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| Celebrating 27 Years in Business
Exhibitions 2012
January............Charlie Barr "My Thailand"
February .........Svetlana Shalygina "Personal Spaces"
March............. Bob Ichter "Color then Wonderful"
April.................Brad Caplis "Welcome Home"
May..................Group Exhibit of New Artists
June..................Thom Ross "How the West was Won"
July...................Jaime Ellsworth "Pagau and Friends"
August.............Jane Aukshunas "Following the Sun"
September........Dan Larsen "Organic Interludes"
October............Mike Smith "My Colorful Life"
November........Don Tiller "Navigating Country Roads"
December.........Annual Holiday Show -A Review of Gallery Artists and Past works of 2012 |
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| Weekly Update January 23- January 29
Charlie Barr "My Thailand" New Paintings
New in February: "Personal Spaces" Introducing Svetlana Shalygina
We are pleased to introduce new works by a new artist to the gallery that we believe is a great fit for us.
February 8, 2012
Buy Art...it will make you feel better in so many different ways...
In the News:
Our bartender and longtime gallery framer, Craig Salathe has a new position at 212 Central in Kirkland as Bar Manager. Check out 212 Central's great food and adult (no one under 21) environment.
http://kirkland.patch.com/articles/live-music-at-two-twelve
Art market beats equities for second year
The art market defied the economic gloom to return 11 per cent to investors in 2011, outpacing stock market returns for a second consecutive year.
The full article can be found at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/265ff0e4-37d0-11e1-a5e0-00144feabdc0.html
Helen Frankenthaler, 83, the abstract painter who became one of the most admired artists of her generation, died Tuesday in Darien, Conn., after a long illness.
James Rizzi, 61, a pop artist best known for his playful and childlike three-dimensional sculptures, died of a heart condition Monday in his New York studio.
We have represented and sold Rizzi's work for nearly 30 years and will sadly miss his playful pop style and boyish charm that has kept him in the spotlight of pop art for 3 decades.
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Friday June 17th we hosted the sculpture unveiling of the "Music Matters Monument - Hendrix/O'Day in the Gallery. Slated to be placed on the Seattle Center Grounds during the 50th anniversary of the Worlds Fair, this sculpture will celebrate two of the Northwest's Music Icons, Jimi Hendrix and Pat O'Day.
Musicians from all over the NW and LA attended this very cool event at the gallery to help support this fundraising event to cast this life size sculpture and support Music Matters.
It was a fun filled and high energy night!
New "Guitart" paintings with NW Musician's Autographs are now available in the gallery.
http://gunnarnordstrom.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=144
Ray Pelley - Washington Wines
The first prints of the series "Northwest Wines" by Ray Pelley are now available. "Le Grand" Chaleur Estate by DeLille is the first print completed and it is unbelievable. Fantastic quality of printing on Canvas. Limited Edition of 50, 24" x 24" and framed. $650
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information, creating a painting that appears to be very realistic like a photograph. The term is primarily applied to paintings from the United States art movement that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Photorealist painting cannot exist without the photograph. In Photorealism, change and movement must be frozen in time which must then be accurately represented by the artist. Photorealists gather their imagery and information with the camera and photograph. Once the photograph is developed (usually onto a photographic slide) the artist will systematically transfer the image from the photographic slide onto canvases. Usually this is done either by projecting the slide onto the canvas or by using traditional grid techniques.Pelley uses the traditional grid technique
The resulting images are often direct copies of the original photograph but are usually larger than the original photograph or slide. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often with an emphasis on imagery that requires a high level of technical prowess and virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs.
Modern Masters
"Rare and Beautiful Prints by Picasso, Miro, Chagall and Dali"
From the Wall Street Journal 5/14
The major spring auctions wrapped up this week in New York with sales that nearly tripled last year's totals. A few artists appeared unaffected by the recent ups and downs of the market. A Picasso painting sold for $106.5 million, setting an auction record, and Andy Warhol's "Self Portrait" sold for $32.5 million, more than twice its high estimate.
But the playing field has been transformed by recession, and dozens of other top artists have been boosted or derailed by the boom-and-bust cycle. Some of the biggest stars from the art market's peak, such as Richard Prince and Damien Hirst, have been largely absent from auctions recently.
On the rise are Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet and Salvador Dali, names that a few years ago were unfashionable in some art circles. In recent years, some Western buyers dismissed their work as passé —crowd-pleasing but uninteresting. New art collectors, however, tend to gravitate to the European Impressionists that are pretty and accessible. Newly wealthy Asian buyers have been bidding up Renoirs and Monets.
I guess art is a pretty good place to put your money...
