Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Archives

Muse/News: Museum Love, Mural Stories, and Future Energy

Rachel Eggers on Feb 13 2023

SAM News

Bonus points for the When Harry Met Sally reference: Secret Seattle rounded up “30 Ideas For Fun And Romance This Valentine’s Day In Seattle,” including, yes, a museum date at SAM.

Local News

News from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture: Shin Yu Pai will be the Civic Poet for 2023–24. Here’s her interview with KUOW about what she’s hoping to do during her tenure.

The Stranger’s Jas Keimig catches up with the arts mailbag, catching you up on Regal Meridian news, yəhaw̓’s new space, and more.

Rachel Gallaher for Seattle Magazine profiles muralist Stevie Shao as part of its #MostInfuential coverage.

“Shao’s illustrations are rooted in her personal experience. They combine her Chinese American heritage with her life in the Pacific Northwest. Her patterned, brightly colored, illustrative work taps into the Chinese culture and history she learned from her family — and now proudly shares with the community.”

Inter/National News

“An artist beyond categorization”: CBS Sunday Morning heads to MoMA to visit their Meret Oppenheim exhibition.

Fellow diggers, pay attention! Via The Guardian: “Rare Giacometti chandelier bought for £250 in London set to sell for millions.”

Via Rámon Baretto for Vogue: “Mariane Ibrahim Takes Mexico City By Storm With a New Gallery Space.” We miss Ibrahim’s groundbreaking Seattle gallery, but we cheer her ongoing expansion around the world (Chicago, Paris, and now Mexico City)!

“I think Mexico City has an energy of the future—in music, in art, with architecture, design, and fashion. It is a vital place in the world we are in, and it also has a focus on craftsmanship. Our artists are aware of this.”

And Finally

“The bops ranneth over.”

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: Chloe Collyer.

Muse/News: Melancholy smiles, love letters to dance, and Swizz Beatz’s art collection

Rachel Eggers on Feb 19 2019

SAM News

Last week, SAM announced the launch of the public phase of a $150 million campaign to support all aspects of the museum’s mission. To date, the campaign has raised more than $125 million towards its goals. Artnet and Patch.com shared the news.

Armon Mahdavi of UW Daily with a lovely look at The Magic Lantern of Ingmar Bergman, the museum’s centennial celebration of the legendary Swedish writer-director, curated by Greg Olson, SAM’s Manager of Film Programs.

“Olson was seated near me during the showing, and after the film finished, we exchanged glances. ‘I hope we’ll all be alright in the end,’ he said to me with a melancholic smile.”

Local News

The Jacob Lawrence Gallery at the University of Washington is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Crosscut’s Mason Bryan speaks with Michael Spafford, Barbara Earl Thomas, C. Davida Ingram, and others about the artist’s legacy.

Crosscut’s Aileen Imperial with another great video story, this time featuring six local dancers—including David Rue, SAM’s Public Engagement Associate—performing love letters to their art form.

Bones! Feathers! Forklifts! Brendan Kiley of the Seattle Times gets a behind-the-scenes look as the team at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture move their collection into its new “inside-out” digs.

“The coolest thing I found? I don’t want to admit it,” he said. “Mostly evidence of my co-workers from decades ago—someone had been sitting at a desk, smoking while working on specimens, and used one of the shells for an ashtray! They should give it a label: ‘archaeological tool used by museum employee 30 years ago.’”

Inter/National News

Andy Battaglia of ARTnews on the (very sad) news that gallerist Mariane Ibrahim is closing her Seattle space and moving to Chicago. Pam McClusky, SAM’s Curator of African and Oceanic Art, spoke with Andy, noting that “She couldn’t be a more distinctive catalyst for international art.”

Artnet’s Henri Neuendorf reports on the reaction from the arts community to the big news that Amazon has abandoned plans to establish an HQ in New York City.

M.H. Miller of the New York Times Style Magazine profiles producer Swizz Beatz on how he created interest in contemporary art in the hip-hop world—and how he is bringing change to the art market itself.

“Over the past 20 years, he and his wife have built one of the great American collections of contemporary art, and he has quietly become one of the art world’s most important power brokers, a singular advocate for artists in an industry that often exploits creativity for the sake of the bottom line.”

And Finally

Parkland survivors, one year later.

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Manager of Public Relations

Photo: Jen Au

Muse/News: Arts News from SAM, Seattle, and Beyond

Rachel Eggers on Mar 12 2018

SAM News

Boom for real! SAM announced last week that a famed and rarely seen painting by legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is headed to the museum beginning March 21. The Seattle Times shared the news, and KUOW’s The Record hosted a conversation about the painting’s rarity and impressive auction price with KUOW’s Marcie Sillman and City Arts’ Margo Vansynghel.

Diana Cherry of ParentMap reviewed Figuring History with an eye towards kids and families, declaring that “the message is undeniable: Black is beautiful — in art, in history and in this country.”

“To tell you that these paintings made my heart sing would be an understatement. I found it truly uplifting to see Seattle Art Museum center black people—especially black women—and their stories with art that includes, but isn’t limited to, slavery, black suffering and black oppression.”

The Bellevue Reporter previewed the upcoming installation by artist Molly Vaughan at SAM, sharing quotes from the artist.

“We’ve become de-sensitized to violence, and violence against the trans community in particular,” Vaughan said. “Project 42 is an opportunity to share space with that life that was lost, engage with each other, and elevate the discussion. I feel really humbled to be a part of it.”

Local News

For Crosscut, Double Exposure artist Tracy Rector offers her reflections on the allegations against Sherman Alexie and recommends an impressive list of female Native authors for your reading list.

Seattle Times columnist Nicole Brodeur profiles photographer Eddie Rehfeldt, whose new photography show at The Piranha Shop in Sodo tackles ideas about isolation and technology.

City Arts’ Margo Vansynghel reviews the Ko Kirk Yamahira exhibition, now on view at the Frye.

“In his first solo museum exhibition, Yamahira builds beautifully on this minimalist-modernist legacy with deadpan reverence and delicate sensuality.”

Inter/National News

The New York Times on Billy Graham, the “Renaissance man and bon vivant” who was largely unknown, even though he was the first Black artist for Marvel to draw Black Panther and Luke Cage.

Artnet on the “showstopper” booth of new work by British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor at New York’s Armory Show from Seattle’s own Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.

Jonathan Jones of The Guardian with a powerful write-up of Sondra Perry’s latest gallery show, Typhoon, now on view in London. Her show at SAM is now on view.

“Perry juxtaposes the shallowness of our media-saturated lives with the power of true art and properly held memory. If we carried the bloodstained Atlantic that Turner painted in our hearts, maybe we could address the crimes and wrongs of the present. Yet forgetfulness is winning. There is a typhoon coming on.”

And Finally

“Place your ‘Left Ring Finger’ in the undulating bug next to your keyboard.” David Lynch teaches typing.

– Rache Eggers, SAM Manager of Public Relations

Image: “Untitled,” 1982, Jean-Michel Basquiat, American, 1960–1988, acrylic, spray paint, and oilstick on canvas, 72 1/8 x 68 1/8 in., Yusaku Maezawa Collection, © 2018 The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat / ADAGP, Paris / ARS.