This month’s First Thursday art walk has moved to July 11 because of the fourth of July holiday. The art walk is a long-standing tradition in Pioneer Square, Seattle’s oldest neighborhood which is home to dozens of galleries. During the community event galleries often showcase new exhibitions.

Parking is free for artwalk visitors at Frye Garage (117 3rd Ave S), Butler Garage (114 James Street), and 450 Alaskan (450 Alaskan Way - entrance on King Street). Arts reporter Lisa Edge shares the following suggestions for what to check out during your self-guided tour.

“Juliana Kang Robinson: HanSan” at Method Gallery

Gallery view of “Juliana Kang Robinson: HanSan.” Photo courtesy of the artist

From the artist: “My goal is to deepen my studio practice and fully engage myself in creating artwork that embodies the spirit of unity or Han San (Korean for One Mountain). Han San is the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. A mountain is more than simply soil, plants and rocks just as society is more than an aggregation of people. We are more than ourselves when unified, more than labels, nationalities or tribes. My life goal is to create visual representations of this concept that spur viewers to ponder the beautiful and complex way that different parts can come together to unify and thus elevate us beyond the self.”

From the gallery: “Born in South Korea, Juliana Kang Robinson immigrated to the U.S. at the age of six shortly after winning Korea’s National Drawing Contest for Kindergarteners with a pastel depiction of a historic Korean battle at sea. She continues to draw from Korea’s history, culture and current events for her drawings, paintings and installations.”

Robinson’s work has been on display locally and she’s the recipient of the 2018-2019 Artbridge Fellowship from Pratt Fine Arts Center. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

WHAT: “Juliana Kang Robinson: HanSan”

WHEN: Thursday July 11, 5 -9 p.m., runs until July 13

WHERE: Method Gallery, 106 Third Ave. S., Seattle

“Bill Whipple – New Abstractions” at 4Culture “Arch” by Bill Whipple, 2016, wood and found objects, 23 x 24 x 5 inches. Photo courtesy 4Culture

Bill Whipple’s latest exhibit is work created primarily from discarded wood and found objects. According to the artist, his new abstract sculptures need no abstruse artsplanation. He does say that he adjusted his approach because it felt too restrictive and tedious.

From the artist: “Part of my new, more unstructured process has been to let the materials do a lot of the work and suggest particular sculptural designs. A modest castoff piece of wood might be my initial inspiration or, at other times, an object’s inherent attractiveness will serve as a starting point… but I might alter it and make it less pretty so it won’t divert attention from its conjoined mates. And with this relaxed approach, mistakes are no problem — flaws can usually be disguised as intentional, or even be transformed into something positive. In the end though, a degree of control does become necessary to unify the sculpture’s disparate parts, giving the whole some sort of order that conveys balance, stability, movement, and/or tension. In other words, I think there is an underlying formality to the work, and yes, even new rules, my own standards, creeping in again. Although I consider the sculptures to be essentially abstract, there are sub-themes in the series that have inevitably crossed my mind. Most obvious are recycling, trees and wood, plus the use of wood (how it’s milled, machined, shaped, and the labor that goes into some of its products). The discarded wood I use in my studio has a history: tree to mill, to construction site, to refuse pile, and now to a sculpture. I like to think that I’m rescuing it from the forces of entropy, giving it a renewed purpose and appreciation.”

Whipple is a University of Washington graduate and has been creating art for the past 40 years. His work has appeared in shows at Bellevue Arts Museum, the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum and more.

WHAT: “Bill Whipple: New Abstractions”

WHEN: Opens July 8, 6 — 8 p.m., runs until Aug. 8

WHERE: 4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Place S., Seattle

“Summer Visions: Human Connection” at Path with Art

Path With Art's “Summer Visions” exhibition will include a display of unique masks. Photo courtesy PWA

“Summer Visions” is a quarterly visual art exhibit showcasing the work of Path with Art (PWA) students. Watercolors, ceramics and book sculptures will be on display as well as masks from a collaborative summit with Northwest School students. Northwest School is an independent day and boarding school in Seattle.

From PWA: “Northwest high schoolers discussed firsthand experiences with homelessness and explored the complexities around this issue. This unique project is a microcosm of the conversations PWA hopes to encourage in our broader community so we may come closer to understanding each other’s humanity and open ourselves up to compassionate and realistic solutions to the most pressing problems of our time.”

The collaboration helped at least one student reevaluate the stereotypes they had of people who are unhoused. “I stereotyped homeless people a lot before the summit. I thought most of them did drugs and were homeless because of drugs and alcohol. I also thought they were scary. The interactions and stories from the Path with Art artists showed me that homelessness is caused by a multitude of things, and that they are not scary.”

WHAT: “Summer Visions: Human Connection”

WHEN: Thursday, July 11, 5-7 p.m.

WHERE: Path with Art, 312 Second Ave. S., Seattle

Lisa Edge is a Staff Reporter covering arts, culture and equity. Have a story idea? She can be reached at lisae (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Lisa on Twitter @NewsfromtheEdge

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Read the full July 3 - 9 issue.

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