New Additions
Nancy Coffelt - 30 new 4"x4" playful pastels - Great for Christmas!
James Rizzi - new works just into the gallery, framed and ready to go. Rizzi has been a gallery favorite for 25 years with his playful 3-D Constructions.
Come in to take a look at these fun works!
Michel Delacroix - Lithograph "L' Artiste" $3,000
Michel Delacroix - Lithograph " Le Remorqueur $1,250
Bruno Bruni - New Lithograph "Quattro" $1,550
Leonor Fini - 2 new rare and lovely prints.
New ink on stone pieces by Ken Wachtveitl have been very well received in the gallery and I can see Wachtveitl's work having an ongoing presence in the gallery. Take a look!
Our New Location
If you haven't been to our new location yet, I would encourage you to stop by and say hello. Closing Kirkland was the right thing to do at that right time and I totally love this new Bellevue location. Come out and enjoy it with us.
Sculptures Stolen and Vandalized
So, what's up with Mercer Island and all the art destruction that has taken place over the years?
Our bronze artist Kevin Pettelle had his 3/4 life sized nude, "Temple" stolen and vandalized a few years ago only to be found sawed off at the ankles and in a ditch at the south end of the Island and now another of our artists if finding a similar reaction to his work.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951003&slug=2144873
Another of our artists Larry McLaughlin of France and Arizona had 3 of his very large concrete and glass sculptures stolen just in the past week as did Seattle artist Steve Jensen, only Jensen's were vandalized at the park. I wonder if McLaughlin's too will be found vandalized and scattered by bored and restless youth.
We all know that while they were all expensive works of art, they weren't stolen for their value to be resold or even for their new placement in a secret home gallery, but for the thrill of damaging someone's creativity. How sad that this has to happen in a community that professes it's love of art and free visual entertainment. Keep your eyes open for Totems and Concrete figures.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008665572_webvandalism24m.html
A Decision to Move.
While Kirkland has been good to me and has been a wonderful experience of lifestyle and friendships, it has fallen short in the past 8 years as an arts destination, thus slowing my business growth during a period when it should have been growing. Add to that, an uncertain economy, ridiculously high rents, untimely construction across the street from the gallery (a very cool project though) and a general retail slowdown there, it was time for a change.
After considerable research, observation and due diligence, I decided to relocate during a difficult period to the best affordable project that I could find on the Eastside. There were a lot of factors that went into this decision to stay on the Eastside and not go to downtown Seattle, especially when Seattle was the only choice I had planned on for any move.
The location I have chosen is in a Kemper Development project called Bellevue Place. BP sits on the corner of NE 8th and Bellevue Way N.E. which is of the busiest intersections in the state and is diagonal from Bellevue Square (also a Kemper Development Project) and north across the street (with sky bridge) from Lincoln Square (again, a Kemper Development Project). All are collectively called "The Bellevue Collection"
This new location is on the ground floor and sits on the courtyard of the Hyatt Hotel which is growing by 300 + rooms in July 2009 and will have the largest ballroom/ conference facility in the region. It also sits only feet away from Joey's Restaurant which is one of Bellevue's most popular lunch and dinner spots and is adjacent to 08 Seafood Grill and the Twisted Cork, Daniel's Broiler and Kreiss Furniture as a common wall neighbor. Could there be a better power partner than a furniture store?
While the space is only 950 sq. ft. it is larger than the 700 sq. ft. in Kirkland. It is configured differently than Kirkland is, but has some very positive elements to it with two sides of windows, both inside and outside on the courtyard and it will provide more linear feet of wall space than I had in Kirkland.
Dan Larsen of Larsen Construction is the General Contractor on this project. He is Awesome! Not only is he a Cougar and classmate, but he is one of my artists whom we've had good success with. (The Abstract Organic work on Aluminum).
The Space turned out so much better than I ever anticipated since all I initially saw as the ugly duckling and now it has grown into a beautiful swan. All I have had is a 100% positive reaction to the new gallery space from the layout, walls, lighting and location, not to mention more room to display our artists on an ongoing basis. This will be a very nice new home, hopefully for years to come.
During the project there are many people to thank of which I will have to find the appropriate time and place to do so.
As always, I appreciate your continued support and look forward to being able to service your art needs for many years to come right here in Bellevue.
Thom Ross "Indians on the Beach" San Francisco, CA
Thom Ross installed his new monumental sculpture exhibit in San Francisco just below the Cliff House as he recreates the 1902 photograph of Buffalo Bill's "Indians on the Beach" in life sized painted sculptures. These are amazing with tons of color, whimsical reflections and dancing feathers.
