The Gallery at OK Hotel

2010-07-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Julia Haack

2009-05-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

The work of artist Julia Haack will be on display during the month of May with an opening on Thursday, May 7 from 6-9PM.

Please visit http://juliahaack.blogspot.com/

Family Portraits - Mark Kang-O'Higgins

2009-03-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Family Portraits
Mark Kang-O'Higgins
April 2 - April 30
Opening Reception: Thursday April 2, 2009

www.kangohiggins.com

Artist's Statement: My work is firmly rooted in the figurative tradition. This has brought me work as a fine art instructor and as a commission portrait artist. I am interested in the human condition in both the physical and emotional sense.

Much of my work is formally concerned with solid objects/masses in space. I am interested in how objects/beings unfold themselves in space, manifest themselves, and realize themselves as objects and beings, spatially and mentally. In short how objects and beings emanate as physical and mental energy. In my work I want to describe their presence, in every sense of the word: both presence as individuals or events and presence in relation to (or in juxtaposition with) other events and environments.

The synthesis of an individual consciousness with its surroundings and the interaction of different consciousnesses are of particular interest to me from a phenomenological and existential point of view. Recently my work was also concerned with masked or depersonalized intelligences – how individuals can, at times, find each other unfathomable in the Wittgensteinian sense. Specifically, that of one individual never truly being able to know the mind of another and therefore being forced into speculation. Most recently, however, the philosophical questions and issues that my work springs from and attempt to address have been tempered by my desire to additionally represent the simple beauty and mystery of creation.

Shallow Cuts

2009-03-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Tracy Lang

"Shallow Cuts"

opening March 5

live music by Acid Candidate

Art mediates arguments I have with God. The dull weight of traditional constructs rub against my feral sensibilities. As we spiral toward inevitability I feel the need to shape my journey, to create something larger than myself, a world all my own. Each print is a shedding of skin and a notch on the fence post. When I carve I can reduce the world to simple forms and eliminate confusing contradictions, revealing the invisible by creating an eddy in the current of modernity. Printmaking is a way of collecting time, marking our days with blades and ink.

More at . . . .
tracylang.net

langprints@gmail.com

Opening in March

2009-02-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Tracy Lang - Coming Soon

Accents and Slangs

2009-02-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Bill Watt "Accents and Slangs"

An art exhibition by Bill Watt in conjunction with

VERNACULAR

An evening of choreography by Eliza Larson Opening Feb 5

Performances every half hour Between 6:00 and 9:00 PM

Karen Hackenberg Review

2009-01-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

Karen Hackenberg's solo show at the Gallery at OK Hotel was recently reviewed by Brian Miller of the Seattle Weekly. Here it is . . .

What’s your spirit animal? In her series of diptych oil paintings, Northwest artist Karen Hackenberg posits a strange human-animal kinship. These man-beast portraits, “Divining Line” (through Jan. 30), pair man and bear, woman and fox, guy and cat, etc. with a frontal candor and cheer. This is not the kitschy sensibility of screaming eagle T-shirts or unicorn scenes painted on panel vans. Rather, Hackenberg’s subjects—at least the homo sapiens among them—pose with a kind of unguarded earnestness, as if to say, “This is who I am” or “This is what I’d to be”—a secret affinity openly expressed. Or more simply, “This is my best friend.” Do the bears and foxes and felines feel the same way about us? Likely not, and that’s where the mystery enters into these canvases. They’re half obvious, half inscrutable. We humans are perfectly plain about what we want (be it to fly like an eagle or swim like a dolphin). But we never truly know the thoughts of the objects of our ardor—or if they think at all. Hackenberg’s naïve realism suits this dichotomy nicely. Also on view, her images of cattle (like a trip to Black Angus!) and barns give the show a neo-Americana vibe (Hackenberg is based in Port Townsend). Her series of pencil and charcoal studies of rooftop exhaust fans also reflects the same shed-and-tractor milieu; these humble, ubiquitous objects are like water tanks in New York—functional and elegant, yet in this case a novelty to us city-dwellers. OK Hotel, 212 Alaskan Way S., 264-1688, www.karenhackenberg.com. Free. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. BRIAN MILLER

Karen Hackenberg "Divining Line"

2008-11-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

The Gallery at OK Hotel proudly presents

Karen Hackenberg "Divining Line"

www.karenhackenberg.com

"Divining Line" runs from December 4, 2008 - January 30, 2009 with First Thursday receptions: December 4th and January 8th from 6-9 pm.

Contact: Eric Swangstu eswangstu@cornish.edu or Rob Kmiec rkmiec@digipen.edu.

Figurative Show

2008-10-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

The Gallery at the OK Hotel: Figurative Group Exhibition

Opens Thursday, November 6th, 5-9pm and runs through the month of November

Contact: Eric Swangstu eswangstu@cornish.edu or Rob Kmiec rkmiec@digipen.edu. On Thursday, November 6th, The Gallery at the OK Hotel will open its second exhibit under the new direction of Co-Curators Eric Swangstu and Rob Kmiec. The focus of the exhibition is the human figure and features the work of Sarah Bixler, Ellen Borison, Aaron Coberly, Missy Dahl, Tenley DuBois, Geraldine Kovats, Joe Kresoja, Curtis McDowell, Mark Mueller and Eric Swangstu.

