“Abstract Expression to Colored Planes”
Midcentury American art is a particularly strong area of the Seattle Art Museum's collection. Matthew Kangas tours us through the particulars, from Arshile Gorky's masterpiece to Christopher Wilmarth's tragically shortened path towards greatness. More...
Zombie Abstraction (Pt 2)
The recent resurgence of optical abstraction goes well beyond rehashing 1960s-era Op Art. Conceptual, cosmological and emotional vantage points have been incorporated to great effect by artists alert to both scientific and speculative developments. More...
A Commencement Show
The commencement ritual is a key annual ritual at thousands of schools throughout the country. James Yood's longtime base, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has raised buzz and controversy this year by announcing that Kanye West will receive an honorary doctorate next month. More...
Growing Beyond Disinfotainment
The art world has changed enormously over the last half-century. It is, after all, a mirror of society; but still, these changes reflect a steady loss of faith in the power of aesthetic meaning. We must demand better. More...
Alt-Weekly Arts Writing
VAS contributor Richard Speer is most familiar to Portland area readers for his 13-year run with Williamette Week. The response to the announcement of his departure prompts this reflection on where he's been, and where art writing may be going. More...
Virginia Wright (Pt 2)
The second of Matthew Kangas' two part appreciation of one half of one of Seattle's most important art patrons, Virginia Wright. More...
Zombie Abstraction (Pt 1)
David Rubin examines some of the early exemplars and what they did to empower and substantiate the abstract aesthetic. More...
Hey S-agers, Treasure Your Time
This message from James Yood is directed towards art pros now hitting their senior years, but the rest of you should listen up as well: stop griping, it doesn't help; better to focus on making your time memorable. More...
Virginia Wright (Pt 1)
Virginia Wright, with her late husband Bagley, was among Seattle's top art patrons for decades. Matthew Kangas offers the first of a two-part profile. More...
When Actions Speak Louder Than Art
Mel Chin has earned a much deserved reputation and a recent retrospective for his brilliant conceptualism. But, says David S. Rubin, Chin's projects extend beyond this to serve the greater good without missing an aesthetic beat. More...
Globalization and Art
In the tenth of his series of responses to a 2012 essay by Irving Sandler, DeWitt Cheng tackles the impact of globalization on art. More...
Really: What IS an Art Fair?
It's not like James Yood thinks there has been a lack of discussion about art fairs. But here he gets one of the most obvious and oft misunderstood issues off of his chest: What isn't, and just what is, an art fair. More...
My Art-Crush on Lady Agnew of Lochnaw
Recently to be seen at the Frick in New York, and on it's way to San Francisco and Fort Worth, Sargent's "Lady Agnew" is one of Richard Speer's all time art crushes. More...
Artist Biographies: An Annotated Selection
Twenty years ago James Yood started a reading project that continues today: Artist biographies. Here's a primer to some of the best among the hundreds he has read in case you want to catch the bug too. More...
Jim Morphesis and the Quest for Self
Betty Brown sees a key example of art for the sake of realization in Jim Morphesis’ body of work, which amounts to a carefully balanced response to the tradition of deeply historical Christian iconography and modernist expressionism. More...
An Interview with Peter Selz
Now 95, Peter Selz has seen--and had an active hand in--the arrival and departure of many of the major art movements of the last half century. Here are some of his latest thoughts about the continuing impact of Pop Art and more. More...
Latino Studies
The pioneering Chicano artist Mel Casas recently passed away, marking an apropos moment for David S. Rubin to assess the progress San Antonio's Latino artists have made in contributing to that citiy's cultural vitality. More...
Ten Suggestions for a New Year
The heck with New Year resolutions and ten-best lists. DeWitt Cheng offers a set of ten guidelines for the art-perplexed to welcome in 2015. More...
Pop Art’s Enduring Life (Part I)
Pop art, argues Matthew Kangas, is not only currently resurgent, it's influence on contemporary art is creating waves of fresh discourse. The Seattle Art Museum's current "Pop Departures" exhibition makes the case. More...
Artists as Producers: DIY to Big Budget
That many artists avail themselves of the model and technologies available to Hollywood producers is an open secret. But in the end it's the aesthetics that should make or break these artists, not their production values. More...
