Building Tradition:
Contemporary Northwest Art from Tacoma Art Museum
November 19, 2006 to April 29, 2007
ARCO Exhibits Building GalleryCollecting art of the Pacific Northwest to share with our regional community is important to the missions of both the Whatcom Museum of History & Art and the Tacoma Art Museum. In 2003, Tacoma Art Museum greatly enhanced its permanent collection with the acquisition of over 200 additional works by Northwest artists. Many of these are works of contemporary art, created by artists living and working in communities around the region. The Whatcom Museum of History & Art is proud to partner with Tacoma Art Museum to bring a wide selection of this innovative and vital art to Bellingham. Building Tradition: Contemporary Northwest Art from the Tacoma Art Museum opens November 19, 2006 and runs until April 29, 2007.
The exhibition features over 40 pieces and gives viewers a chance to see the work of widely known Northwest artists like painter Fay Jones and photographer Paul Berger, as well as newer talent such as Yuki Nakamura and Mark Takamichi Miller. Works range in medium from oil paintings that are traditionally beautiful to look at, such as the landscapes of Victoria Adams, to Robert Yoder’s use of discarded road signs in his intricate assemblages.
The artworks selected for Building Tradition highlight the breadth of concerns and the intellectual and aesthetic achievements of artists from our part of the country. A number of artists have an abiding interest in process and take a scientific approach to their work. Jaq Chartier’s paintings explore chemical reactions between stains of spray paint on wood panels coated with acrylic. Her experiments result in beautiful and unexpected bursts of color. Michael Schultheis likens his canvas to a chalkboard, layering mathematical notations and illustrations into a complex and beautiful web of imagery. Other artists overtly explore political concerns in their work. Jack Dawes, for example, reconfigures the notorious Confederate flag by sewing it using the colors of the Ethiopian flag.
"Like Tacoma Art Museum, the Whatcom Museum has supported and exhibited regional artists since its inception in the 1960s. We are thrilled to work with the Tacoma Art Museum to showcase this important group of contemporary artists," says Scott Wallin, the Whatcom Museum’s Director of Exhibitions. "The wide variety of media - from traditional oil painting to photography and mixed-media constructions - highlights the wealth of diverse regional talent. Bringing this work to Bellingham fits our mission perfectly." Building Tradition: Contemporary Northwest Art from the Tacoma Art Museum is organized by Whatcom Museum of History & Art in conjunction with Tacoma Art Museum and will be featured in the ARCO Exhibits Building from November 19, 2006 until April 29, 2007.
 |
Fay Jones
(United States, born 1936) Now and Then (The Guide, The Builder, and The Transfer Man), 1999 Acrylic, sumi, and collage on paper, triptych, 72 3/4 x 39 in. each panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Carol I. Bennett. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Mark Takamichi Miller
(United States, born 1960) Untitled, 1999 Acrylic on canvas 72 x 64 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ben and Aileen Krohn. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Larry Bemm
(United States, born 1969) Trial and Error Euthenetics, 2002 Oil on canvas, 41 x 50 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, Courtesy of Kimberly Vendaros & Company, New York. Photo by Dirk Park. |
 |
Robert Helm
(United States, born 1943) Birds Eye, 1992 Oil on panel,16 x 12 x 2 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Sarkis. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Alfred Harris
(United States, born Germany, 1953) Astrud, 1994 Oil and mixed media on canvas, 60 x 60 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Danny Pierce
(United States, born 1920) The Jam, 1985 Oil on canvas, 39 1/2 x 49 7/8 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Dr. George Berg in memory of Nancy A. Wynstra. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Victor Maldonado
(United States, born Mexico 1976) Cross Road, 2002 Hand Stamped ink on paper. 23 x 30 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland. Photo by Richard Nicol. |
 |
Kathryn Glowen
(United States, born 1941) Dress of Years, 1997 Child’s christening dress, 101 paper tags with collage, paper collage on gilded wood, framed mirror, and vintage photographs by Frank P. Rand, 66 x 31 x 7 in. Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Photo by Richard Nicol. |