On first glance, it might be easy to write off the work of Seattle artist Jane Lackey as mumbo-jumbo, but when one studies the materials she uses, her interests in neuroscience, genetics, and speech patterns, pieces like those from the above series, Survey, seem to make a bit more sense. Using paint, tape, and stickers, Lackey has constructed these textured pieces reminiscent of subway maps. In reality, they are representative diagrams of the conversations between twelve individuals in an artist residency in France. Abstract, sure, but it is interesting to know that every single dot and every line on the pieces have some kind of significance.

Lackey will be a visiting artist at Pratt Fine Arts Center on March 12th, at 6:30pm.

www.janelackey.com
www.pratt.org

Rise and shine, suckers.

Morning Breath is ’bout to knock you out with some effortless design. I’ve been checking out Morning Breath’s goods purely for their quirky typographic compositions, but I have to say, their illustration mixes are a sight for sore eyes too. The show should be off the hook, especially since they’re doing it with veteran bomber and graphic artist, Cycle. Best go and checkitout, checkitout.

Opening Reception ends in a few hours, so all you Brooklyn folks reading this blog right now should run out and catch the party before it’s too late.

www.adhocart.org
www.morningbreathinc.com

Just a quick heads up! If you’re in Los Angeles this evening, go to Echo Park for the opening of The Ronin Gallery! Their show, Cowboys & Samurai, features lots and lots of Seattle and Los Angeles street art favorites… as well as REDEFINE favorites like Matt Ryan Sharp, Ego, Parskid, Thomas Han, and more!

Take Part In Art, a regional celebration of the arts, is taking place in the Seattle area through March 1st. That means: it’s almost over.

Here’s what you can do to take advantage of this event while it’s still going on.

Henry Art Gallery
2-for-1 admission for the duration of the event. See video Installations by Ben-Ner, Herrera, Sullivan, and Sussman & The Rufus Corporation!

Nordic Heritage Museum
2-for-1 admission for the duration of the event. Knitting Along the Viking Trail features work by renowned Swedish knitting designer Elsebeth Lavold whose work reinterprets and adapts Viking craftsmanship, giving new life to this most celebrated aspect of Nordic cultural heritage.

Pratt Fine Arts Center
New students get 10% off all classes by using the coupon code “TPIAF09″ before the event ends. Choose from classes in glassblowing, cast glass, flameworked glass, metal sculpture, bronze casting, stonecarving, jewelry, woodworking, printmaking, painting, drawing and more.

Seattle Architecture Foundation
Get a two hour walking tour, usually worth $15.00, at a pay what you want rate (minimum of $1.00).

Seattle Asian Art Museum
Pay what you want for the duration of the event. See exhibits like Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, which features 58 artworks will present new facets of Indian painting that flourished in the royal courts of Rajasthan from the 17th to the 19th century.

Seattle Art Museum
Pay what you want for the duration of the event. See Edward Hopper’s Women and more permanent exhibits.

Wing Luke Asian Art Museum
Enjoy free family day on Saturday, February 28th, which includes free arts and crafts for kids from 1:00pm to 3:00pm! All other days, get 2-for-1 admission.

It’s surprising to see that Seattle Public Utilities are holding a half-decent emerging artist art show, but it’s happening somehow… from now until March 31st. Here are two notable artists from that show (which is actually not much of a show, I think, so much as it is a way of helping workers of the Seattle Municipal Tower a slight bit happier).

Eva Skold Westerlind makes the age-old art of nature photography look much more interesting than it usually is. Some of Westerlind’s astounding photos document views that might only last an hour or a minute, making them a true capture of a moment in time. These images from her above Anableps series capture a surprisingly varied and unique take on reflections and water. Her Melt series finds characters, dinosaurs, and shapes created by melting snow, akin to the shapes one would identify when watching cloads floating by overhead.

Maki Tamura’s works easily inspire awe almost immediately. This piece, Birds, features painted watercolor images of birds framed by painted and carefully ornamented, multi-layered wood frames. Tamura’s eye for three-dimensional and two-dimensional design is unparalleled, and her pieces stand out as a homage to eras like the Gothic and Victorian eras, where beauty in intricacies, shapes, and patterns still made a world of difference.

www.seattle.gov/arts/publicart/municipal_tower.asp
www.evaskoldwesterlind.com
www.lucasschoormans.com/index.php?mode=artists&object_id=28

March will be an exciting month for our artist friend Max Kauffman, as it will mark his first solo show in a notable amount of time! Kicking off March 6th at the Push Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina, Kauffman’s works will be up on display through the end of March.

Entitled “Ghosts of Industry,” the show focuses on what the artist describes as the “frailty of spirit, currently felt by many.” In these hard economic times, Kauffman’s pieces celebrate life brightly, with minor abstractions in the form of bleeding paints and hastily drawn shapes merely hinting at chaos.

Most of the pieces on display are mounted on board and encased in resin, making these web pictures lackluster by comparison. Expect thirty new paintings utilizing watercolors, acrylics, and gouache, as well as an installation developed exclusively for the gallery.

www.kauffmanartistry.com
www.lickr.com/photos/kauffmanartistry/
www.pushtoyproject.com

Even if you don’t have much money for art, these pieces by Matt Sharp are easily affordable at a low low $25 apiece! These original acrylic paintings range in size from 3.25″ squares to 3.5″ x 5″ rectangles.

Visit Shoparooni to get yours before they sell out!

www.itskindadark.com
www.shoparooni.com

After I became resigned to the fact that most of the boutiques on Los Angeles’ infamous Melrose strip sell clothing for pretty much the same three kinds of people, I stumbled upon The Congregation of the Forgotten Saints. This shop, which caters equally to goth-glam men and women and to those stepping in line with My Chemical Romance’s fashion senses, doubles up as an art gallery. From month to month, the shop holds an art show centered around a different and completely atypical theme.

Their current show, curated by fellow artist Jeremy Cross, supported/produced by Wild Card Productions / The Metal Awards & Forgotten Saints Clothing, and on behalf of Art Core Presents, is dedicated to “Forgotten Saints”. Over 40 artists from around North America have their works on display for this show, with almost all of the works being considered at least slightly blasphemous to a religious individual. The show’s tagline? “Saints that never were, but should have been.” This “should have been” extends to robot saints, monster saints, mythological saints, goofy saints, and pretty much any kind of saint you can think of.

Here are a few selected pieces from that show which really stood out as inventive or simply well-crafted.

Vince Locke’s Saint Ebba is a painted Cthulu saint.

***

Filipino/German artist Ted Von Heiland’s Saint Solace is a mixed-media sculpture that features the only cyborg-esque saint of the show.

***

Thomas Pendleton and Anthony Lawson’s St. Mangina features… well — a rubber vagina — over the face of a saint. I wish I could share the entire artists’ statement on the piece, because it’s hilarious, but suffice it to say that it starts off with a cleverly punned, “GLORY HOLELUIAH.”

***

Illustrator Jeff Rebner flexes his comic book muscles with “Aleistor SamHain,” a black-and-white skeleton-faced saint.

***

With more than 35 other pieces on display at the shop, be sure to visit it if you happen to be in Los Angeles.

www.forgottensaintsla.com
www.bastardart.com
www.myspace.com/wildcardprods
www.myspace.com/themetalawardshow
www.myspace.com/artcorecfs
www.vincelocke.com
www.vonheiland.blogspot.com
www.ministryofink.com
www.boneseeds.com
www.rebnerwerks.com
www.myspace.com/thedirtylounge