Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest, Seattle Art Museum

I was back at Seattle Art Museum for their members preview of Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest.  The word “modern” threw me off a bit; modern art is not my jam. But I was surprised by the number of works that spoke to me. The style is modern, but the exhibition is not of contemporary works. The exhibit gives special insight into 1920s and 1930s Seattle. History! This is my jam! I really enjoyed the historical PNW context, even in a surrealist style.

The exhibition curator provided background and context for the exhibition. The Mystic Painters, primarily Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Guy Anderson, became known for their introspective depictions of Northwest nature with Asian and Native influences.

The depression was ending (yay!) along with the literal realism style, representative of the tough times. Development and industrialization was on the rise. The paintings of the vibrant city, and the beginnings of a dark underbelly, were my favorites of the exhibition, particularly those of Japanese artist Kamekichi Tokita. Yesler Way! Waterfront! I love seeing places I recognize and know. I really love seeing how they looked in the past.

Progress can bring harm as well. And it was this harm the artists were conveying  in a surrealist style. There were series of paintings about workers and laborers that reminding me of the contemporary murals of Diego Rivera, with bold colors and cubic forms. Loggers! Miners! The exhibition moved to paintings reacting to impacts on nature and animals: distressed land, overworked farms. Works become more abstract, including works by Malcolm M. Robert’s, including two distressed boats in front of the Aurora Bridge. Along with the mystics, there were a few works by contemporaries Georgia O’Keefe and Salvador Dali. Abstract art isn’t my thing at all, but seeing it here in context helped me appreciate it.

I loved learning about Northwest artist’s place in the surrealism movement. Seeing so many works from SAM’s permanent collection in context was a treat. I reccommend catching this special exhbit. Beyond Mysticism is on at SAM until August 2.