.

BIMA joins Bloedel Reserve in celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Creative Residency program. The exhibition is housed at both BIMA and Bloedel. Included is work by visual artists, photographers, designers, musicians, poets, writers, storytellers, and others.

Jeffrey Moose Gallery is extending their annual exhibition of dot paintings by indigenous artists from Yuendumu in Australia’s Central Desert through September. A reception will be held on First Friday, September 5th, 6-8 PM. A Facebook livestream will happen from about 5:20 to 5:40. Mr. Moose will deliver a brief talk on the genre at 7pm.

Every August, The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair draws thousands from around the world. The 2024 fair featured more than 1500 artists represented by 76 art centers throughout the country. But with the world art market in the ditch, many art centers are struggling to come up with the funds to travel. Consequently, 2025 will have fewer participants. Under these circumstances, the gallery is even more compelled to display these magical works.

Few communities are more important to the genre: Papunya, Yuendumu and Utopia led the way. 2021 was the 50th Anniversary of the first Dot Paintings. Traditional ground paintings by the Yuendumu artists, known as Warlukurlangu (Home of the Fire Dreaming) made history in Paris in 1989, part of the international survey, "Magiciennes De La Terre." At this sensational exhibit of Indigenous art from around the world, a group of men from Yuendumu packed huge amounts of desert earth and crushed flowers from home, shaping the material into an enormous "Ground Painting" to honor the Yarla Jukurrpa, a creation story about the bush potato.

Steven Jupurrula Nelson from Yuendumu was a finalist in last year's TELSTRA Awards and Julie Nangala Robertson won top prize for painting the previous year. Several works by Yeundumu Artists are on display in The Seattle Art Museum’s third floor galleries. It was through the Kaplan/Levy Collection shown at SAM that Jeffrey Moose waconnected to this remote desert art co-op. In 2004, Jeffrey and his father and son visited Yuendumu, establishing a longstanding and fruitful relationship.

Dot paintings are images rendered from an aerial perspective that use symbols to represent people, animals, plants, weather systems and other forms to tell ancient creation stories. In their original form, these stories are part of the Song Lines, complex sets of story-poems recited in rhythmic patterns that link sacred places across the Australian continent.

Bainbridge Island's First Friday ArtWalk has offered locals and visitors alike the opportunity to stroll our vibrant downtown for decades.  Not only are shops open late but you may have the chance to chat with a local artist over a glass of wine, run into old friends and neighbors or find a piece which must travel back home with you. The Bainbridge Island Downtown Association invites you to come make wonderful memories along Winslow Way!

Bainbridge Island's First Friday ArtWalk has offered locals and visitors alike the opportunity to stroll our vibrant downtown for decades.  Not only are shops open late but you may have the chance to chat with a local artist over a glass of wine, run into old friends and neighbors or find a piece which must travel back home with you. The Bainbridge Island Downtown Association invites you to come make wonderful memories along Winslow Way!

Bainbridge Island's First Friday ArtWalk has offered locals and visitors alike the opportunity to stroll our vibrant downtown for decades.  Not only are shops open late but you may have the chance to chat with a local artist over a glass of wine, run into old friends and neighbors or find a piece which must travel back home with you. The Bainbridge Island Downtown Association invites you to come make wonderful memories along Winslow Way!