Staff Picks
Studies have shown that being in nature is good for you — and for your stress levels. We know something similar is true about looking at art. So, how about art depicting nature? I don’t pretend to know the answer, but I’m convinced a visit to these 10 excellent art shows has a high probability of boosting your dopamine levels amid the Big Dark.
“Patty Haller: Painted Forest”
Inspired by walks on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascade Mountains, Seattle- and Skagit Valley-based artist Patty Haller paints a picture of the forest not precisely as it appears but slightly abstracted into a fluttering of color fields, legible yet mysterious. For Haller, it’s a way to explore the woods as a place for both biological and spiritual growth.
Through Feb. 10; Woodside Braseth Gallery, 1201 Western Ave., #105, Seattle; free; 206-622-7243, woodsidebrasethgallery.com
“Deb Achak: All The Colors I Am Inside”
There’s an edge to the beauty in the photos of Seattle photographer Deb Achak: a small bird’s nest that has fallen into a field of soft dandelions, tender but heartbreaking; fiery brushstrokes lighting up ocean water; a wild rose obscuring a face — perfect imperfections that implore you to keep looking. This exhibit accompanies the release of Achak’s debut monograph. (Don’t miss Brian Sanchez’s show “BEING” while you’re there, through Feb. 24.)
Through March 2; Winston Wächter Fine Art, 203 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle; free; 206-652-5855, winstonwachter.com
“Pando Suite”
Leaves rustle. Trees start to shake. The wind crescendos. In a darkened room in the University District, nature feels nearby and teemingly alive. Seattle-based artist and journalist Jeff Rice recorded the sounds for this multimedia installation in Pando, a gigantic grove of interconnected quaking aspen trees in Utah — and one of the world’s largest single organisms. The brooding soundtrack suggests impending doom, perhaps a nod to Pando’s uncertain fate or, more broadly, an approaching climate catastrophe?
Through March 8; Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle; free; 206-634-0919, jackstraw.org
“Søren Solkær: Sort Sol (Black Sun)”
Best known for his mid-2000s portraits of musicians like Björk, Amy Winehouse and Michael Stipe, this Copenhagen-based photographer has turned his lens from stars to starlings. Solkær photographs the birds’ murmurations, a gigantic, wistful group dance these avian acrobats perform midair. In this sweeping photo series, Solkær beautifully captures how their separate bodies become one to paint the sky.
Through March 10; National Nordic Museum, 2655 N.W. Market St., Seattle; $5-$20; 206-789-5707; nordicmuseum.org
“Wild Cure”
This exhibit, featuring photos, sculptures, sound and fabric artwork by 10 local artists, is a love letter to nature’s wisdom and healing power. “Because we’ve been raised in a culture that has idealized the individual as a world unto themselves, we have been torn from our relationship with the earth,” curators Esther Loopstra and Tara Flores write in the exhibition statement. Perhaps art can be a connector? Opportunities to engage with the art (including an artist-made blanket to wrap yourself in), and a series of related in-person programming that includes a natural pigment workshop, a sound bath and meditations, should aid the process.
Feb. 7-March 2; Slip Gallery, 2301 First Ave., Seattle; free; slipgallery.com
“Au Natural”
With rejuvenation, joy and beauty as its thematical North Stars, this exhibit feels like a burst of (premature but very welcome!) spring energy. Featuring a largely PNW cast, this show includes compelling, faux-naïf tableaux by Michael Doyle and Wesley Younie, tufted wool wall hangings by Trisha Gilmore, sun-soaked paintings by Niki Keenan and magical realist works on paper by Christine Nguyen, who depicts herons, magpies, deer and cormorants on pelagic backdrops, luminous like starry skies.
Jan. 27-March 3; 612 19th Ave. E., Seattle; free; 206-518-1046, amcecreativearts.com
“Colleen RJC Bratton: Edgeless Burial”
How does it feel to let the shape of your body disappear into the earth? Colleen RJC Bratton knows: The Seattle artist has been using ground flower petals, seeds, ash and other natural materials to make colorful, ephemeral drawings of figures (including her own) in nature. Bratton then watches and photographs these fragile flower creatures as the elements and time take over. Like our physical bodies, these figures ultimately don’t last, but they do leave a mark — if only for a brief time.
Feb. 1-29; Gallery 4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Place S., Seattle; free; 206-296-7580, 4culture.org
“BLACK”
Each artist in this show, which celebrates Black History Month, displays a unique sense of style, from expressionistic portraits (Filmon Adelehey) to more stylized scenes (Vincent Keele and James Wilson III) to contemporary cubism (Ken Moore). I’m especially intrigued by Seattle-based artist Gary Logan, who creates three-dimensional paintings that bulge with bulbs black like hardened lava and expose surfaces that appear fractured like soil after a dry spell, hinting at the devastating exploitation of humans and the natural world.
Feb. 1-March 2; Frederick Holmes and Company, 309 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; free; 206-682-0166, frederickholmesandcompany.com
“Future Forward”
If you don’t know about Mini Mart City Park, here’s what I recommend: Read this story chronicling how three artists transformed this former Georgetown gas station and toxic site into a small but mighty cultural hub. And two: Visit! No better time to do so than this February, when Mini Mart hosts its yearly group exhibit “Future Forward,” which features emerging artists who explore interactions between humans and the environment.
Feb. 2-March 2; Mini Mart City Park, 6525 Ellis Ave. S., Seattle; free; minimartcitypark.com
“Sky Hopinka: Subterranean Ceremonies”
The dreamy films by the renowned visual artist, filmmaker and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Sky Hopinka (a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians who was born in Ferndale, Whatcom County) are dense and layered like lush landscapes. This show, centered on ideas around Indigenous homelands, marks Hopinka’s first solo museum exhibition in Washington.
Feb. 17-May 26; Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., Seattle; free; 206-622-9250, fryemuseum.org
