Suite 100 Gallery to Move Next to Roq La Rue

Suite 100 Gallery is moving 1 block north and next to Roq La Rue Gallery, in the space lately vacated by BLVD Gallery. The first show in the new space will open January 9th, as part of the monthly Belltown artwalk.

Even though it is only a one block move, it's a good one. No longer will we need to weave our way through clusters of smokers and clumps of pan handlers which gather on the sidewalk one block south -- a block with Mama's Mexican Kitchen, Lava Lounge, Bad Juju Bar, Noodle Ranch, Shorty's, and Buddha Bar between Roq La Rue and the starter location for the Suite 100 gallery.

The new gallery space is two to three times larger in square footage than the old Suite 100 space, so curators will need to step up their game to use it to their advantage. I hope they consider creating a few dividers to break up the wide open space; the BLVD gallery always felt a little too open. (Picture a large living room where all the furniture is anchored against a wall. Would you want to stay very long? )

The first show in the new space looks promising. "Local Aesthetic" will feature artwork from three local artists: Greg Boudreau, Ryan Molenkamp and Troy Gua.

Starter location, buh-bye


New space, hello-o-o-o

(Not a great picture, but the only exterior shot I have.)

Now at Blvd Gallery: Gremlins and Mogwai Terror by 179

JeanineAnderson

The eclectic collection of works at the Blvd Gallery this month include this asian-influenced piece by artist OneSevenNine (179).

I first saw 179's work on the Seattle Georgetown graffiti wall in December, 2007. OneSevenNine's style is consistent, but also showing good artistic development: compare this Gremins piece to the koi on the Georgetown wall. OneSevenNine's flair for the asian style and color palette creates images which take common asian architectural elements and turns them into gently affectionate figures. The Gremlin's piece is a cleaner image and more mature understanding of line, without loss of faint irony seen in earlier work.

Several other pieces at Blvd Gallery are worth a look-see if you are in the Belltown neighborhood. I particularly liked Julio Guerrero's collage "Día de los Muertos," located in the back left corner of the gallery. This is Julio's first gallery show.

The Fanatic show runs through November 8th.

Discover art off the mainstream tonight

It's the first Thursday of the month: time to get your Seattle art walk on!
Rather than hit the usual galleries, why not check out a few of these alternative art spots tonight?

We Have Our Own Ways
by Team Nerd
This first solo show by Team Nerd is a fine art printmaking tribute to the women in the artist's family. The show features oversized art books of letterpress poetry and linoleum block portraits, and oversized wood block prints of the ladies. You've most certainly seen Team Nerd work if you walk around the city much.
Zietgiest Coffee and Gallery
3rd and Jackson, Pioneer Square
6pm - 8pm

Works by Brandon Baker
This artist's wry sense of humor is reflected in his color-saturated, 'toon-like artwork of street-jaded creatures. He'll be showing paintings and will have t-shirts and magnets available.
Thursday is also his birthday! Check in to wish him a happy new year, if for no other reason.
Additional artists also showing at this venue.
Heaven Nightclub
172 Washington St
4pm - 10pm

Of course, my favorite haunt:

619 Western Ave building, of which I've already blogged.
Various hours by studio
generally starts early and runs late.

Plus one more, a little out of the usual First Thursday 'hood:

No Wimps: Art Inspired by Tattoo Culture
various artists including Ego, Shawn Barber, and Damon Conklin
This month's show at BLVD Gallery opens a week earlier than usual to kickoff the Seattle Tattoo Expo this weekend. Although the gallery isn't in the Pioneer Square area, it runs late tonight so you have time to wrap up at the square then catch a cab for a short ride up to Belltown to finish off your art walk night.
BLVD Gallery
2316 2nd Ave

Five Belltown Gallery Openings on Friday 7/11

I am SO looking forward to hitting Belltown Friday night and catching the opening of five new gallery shows. I am particularly excited about the shows at the Roq, the BLVD, and the new Free Sheep Foundation space. All spaces open at 6 pm and have varying closing hours (as early as 9 pm at the Roq.)