This event brought a ton of publicity and literally thousands of spectators to the site and I had the pleasure of seeing it in person on Sunday the 7th. Even though I have been involved with this project from the beginning and have followed it weekly, I was truly in awe of it's shear magnitude as I strolled the 100 yards viewing each of the 107 sculptures. Stepping back and taking in the entire project was equally as impressive and made me very proud to know Thom Ross as I shared this event and his passion.
While the exhibition is over, you can still own a piece of history and this event by purchasing one or more of the sculptures for your own collection. Contact the Gallery for more information.
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"ART IS NOT A LUXURY". We continue to weather a difficult economy, but can't do it without your help as collectors and patrons and hope that you will continue to look to us as your "Art Source" for your collecting or decorating needs. We have sacrificed a lot to stay in this great community of Kirkland and look forward to the next 20 years. Come out and be a part of it.
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GNG goes to China
Global Economy comes to the gallery by way of our newest adventure into selling artwork.
China has recently been a very active participant in global art purchasing as well as art production and Sotheby's has set new records for work created in China.
Chinese collectors are salivating for western work with a passion and we wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to share in that. With this in mind we decided to participate in an art exhibition in Shenzhen China on May 16th and test the market for supporting our artists and the gallery.
This was a very exciting opportunity to share some of our stable of artist’s work with a world market and see how they are received.
While it is impossible to take our entire stable we have selected 5 artists to start with and I have shipped 20 works to the show. I went to HK and Shenzhen on the 14th of May for a quick 6 day trip to facilitate the work shipped and acclimate myself to a new environment.
The art exhibit was fascinating and without a doubt a great experience for us and we were even able to sell some paintings with the prospect of more in the future.
Artists to watch should their popularity increase overseas are: Ray Pelley, Brad Caplis, Victor Karnaukh and Liang Wei.
Maybe you would like to add their work to your collection before the rest of the world finds them and makes their work more difficult to collect...
May 2009 Update
I was graciously invited back to China by the Government of the Peoples Republic of China for an Arts and Culture event between the 10th and 14th, but due to obligations here in the gallery was unable to attend this wonderful event. Hopefully they will remember me next year and the exhibit timing won't be so complicated.
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In the News
True West Magazine - February-March 2008
Thom Ross has again for a second year in a row been chosen as "The Most Popular, Contemporary Wild West Painter in the Country" by True West Magazine. Congrats Thom!
The Artist's Magazine - March 2008
Our featured April 2008 artist, Don Tiller was selected
to be a part of an article featuring 20 artists over 60 in the March
2008 issue. The feature article includes a photo of his painting
"Tree Line" as well as a short biography. Considering the vast
number of entries (500) it is an honor to have been chosen one of
the twenty professional artists being profiled. Look for it on
newsstands now.
As a result of this article, The Artist's Magazine is doing a feature
article slated for sometime this year. It will discuss his techniques in acrylic, and show a demo of his process in a series of photos.
http://www.artistsmagazine.com
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Spam Problems
Email and the Internet are very important tools for us in the gallery and we take each and every inquiry via email very seriously and strive to respond to each one in a timely manner. Spam has become a huge problem and even with filters, some well deserving emails fall through the cracks and sometimes get deposited in our Spam folder and can be deleted by accident.
If for some reason, you emailed us and didn't get a reply back, please don't take that as non interest, but that we might not have received your mail in the first place. We are trying to monitor the Spam folder much better, but again, there will be occasions when important mail slips though. Please email us again should you not here from us promptly. GNFA@aol.com will always work.
Thank you for your understanding.
New Artist Added:
Ken Wachtveitl Ink on Stone
Please take a look at Wachtveitl's newest work of Nudes painted on slate. Beautiful and organic, these works have one of the most natural medium and surface combinations that I have seen.
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Thom Ross in San Francisco
Thom Ross' trial run for his 2008 sculpture installation in San Francisco took place both on at Alki Beach and the beach in San Francisco below the Cliff House with great success. 21 life size sculptures were placed in the sand depicting a 1902 photograph of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show of Indians on the Beach.
The Seattle Times gave Thom a nice photo in the paper and a brief look at what we can expect in September 2008.
Ross has over 100 life size sculptures planned for a September 5 - September 15 outdoor public exhibit on the beach and should be well received by not only the media, but the San Francisco Community. This might be a fun weekend event to visit and share in our local artist's success. See you there!
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New Works In
Ken Wachteivtl - Ink on Stone
New Abstracts by Anke Schofiled
New Mezzotints by Laurent Schkolnyk (These are lovely)
$375 - $800
New Jurgen Gorg etchings
New Encaustics by Janet Baughman on Canvas
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New Gallery Service
For the past several years we have partnered with a national art company headquartered here in Seattle to offer decorative framed artwork to retail customers throughout the US.
