Rock Hushka, Director of Curatorial Administration and Curator of Contemporary and Northwest Art for Tacoma Art Museum, and David Kiehl, Curator of Prints at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, selected the artists from the nearly 900 entries.
The exhibition will be on view from February 10 to May 6, 2007.
The 8th Northwest Biennial is an artistic mile marker for the region's contemporary art production. It embodies the museum's mission to showcase the art of the Northwest. The exhibition takes a critical look at the region's artistic strengths, trends, and developments since the 7th Northwest Biennial in 2004 and the highlights the creativity of Northwest artists. The Biennial focuses on the scope of artists' contributions, rather than on specific pieces.
"The goal of the Biennial is to revisit accomplished bodies of work," explained Hushka. "We wanted to offer the opportunity to explore the powerful images that have shaped contemporary dialogues about the region's art."
A special opening celebration on Saturday, February 10, from 6 to 9 pm, will recognize the participating artists. The evening presents an opportunity to view Tacoma Art Museum's new exhibitions, hear from Biennial artists and curators, and enjoy light refreshments. Admission to the opening celebration is free for members; $10 for non-members.
Artists working in a broad spectrum of media, including painting, photography, sculpture, craft-based work, performance, and digital projects were encouraged to submit work. Applications were open to current residents of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Only work created since January 2003 was considered.
The artists in the exhibition are: Victoria Adams, Vashon Island, Washington; Juan Alonso, Seattle, Washington; Daniel Attoe, Vancouver, Washington; Jay Backstrand, Portland, Oregon; Justin Colt Beckman, Ellensburg, Washington; Nicholas Brown, Seattle, Washington; Cris Bruch, Seattle, Washington; Buddy Bunting, Seattle, Washington; Sally Cleveland, Portland, Oregon; Judy Cooke, Portland, Oregon; Claire Cowie, Seattle, Washington; Mark Danielson, Seattle, Washington; Susan Dory, Seattle, Washington; Joe Feddersen, Lacey, Washington; Ellen Garvens, Edmonds, Washington; John Grade, Seattle, Washington; Victoria Haven, Seattle, Washington; Patrick Holderfield, Seattle, Washington; Denzil Hurley, Seattle, Washington; Sarah Jane Lapp, Seattle, Washington; Anya Kivarkis, Eugene, Oregon; Mack McFarland, Portland, Oregon; Mark Takamichi Miller, Seattle, Washington; Steven Miller, Seattle, Washington; Jeffry Mitchell, Seattle, Washington; Brian Murphy, Seattle, Washington; Natalie Niblack, Mount Vernon, Washington; Nicholas Nyland, Lakewood, Washington; Mary Ann Peters, Seattle, Washington; Jim Riswold, Portland, Oregon; Phil Roach, Tacoma, Washington; Alex Schweder, Seattle, Washington; Michael Spafford, Seattle, Washington; Juniper Shuey, Seattle, Washington; SuttonBeresCuller, Seattle, Washington; Lisa Sweet, Olympia, Washington; Keith Tilford, Seattle, Washington; Marie Watt, Portland, Oregon; Sherrie Wolf, Portland, Oregon; Robert Yoder, Seattle, Washington; Claude Zervas, Seattle, Washington.
"The variety of participants offers an intriguing snapshot into the vitality of the artists currently working in the Northwest," said Hushka.
Tacoma Art Museum received about 425 entries to the previous biennial. The number of entries for the 8th Northwest Biennial increased by over 100 percent with 882 artist portfolios submitted for consideration. The Biennial highlights Tacoma Art Museum's continuing dedication and commitment to Northwest artists. The two recent exhibitions: A Decade of Excellence: Celebrating the Neddy Artist Fellowship (2005) and Neddy Artist Fellowship 2006 are two other recent examples of group exhibitions exclusively featuring Northwest artists.
David Kiehl, co-curator of the Biennial, holds a Masters Degree from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. After a distinguished tenure in the curatorial department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Kiehl briefly consulted for The Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami Beach and began his association with the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1996 as Curator of Prints. While at the Whitney, Kiehl organized exhibitions of American printmaking between the two World Wars and monographic surveys of the prints of Edward Hopper, Pat Steir, and Ellen Gallagher. His recent projects include Approaching Objects, To Be Human, Memorials of War, and Prints Into Drawings: It's All About the Drawing.
Rock Hushka is Director of Curatorial Administration and Curator of Contemporary and Northwest Art at Tacoma Art Museum. In 1994, Hushka earned a Master of Arts degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked for the Henry Art Gallery and the Seattle Art Museum. At Tacoma Art Museum, he curated Bill Viola: Something Above, Beyond, Below, Beneath and The New York School: The Politics of Abstraction. He has increasingly focused on the art of the Northwest, including the four-part Building Tradition: Gifts in Honor of the Northwest Collection, A Decade of Excellence: Celebrating The Neddy Artist Fellowship, and The Romantic Vision of Michael Brophy.
Tacoma Art Museum connects people and builds community through art. The museum serves the diverse communities of the region through its collection, exhibitions, and learning programs, emphasizing art and artists from the Northwest. The museum's five galleries display an array of top national shows, the best of Northwest art, creatively themed exhibitions, and historical retrospectives. In addition, there is an Education Wing for children, adults, and seniors with an art resource center, classroom, and studio for art making. Tacoma Art Museum is located in Tacoma's Museum District, near the Museum of Glass, the Washington State History Museum, and historic Union Station. -- www.tacomaartmuseum.org
Posted January 19th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
