Staff Picks
Ah, the dog days of summer — the mountains beckon, the ocean calls. I get it. But inside these galleries, you can find breaths of fresh air, the simple sound of rain on a roof, a new life for once-discarded materials and solace in community. Here are four picks for this month.
‘Barry Johnson: Silence Is Golden’
You can almost feel the blades of grass, the way Barry Johnson paints them, the low summer sun highlighting blond streaks amid the green. In another painting, the whiteness at the horizon of a perfect sky captures the wordlessness of a sultry day. Nearby, cooling cyan waves envelop its wearer like a cape, a breath of fresh air. An ode to reflection, to sitting still — as well as his Midwest upbringing — Johnson’s “Silence Is Golden” invites viewers to briefly leave the frantic pace of modern life behind. These paintings feel like putting your phone away. Like running through a field. Not knowing what time it is. Breathing in and then out. Like looking at the cloudless sky.
Through Aug. 22; Winston Wächter Fine Art, 203 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle; free; 206-652-5855, winstonwachter.online
‘Tom Lloyd’
Lights flutter in every direction: electric blue, fire-engine red, neon green. The second thing I noticed during my visit to this landmark show of electronic light sculptures — fashioned from salvaged car taillights and Christmas tree light bulbs — by New York-based artist and community organizer Tom Lloyd (1929-96): the soft soundtrack of clicks these electronically programmed artworks produce. Click click, clack click clack. Sometimes higher-pitched, then mellow, like rain on a roof, always dynamic and ever-changing, like the city Lloyd was inspired by and had such a profound impact on. I love how this exhibit showcases how Lloyd was an early and undersung pioneer of using electric light in art and also someone who advocated for other artists.
Through Sep. 20; Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., Seattle; free; 206-622-9250, fryemuseum.org
‘A Matter of Ghosts: Material Never Dies’
Also making clever use of discarded materials: 13 current and former participants in the Recology King County AIR program, a residency in which artists work with recycled materials sourced from Seattle’s Recology to “make art, not landfill.” Amanda Manitach, a program alum-turned-administrator, cuts up cardboard boxes carrying the language of consumption, fragments of text that she cuts out and collages into evocative poetry reminiscent of a ransom note. For a series called “What the River Gave Me,” Philippe Hyojung Kim, whose work has long shown a preoccupation with plastics and pollution, made acrylic paintings of plant life in and surrounding the Duwamish River on aircraft meal trays. Other work includes weavings, sculptures, collages, paintings and more.
Through Sept. 18 (open First Thursdays, Aug. 6 and Sept. 3, as well as Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.); Railspur Studios, Level 4, 419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; free; fftt26.eventbrite.com
‘Organic Intelligence’
To Sophia M. Holland and Elle Glasse, curators of this intriguing show, the conversation around art and artificial intelligence shouldn’t end at, “What does AI art mean for artists?” Artificial intelligence “takes up space in ways we can’t even see,” they write in a call for art for this group show, which positions itself explicitly as “anti-AI.” They argue that AI “serves as a tool of control, surveillance and destruction” wielded by “elites and governments” that also target free speech, education and human rights. “We are not reinventing the wheel with this show, but rather inviting you all to participate in a space, to find solace in community, and to support the arts.”
Aug. 3-8; Slip Gallery, 2301 First Ave., Seattle; free; slipgallery.com
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