Picture Source of Seattle is a major wholesale art and framing company that supplies framed artwork, paintings, limited editions, open editions, mirrors and sculpture to the retail trade throughout the US. Furniture stores, gift shops, galleries and a variety of outlets showcase these art products of Picture Source.
You as a client of the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery can now access their complete website of artwork and order exclusively through us as Picture Source will not sell to the general public. As a client of the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery, you will be automatically offered a 10% discount on any piece of artwork you select with a deeper discount for large quantities.
Here is how it works: Go to: www.picture-source.com
Log in with this password and customer Id:
Customer Password: 753LG
Customer ID: 1
Please go through the site at your leisure and see what you are interested in and refer those choices back to us. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or call the gallery.
All the artwork is framed and selections of frames are limited, but PS does a great job and matching artwork to mats and frames and normally the combinations will work for everyone.
We hope you enjoy his new service for your art needs.
We will continue to service our collectors the best we can as we have done here for the past 23 years. Again, just remember that "ART IS NOT A LUXURY". We have managed to weather a difficult economy and hope that you will continue to look to us as your "Art Source" for your collecting or decorating needs. We have sacrificed a lot to stay in this great community of Kirkland and look forward to the next 20 years. Come out and be a part of it.
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| Join us for A VERNISSAGE every SECOND WEDNESDAY with a New Exhibit and Artist Reception 6-8pm and A FINISSAGE every FRIDAY before the Vernissage for a Closing Exhibit party 5-7pm.
Happy Hour with Vinosus Jewelry every LAST FRIDAY
Free Parking at Bellevue Place
Be sure to check our website or get on our mailing list for special “Wednesday Night”Meet the Artist Receptions and other Special Events that are on a little more personal level. It is a great time…come on out! |
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| Congratulations
Liang Wei, Wen Zhenfei and Chen Xiangbo will all be exhibiting in NYC soon.
Thom Ross - Cowboys and Indians
Ross has been recently recognized by True West Magazine as the best living contemporary western painter in the country. This honor has been bestowed on Ross for the past 3 consecutive years, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Pat Tolle
MARYHILL MUSEUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS IMLS GRANT FOR ARTIST-FARMER
EXCHANGE PROJECT
GOLDENDALE, Washington --- Thanks to a $44,535 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Maryhill Museum of Art has developed a multi-faceted project to facilitate an artist-farmer exchange that will culminate in an exhibition and numerous related programs in 2006.
This project explores issues and concerns of the modern American Farm
through the eyes of the artists, said Colleen Schafroth, executive director. Twelve artists are spending time with twelve farmers on their farms learning about the ways they employ sustainable agricultural practices in order to survive and thrive.
The project is also in partnership with the American Farmland Trust who
work to stop the loss of productive farmland and promote environmentally friendly farming practices.
IMLS is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.
With their rich collections, museums enable visitors to physically connect with history, science, and the creative process, said Dr. Robert S. Martin, Director of the Institute. The Museums for America grants will help museums advance their role as trusted resources that serve communities by creating and sustaining a nation of learners.
As IMLS largest grant program, Museums for America provides more than $16 million in grants to support the role of museums in American society. The grants build the capacity of museums to sustain our cultural heritage, support lifelong learning, and serve as centers of community engagement.
For 2004, there were 190 grants awarded out of 829 applications.
All of the artists and farms for the Maryhill Museum project have been selected, four from each of the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Each artist is spending time this year at their assigned farm observing, experiencing, and learning about the challenges farmers face to conserve
natural resources while still providing food for a the growing world population.
Artist CPat Tolle has been working at a wheat and blue grass farm near St. John in eastern Washington. Noted for her birds-eye landscape
paintings, Tolle has spent several days observing how farmer Tracy Erickson manages sustainability on the 2,200 acre farm. "I've enjoyed my
partnership/friendship with the Erickson's and plan to visit them
often," said Tolle.
With a 6,000 acre land base, many of Maryhill Museum of Art s interests and projects lie outside the art world, thus the Museum sees itself as playing a significant cultural role in response to social and environmental changes as it relates to rural communities. The Museum s base is in an area where agriculture, tourism, and urban expansion
continually interact, and new life styles arise and evolve.
The Museum is interested in new ways of understanding and responding to these changes, said Lee Musgrave, co-curator of the forthcoming exhibition. Plus humanity’s use of natural resources has been of great interest to artists for decades. So this project is a natural fit for the Museum.
