BAM. SAM. TAM.
They’re the big three art museums of the Puget Sound region.
Art lovers are fortunate to have many others to explore — Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, Frye Art Museum on Seattle’s First Hill, Everett’s Schack Art Center, the Henry Art Gallery at the UW, the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner and the Chihuly Garden at the Seattle Center, along with tons of fine galleries.
However, exhibits at the Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle Art Museum and Tacoma Art Museum, offer a look back at the grand masters and offer a view of the contemporary art world.
Here’s a rundown of what’s happening now and during the summer at the big three.
BAM: 510 Bellevue Way NE; 425-519-0770; www.bellevuearts.org; open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, Free First Fridays until 8 p.m.; admission is $12, with discounts for seniors, students, military, groups.
BAM grew out of an art fair that started in 1947 and eventually led to the founding of the museum in 1975. First pened in 2001 at its current location, the museum is dedicated to art, craft and design.
Until May 1, see an exhibit featuring work by famous American architect Louis Kahn (1901 – 1974), including architectural models, original drawings, photographs and films. Through May 29, enjoy works in porcelain by Oregon-based sculptor Chris Antemann, all with a whimsical Garden of Eden theme.
Inspiring Beauty, a first-ever exhibition on the Ebony Fashion Fair, explores the 50-year history of the fashion spectacle that redefined concepts of beauty, style and empowerment for African Americans, and runs May 20 through Aug. 14.
TAM: 1701 Pacific Ave.; 253-272-4258; www.tacomaartmuseum.org; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, Free Third Thursdays until 8 p.m.; admission is $14, with discounts for seniors, students, military, groups.
TAM has been around for more than 80 years, and moved to its current location in 2003. The museum has an emphasis on the art and artists of the Northwest and the broader West.
Currently displayed are paintings of the American West by John Mix Stanley, a leading 19th century artist; the Mia McEldowney Jewelry Collection; works by various American Indian painters; a leather work exhibition showcasing the creativity of contemporary cowboy culture in North America; and a retrospective look at glass art by Dale Chihuly.
Coming up, see “Edvard Munch and The Sea,” opening April 9 and featuring lithographs by the man made famous by his painting “The Scream.” Beginning May 14, see “Northwest Art Now,” which seeks to illuminate how artists are responding to forces shaping Northwest regional identity during this current wave of growth and rebound from the Great Recession.
SAM: 1300 First Ave.; 206-654-3100; www.seattleartmuseum.org; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and until 9 p.m. Thursdays; Free First Thursdays for all, Free First Fridays for seniors; general admission is $19.95, with discounts for seniors, students, military, groups.
Seattle Art Museum started in the early 20th century as the Seattle Fine Arts Society. The building at Volunteer Park opened in 1933. The downtown museum opened in 1991.
Through May 8, see portraits by painter Kehinde Wiley. The exhibit, “A New Republic,” is a must-see. Wiley is one of the leading American artists to emerge in the past decade. His work makes use of grand portraiture traditions, which describe the portrait sitter’s influence and power, virtue and character, or profession.
The current exhibit line up also includes works by Robert Rauschenberg, Martha Rosler and Pilchuck Glass School artists.
The big summer exhibit at SAM is “Graphic Masters.” The show features printmaking over a 500-year period, with more than 400 works including works by Albrecht Dürer, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Rembrandt van Rijn and William Hogarth. The final works in the exhibition are 200 drawings for a graphic novel “The Book of Genesis” by celebrated 1960s graphic artist R. Crumb, who is now in his 70s. Yes, he’s guy who drew the “Fritz the Cat,” “Mr. Natural” and “Keep on Truckin’?” cartoons.
And don’t forget that Seattle Art Museum also runs the Olympic Sculpture Park above the Seattle waterfront and the Asian Art Museum in SAM’s original building at Volunteer Park.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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