The new chief curator for The Henry Gallery is Shamim M. Momin of LAND and before that co curator of the 2004 and 2008 Whitney Biennials. A great hire since the Henry hasnt been the same since the Elizabeth Brown days. Momin brings a present and pervasive intellect to what she does, and isnt one of those curators that tries to out vague her audience and subcontract out all the programming (which sadly is par for the course these days). She's a legit intellectual, which is what I expect from art institutions and rarely find these days. Congrats, Seattle will have her for perhaps 5 years but it will be good for contemporary art in the Pacific Northwest since I consider the Henry to be the top Contemporary Art institution in the region. Too often curators here program what they "should be" curating rather than discovering what they could be curating.

Contemporary art takes on the ease of getting guns in Chicago.

One of the world's top architects collaborates with Norway's troublemaker artist for a project to die for.

Too many artists today are doing tarp art, as if the wear and tear + stains of life are enough to make their art appealing to liberal elites who are out of touch with whats really going on. That and the artists of the 1970's like Christopher Hill simply did it better. Add him to the list with Sam Gilliam and Helen Frankenthaler who consistently did far more with tarps sopping up the studio. Now Im not against tarps (Love unstretched Frankenthalers and Gilliam) I just wish today's tarpists werent ingratiation attempts in a supplicant's pose to an art market primed to accept art that fetishes its "nothing specialness." Its a mode, weak era tarp art begone.

The weather is finally fantastic and there are a lot of thesis shows from new grads. Here are some adventures to have:



Every year my favorite thesis show seems to be the OCAC BFA offering. This year they are calling it Coalesce and the MFA students are also showing in the same building but for some reason the BFA student offer more gems and better ideas even if sometimes less practiced in presentation. Some of the standouts this year were the woven tapestries of Luciano V. Abbarno, Cathie Carroll's multimedia paintings and Michaela Coffield's installation of child-like wonder. Many others showed a lot of promise but those three are ready to show.

Coalesce | May 11 - 25
Opening Reception: May 11, 5 - 9PM
Gallery hours of 11AM - 5PM daily
120 SE Clay St.




Thirdspace is one of the most interesting alternative spaces in a scene that has seen a lot of pressure on such places. Their latest show is called [Home] and is photography based around the theme. I suspect the lack of details is an attempt to keep gentrifying developers from turning their space into a spa or luxury tanning facility.

[Home] | May 11 - 13
Opening Night: May 11th 6:30 - 9:30PM
Hours: Saturday, May 12th @ 6:30 - 9PM
Sunday, May 13th @ 5:30 - 7:30PM
Thirdspace
707 NE Broadway St Suite 205

DACA Lounge: A Dream Sanctuary at Archer Gallery

Immigration policies for the United States of America have always been an impromptu patchwork of reactionary policies that put a quick bandage on whatever current situation prompted that action. During President Obama's 8 years DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was put in place as a stop-gap when Congress did not ratify the Dream Act into law to address the plight of children of illegal immigrants who have known no other existence besides being in The United States of America. It was a moment when the USA started to talk about things it generally left unsaid and nearly 800,0000 kids have applied for the program. In the current, rather reactionary political climate the fate of the DACA program is held hostage as a political pawn, creating an uncertain, extremely stressful situation for these kids.

To this enter Horatio Hung-Yan Law's latest art exhibition DACA Lounge: A Dream Sanctuary. It is one of the most poignant and timely exhibitions the area has ever hosted. Interesting but not surprising that art is being a better host than a country. Law even

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Spring is in full effect and the weather is sublime, time to emerge from your homes and catch important shows to ponder. Dont miss them.



Bespoke Bodies at PNCA ends soon

I'd argue that art is an appendage and so is design. All of which should remind us that the Bespoke Bodies: The Design and Craft of Prosthetics show at PNCA is entering its last week and if you have not seen it, you must. A wide ranging show that goes from physical artificial limbs to more digital enhancements this show covers a huge amount of ground, from simple replacement and mimesis of typical human limbs to to enhancements undreamed of in science fiction this is an important exhibition for anyone curious about humanity, where it has been and where it is going.

Bespoke Bodies | February 15 - May 9th, 2018
First Thursday: May 3, 5:00-9:00PM
PNCA
511 NW Broadway




Horatio Hung-Yan Law's DACA Lounge A Dream Sanctuary at Archer Gallery

The current plight to DACA "Dreamers" in today's political climate is a very real destablization of the lives of those who know nothing but their lives in the United States of America and DACA Lounge a Dream Sanctuary by Horatio Hung-Yan Law is a multimedia exhibition in collaboration with students and dreamers about their lives. The exhibition has been up for a while but was just completed today as part of Law's residency in collaboration with dreamers in the community. See it, it is one of the best multimedia exhibitions the area has seen recently.

DACA Lounge A Dream Sanctuary | April 10- May 5th
Archer Gallery
Clark College
1933 Fort Vancouver Way
Vancouver Washington



Prosoography (2018) Matthew Dennison

Ive been keeping on Matthew Dennison for years but lately his odd figurative works of oblivious humans and wise animals have taken on a new poignancy and I am excited to see his latest show, Democracy. It is an ambitious title, fraught with all the hopes and fears of the moment... I suspect it may live up to the billing as each painting is a reaction to the day's news.

Democracy | May 1 - June 2
Froelick Gallery
714 NW Davis


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