While the $44,535. grant will help to fund part of the exhibition the Museum needs to raise additional funds for the educational programs, curriculum materials, brochures and related materials. We welcome financial assistance from sponsors and others, said Schafroth. It would be a great way to show support for a subject of interest to us all.
Maryhill Museum of Art is a non-profit organization funded by a small endowment established by its founder Samuel Hill (1857-1931),
admissions, members, and grants. It is open seasonally, March 15 through November 15, and is located on Washington Scenic Route 14 just west of
U.S. 97. It serves as the only major art institution for a 100 mile radius.
Published
Ray Pelley, our Martini and Wine enthusiast who captures both of these in photo real paintings has been signed by Grand Image of Seattle to produce a series of wine and martini posters. Posters are a great way for an artist to have national attention fairly quickly. Through Larry Winn and Grand Image, we know we see Ray Pelley across the country. We currently have 7 poster images of Ray Pelley in stock. Look for a few new works in August 2006 as well as a soon to be published Calendar of his cocktails.
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| See You In The Funny Papers
My mother always said “see you in the funny papers” and alas, she finally saw me there. On Mother’s Day May 13, 2001, The Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery appeared nationally in a wonderful 3 panel Sunday edition of the comic strip Ziggy by Tom Wilson. In the title panel, Ziggy is looking up at his home’s blank walls with his dog, exclaiming “Our house is lacking artistic ambience” In the next panel, Ziggy says “… We need some art in here” “…art is one of the essentials of life!” “FOOD, WATER, SHELTER and ART” he exclaims with arms waving. The third panel has a very distinguished art dealer standing in a gallery talking to Ziggy “…Welcome to the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery…is there anything I can show you?” Ziggy answers “…yes, I’d like to see something in a paisley to match my sofa!!” The very distinguished art dealer only sighs and of course finds Ziggy exactly what he was looking for. We are never too stuffy to help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Ziggy has a new book out as of November 2003, Ziggy Goes Hollywood features many of his most recent successful comic strips....and yes....we made the cut. Read the Gallery comic on page 114. Wouldn't that make a great gift?
Many thanks for that great plug to our friend Tom Wilson and Tom II for their support and great comic strip. |
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| Matisse Sold!
Vernissage Added Spring 2010
Yes, “Matisse” the mistress of the gallery has been sold and is off to a new home in Southern California. Those of you that know Gunnar and his love for sailing will agree that it was a sad day to see Matisse leave her slip at Moss Bay. Matisse was a lovely 1968 30’ Shields daysailer that had been a welcome addition to the gallery and it’s clients for the past 5 years. Easily the prettiest boat on the lake, she was sailed often and she is going to be missed. She is going to join her own kind in a fleet of other Shields at Orange Coast College and The University of California at Irvine and will be well taken care of. Happy sailing Matisse!
Vernissage is the newest addition to the Gallery's collection of beautiful women. As was Matisse, Vernissage is also a vintage 1968 daysailer, but a Soling. Designed in Norway for use in the Olympics as a One Design racing boat between 1972 and 2000, the Soling is light and fast, but not nearly as comfortable as the Shields was. Vernissage is a demanding boat and makes you work for a sail, but she still fashions herself quite sporty while maintaining the status of one of the prettiest boats on the lake. We do love our beautiful women in the gallery.
I believe this winter's project on her will be to alter her "racing" mentality and mature her into a comfortable daysailer with new seats and most needed beverage holders...She might even change her color from Navy Blue to a brilliant Yellow...Would that make her a blond?
Stay tuned.... |
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| Whimsical Work Sells Well
Thom Ross' career is in fast mode with new shows, guest lectures, magazine articles and general public appeal. He has had a fabulous couple of years of sold out shows, International attention and the release of the newest version of Owen Wister’s book “The Virginian” which is illustrated by Ross. The 100th Anniversary Edition that was recently published by the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association in Cody Wyoming. The book is available from the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, Buffalo Bill Historical Center 720 Sheridan Ave. Cody Wyoming 82414 www.bbhc.org
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| Art isn’t a Luxury
With the economy in the country being somewhat less than we are use to, Bellevue in general seems to be holding its own. Our move to Bellevue Place in November 2008 has proven to be just what the doctor ordered. While we will always love Kirkland, this new location has increased our business over the previous year and kept us afloat during these difficult times.
If you haven't made it in yet to see our new space, it is fantastic with positive feng shui and great energy, not to mention incredible art and FREE PARKING.
Coming in the New Year, new artists, favorite old artists and more sculpture are inline for 2012.
Remember…”Art isn’t a Luxury” |
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