Chau, Keyes + Scherer – Secrets’s Can at KAC
February 3, 2016
This week, work by Diem Chau, Doug Keyes + Samantha Scherer will open in an exhibit at the Kirkland Arts Center. Details are below.
Samantha Scherer, OK Alive (detail), 2014, 11 x 11 inches, framed, $600.
Samantha Scherer, OK Alive, 2014, 11 x 11 inches, framed, $600.
Doug Keyes, Humans of NY, 2014, archival pigment prints, edition of 7, 20 x 14 inches, face mounted to plex, price on request
February 6 – March 26, 2016
Reception: Friday, February 5, 2016 – 6:00pm
Featured Artists=
Leslie Balleweg
Melissa Dyanne Bartlett
Cynthia Camlin
Raul Campos
Diem Chau
Ellen Heck
Devon Kelley
Doug Keyes
Nick Kosciuk
Piper O’Neill
Kate Rosendale
Samantha Scherer
Amy Spassov
Tim Suchsland
SylC
Friese Undine
Secrets Can…, takes a modern look at how secrets shape identities and relationships as they are withheld or shared. The diverse contemporary works featured in Secrets Can… range from abstract to figurative, exploring what it means to be vulnerable and strive for meaningful human connection in the 21st century. Icebergs float in isolation in several pieces, while tangled strings connect human figures in others.
University of Washington graduate student Rebecca Fronczak developed the exhibition for her Master’s thesis project through the Emerging Curator Initiative, a partnership between the Kirkland Arts Center and the Museology Graduate Program at UW that began in 2008. Fronczak was initially inspired by graphic artists like Alison Bechdel, who use a medium traditionally seen as juvenile to explore more mature themes of love, loss, and longing. “Through the Emerging Curator Initiative program, my mentors helped me drill that concept down to the core of my inspiration – sharing secrets through art,” explains Fronczak. “Each of the pieces in the show invites visitors to reflect on their own lives or to consider different possibilities.”
Secrets Can… is not a passive experience—it is a space for people to think, engage, dialogue, transform, connect, and discover. An interactive activity will invite visitors to share a secret anonymously or view the secrets of others. A zine, designed by local artist and high school guidance counselor Tim Suchsland, will be available to take home, which includes a reading list for younger gallery visitors and their caregivers, discussing safe and unsafe secrets.
Follow the progress and behind-the-scenes looks at the development of Secrets Can… on Twitter and Instagram @SecretsCan_KAC.
A warm thank you to Davidson Galleries, Hall | Spassov Gallery, Howard/Mandville Gallery, G. Gibson Gallery, Traver Gallery, and Winston Wachter Fine Art for loaning pieces from their artists for this exhibition.