For Aaron Coberly, the most consistent aspect throughout his early life was drawing. To improve himself, he became a protégé to an established artist and studied all aspects of painting, drawing and anatomy. His work is primarily figurative with a stylistic nod to the Masters and the Impressionists. Aaron also runs an open painting and drawing session in Seattle.
http://www.aaroncoberly.com/

Geraldine Kovats is a painter and lecturer (at DigiPen Institute of Technology) with a background in animation. While maintaining a body of autobiographical work, she created art for games and films--most notably Walt Disney Feature Animation. Both her personal and commercial work has been featured in a number of venues and periodicals such as the Orlando Museum of Art, Walt Disney World Tour Corridor, Newsweek, USA Today, Sotheby's, and the Artists Magazine. The subjects of Geraldine's own paintings are familiar to her. Primarily a draftsman, she begins a composition by drawing its contours in paint and works only from life while her subject and/ or lighting conditions last.

http://www.geraldinekovats.com/

In the words of Joe Kresoja . . . “I don't subscribe to one belief system, but my work has a spiritual quality to it. I do believe that one needs to change and grow beyond the confines of culture and the validation of those around you. The balance of peace and tranquility in my life is the starting point for me when brush touches canvas. When I find my inner conscious teetering on the brink of full realization of the moment and losing grasp of it that is where I strive to create from.”

http://www.kresoja.com/

Ellen Borison’s work is about drawing and observation as much as it is about representation. The strength and tension in her work comes from the scrutiny of the living model. Her process is tactile, her line topographic, creating volume and movement. She uses areas of color and erases deliberately as if to plaster the drawing back onto the figure, smearing and pressing the drawing to fit the form.

Melissa Dahl is a student at Gage Academy where she was recently awarded for her work in a self-portrait competition. Scott Lawrimore of the Lawrimore Project judged the competition and had the following to say about Missy’s portrait: “ . . .the 'hand' is only one part of my tripartite judgment of a work. It was Melissa's 'head' and 'heart' that won me over.” http://www.missydahl.blogspot.com/

Tenley DuBois is a student at Gage Academy where she was recently awarded “People’s Choice Award” at the Gage Portrait Show for a piece titled “David: Contemplating Chaos.” Tenley will be exhibiting this award-winning piece at the Gallery at OK Hotel during the month of November.

Co-Curators, Rob Kmiec and Eric Swangstu are both painters who share studio space in the OK Hotel. Rob Kmiec, Professor of Fine Art at Digipen Institute of Technology, received his MFA from Syracuse University and his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art. Eric Swangstu, Associate Director of Admission at Cornish College of the Arts, received his MPS from Pratt Institute, NYC and his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. They are committed to continuing the exhibition program that Seattle artist Greg McCorkle initiated and managed for 3 years and will continue to produce shows of predominately local and regional artists each month. The opening receptions for the artists will be held each First Thursday Art Walk and are free and open to the public. The gallery can be visited 9-5, Monday through Friday and by appointment.

Painting by Aaron Coberly

Painting by Geraldine Kovats

Painting by Joe Kresoja

Drawing by Ellen Borison

Drawing by Missy Dahl

Tenley DuBois and drawing

Opening Night

2008-10-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Group Show opening was held during the First Thursday Artwalk in October. Here are some images from opening night. Pictures courtesy of Rob Kmiec, Gwenn Grage and Stacie Chappell. Enjoy!

Artists Stacie Chappell and Margie McDonald

2008-09-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Gallery at the OK Hotel: Group Exhibition

PRESS RELEASE

The Gallery at the OK Hotel: Group Exhibition Opens Thursday, October 2nd 5-9 pm runs through the month of October

Contact: Eric Swangstu eswangstu@gmail.com or Rob Kmiec rkmiec@digipen.edu

On Thursday, October 2nd, The Gallery at the OK Hotel will open its first exhibit under the new direction of Co-Curators Eric Swangstu and Rob Kmiec. The exhibition features the sculpture of Margie McDonald, and the paintings of Jim Rose and Stacie Chappell.

Stacie Chappell's abstract paintings use a variety of acrylics, inks, fabric paints, drawing doodles and blotting of paint with paper towels, to integrate form, color and pattern. Experimenting with various types of paint media and surface treatments, she creates scenarios for the materials to react differently, ultimately pushing the element of surprise as form and space develops. She received her MFA from State University of New York at Albany and her BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. She is a Seattle-based artist and is represented locally by Marni Muir Gallery. http://www.marnimuirgallery.com/
http://www.staciechappell.com/

Jim Rose's portraits of his friends' and family's faces painted thick with the sensibility of Lucian Freud take on a confrontational presence due to their huge scale. A former class-mate of Chappell's, Rose received his BFA at KCAI.

Margie McDonald, a recent Artist Trust GAP recipient, recycles metal marine materials to create abstract sculpture that often clings and hovers in site-specific spaces. Utilizing her fiber art training from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design (BFA), she dissects and re-constructs the original found objects in an attempt to transcend their original industrial purpose - usually reflecting the nature found in her home environment. She lives and works in Port Townsend.
http://www.margiemcdonald.com/

Co-Curators, Rob Kmiec and Eric Swangstu are both painters who share studio space in the OK Hotel. Rob Kmiec, Professor of Fine Art at Digipen Institute of Technology, received his MFA from Syracuse University and his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art. Eric Swangstu, Associate Director of Admission at Cornish College of the Arts, received his MPS from Pratt Institute, NYC and his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. The opening receptions for the artists will be held each First Thursday Art Walk and are free and open to the public.The gallery can be visited 9-5, Monday through Friday and by appointment.

Painting by Jim Rose

Painting by Stacie Chappell

Sculpture by Margie McDonald

OK Hotel
212 Alaskan Way S
Seattle, WA 98101