Visual Arts

posts about art, art shows, galleries and other visual arts…

Collaborative Paintings at Tobin Gallery: Jazz in color

“This work needs to be seen by more than the 120 people who attended the opening,” said Tobin Ropes, owner of the new Tobin Gallery in downtown Tacoma, which is showing Schmitt & Hall: Collaborative Improvisations through August 15. Thirty-one Schmitt/Hall paintings are on display in the gallery, mostly figurative, most telling a story. While the artists cite German expressionists such as Max Beckmann as an influence, they’ve veered away from the darkness of expressionist paintings. Rather, these works feature color.

The New Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance Museum Showcases Olympia’s Artistic and Cultural History

The newly opened Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance Museum is designed to combine multiple elements under one roof, including a visitor center and an all-around community hub that features a rotating selection of displays, art exhibitions and cultural experiences, with a focus on regional topics. The museum made its grand opening the weekend of June 28 and is now open weekly from Thursday through Sunday. Centrally located on Columbia Street, the museum sits across the street from The Olympia Center and just steps away from Percival Landing Park near Olympia’s waterfront.

Oly Arts Summer 2025 Print Edition

The Summer print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 33 is published! Here is a list of where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy, and a link to the PDF file so you can read it online. Enjoy!

tomakesenseofitall: Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon at Tacoma Art Museum

The art of Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon in their show, “tomakesenseofitall” at Tacoma Art Museum works to deliver orchestrated messages, respecting and supporting each other’s voice, singing a similar song which gives you many things to think about. Harrison and Pettibon have much in common, they both practice their disciplines with similar concerns in mind, they both utilize a rich, visually allegorical narrative, incorporating surrealism as a means of communication to express the niche space they occupy in the world.

Dive Into Summer Reading List at Childhood’s End

Summer Reading List at Childhood’s End Gallery gathers a diverse sampling of what the book arts can do. Childhood’s End is Olympia’s premiere art gallery, and this exhibition should not be missed. The artists are: Susan Aurand, Malpina Chan, Camella Gumaelius, Robin Gumaelius, Lucia Harrison, Randi Parkhurst, Shu-Ju Wang and Suze Woolf.

Artists’ Gallery Summer Party: You’re Invited!

Founded in downtown Olympia in 1980 by a group of artists dedicated to bringing their work directly to and fostering a dialogue with the community, the Artists’ Artists’ Gallery in Capital Mall celebrates 45 years of cooperative art this summer with live music and an opportunity to meet and talk with the artists, and view a wide selection of drawings, paintings, sculpture, jewelry and other artworks.

Labyrinths at Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts

Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts supports experimental and experiential art. They have made themselves quite the legacy. They usually house group shows twice a year, with some solo shows in between when possible. The Spring Arts Walk show through May 24 is a local open call. The theme is Labyrinth, and it is a deeply intriguing show because of its multiple interpretations of this universal theme and the uses of varied materials and compositions.

Danger Room’s Stand-Up Comics Guy Celebrates Free Comic Book Day

Even contemplating the upcoming annual chaos known as Free Comic Books Day at Danger Room Comics on May 3rd elicits a hearty chuckle from Frank Hussey. “I like to say it’s my favorite holiday where I work all day long.” Hussey is the proprietor, and the garrulous mirror-universe twin of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. Instead of a sour-faced and patronizing comics geek, he’s a smiling and loquacious shopkeeper who’s equally informative and open-hearted.

2025 Juror’s Invitational at South Puget Sound Community College

Gallery Director Sean Barnes said of the 2025 Juried Invitational Exhibition at South Puget Sound Community College, “This show has this nice balance of kind of spirituality and observation of the natural world. We have these temples and this little chapel for (Charles Pitz’s) work and then a goddess dress, and they are surrounded by
representational images of nature. It really came together in an interesting way.”

South Sound Studio Tour: Two Days of Wonder

by Alec Clayton The South Sound Studio Tour is a free self-guided tour of artists’ studios throughout Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey with more than 75 artists in more than 25 studios where you can see their recent work and talk to them about their art. Here are four artist studios not to be missed: Joe …

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