Roq La Rue: 10th Anniversary Group Show
Showing work from 24 artists, including Mark Ryden, Femke Hiemstra, Brian Despain, Travis Louis, Scott Musgrove, Liz McGrath and Shag. I'm curious to see who will show up at this anniversary show. The sport of people-watching can get interesting here. Of course the art is always mad fab interesting too.

BLVD Gallery: “Pneumonia, Isolation, and Disorder” by Deuce 7
Deuce 7 is a graffiti artist from Minneapolis who is also part of a burgeoning underground subculture of Freight train hoppers. In 2007 Deuce7 made a trip to NYC to do graffiti and experience the Mecca of Street Art. After 2 short weeks he had taken the city by storm and was profiled in the Village Voice with the tagline “Is a guy from Minnesota the new king of New York street art?” A very impressive achievement for a previously unknown graffiti artist from the midwest in a city renowned for it’s dislike of intruding outsiders.This will be his first solo show of drawings and paintings on the West Coast.

Stylus Salon and Gallery: Group Art Show curated by Ghost Gallery
2321 Second Avenue
Five local artists are showing works here. I am not familiar with this space or any of the artists, so I can't vouch for whether this will be worth crossing the street from an art appreciation standpoint. However, the announcement for Friday's show opening promises a full bar, food, and music so if the art isn't great you can at least get a little somethin' somethin' (nosh or drink) while you stroll around the salon.

Free Sheep Foundation
3rd and Battery (24oo 3rd ave)
Friday is the first opening of this temporary space leased by the Free Sheep Foundation. The FSF(?) is headed up by the mastermind behind the Bridge Motel project and The Belmont wake: D.K Pan.

The show includes installations from ntg, garek druss, dk pan, static invasion & scntfc, karn junkinsmith, and nko, as well as a collection of "exquisite corpse" works created during a collaborative art-in of street artists and their peeps. Friday's show opening will also include musical performances by Aubrey Birdwell, Locate, and Heavy Teeth. ( Sorry, I have no idea what style of tunes to expect.)

Suite 100 Gallery: Oceanic
Suite 100 Gallery specializes in themed group shows. Expect to see a variety of artists and styles and media when you check out their monthly show. July's Oceanic show is subtitled "nautical adventures and underwater realms" and is curated by the popular artist Ninjagrl.

This gallery stays open late so I usually make it my last Belltown gallery stop of the evening before eating some yummy goodness at the Buddha Bar Thai restaurant next door. However, now that the McLeod Residence is open to all, their lounge may be the new final stop in Belltown before tripping and skipping my way home.

Urban art + jammy tunes = Foscil @ Blvd Gallery

Tripping with jammy tunes, urban art, and 3-D glasses.

Read more at Three Imaginary Girls.



Demographics:
90% boys, 10% girls. Average age: 27. Attire: mostly nw comfort (it was cold, yo). One lovely chica wore rad two-toned minnie mouse shoes and a russian fur hat. Wish I took a snap of those shoes! They were fab.

Friday gallery openings: toys, Parskid and birds

Hooray! New shows open on Friday March 14th at the trio of hip galleries on 2nd Avenue in Belltown.

Roq La Rue Gallery is featuring a series from Robert Burdon (San Francisco) titled "Toybox." His inspiration for the series was the discovery of a box of toys he had owned as a child. His paintings are of those toys, or of other toys he very much wanted to own. "These large canvases are covered in baroque-like patterning and gilt framing, and a small box containing the actual toy accompanies each piece (referred to by Robert as a "reliquary" of sorts.)"[#]

BLVD Gallery (next door to the Roq) is featuring the urban contemporary works of Parskid (Seattle) and Chip7 (New Jersey). I am looking forward to checking out what Parskid's been working on. His contribution to The Belmont was quite amusing. (right) This show at the BLVD received early press from Juxtapoz mag online.

And third, the Suite 100 Gallery brings together artists from Seattle and Portland, showing works with a common theme of "Feathered Friends." The Suite 100 Gallery is located a block south of Blvd and the Roq.

Its been three months since I last hit the opening nights for the three galleries. Two galleries took January off and I was out of town for the Feburary openings. (But I did make it down to see Roq's and Blvd's Feb shows a couple of weeks ago.)

I am so looking forward making the rounds on Friday!