If New York Notices, it Must be Good
The lovely and talented Victoria Haven, best known around here for her rubber-band wall sculptures and repeating flat structures made of tape, will show three works at the Drawing Center in New York this fall. The Drawing Center was established in the mid-'70s to showcase emerging artists, and this show, 12 Views, is a yearly exhibition (formerly called Selections) of work by artists not yet represented in New York. If you happen to be in New York on September 7, there's a reception from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at 35 Wooster Street; I recommend you plant yourself by Haven's ink, tape, and vellum works and show the world that Seattle knows from art. (12 Views runs through October 20.)
Congratulations are also due to Yuki Nakamura, who, if rumors threading through cocktail gossip have any truth to them, has won a Pollock-Krasner grant. Much of Nakamura's work (white, unglazed porcelain in shapes both sexy and austere) was destroyed in this past spring's tectonics, so it seems extra-specially thrilling that some money is coming her way. I couldn't verify the facts, either from the foundation itself (which hasn't updated its website since 1999, and doesn't return e-mails) or Nakamura (who has mysteriously disappeared). But, if this rumor is true, she is the latest in a long line of Seattle artists (including Haven, Dan Webb, and Cameron Martin, all three of whom are represented by Howard House) to win this prestigious award.
And speaking of Howard House artists in New York, Robert Yoder, of the glyphic cut-apart and reassembled road signs, is having a spring show at the Charles Cowles Gallery. It's a fairly common practice in the gallery world to give an artist a kind of tryout, and then if all goes well, to take the artist on for representation. I told the helpful assistant I spoke to at Charles Cowles, "You should represent him, you know," and he said, "Oh, I love Robert's work." Good luck, Robert!
And speaking of the Charles Cowles Gallery, a source who wishes to remain (obviously) anonymous tells me that Dale Chihuly has been dropped from the Cowles roster after 20 years there. This source had heard that there was a conflict of interest regarding the way the artist sold his work (out of his warehouse, undermining the gallery's sales); the same helpful assistant told me, "It's too complicated to speculate on." Cowles himself, a curator at the Seattle Art Museum in the '70s and '80s, had represented Chihuly. Chihuly is now represented by the Marlborough Gallery. EMILY HALL
Meanwhile, on the Other Side of the Drink
Sad news from France: Ardeo Theatre Project is calling it quits. The scheme of this ambitious project, launched last year by entrepreneur Ben Rankin and a crew of committed Seattle theater folk, was to combine a theater school at a sumptuous French chteau with a resident theater company that would perform both classics and original works. Regrettably, complications in upgrading the chteau--a massive building dating back to the 12th century on a gorgeous, sprawling estate--forced Ardeo to cancel its summer term. That, combined with the escalating cost of the renovation, has forced the organization to close its doors. What makes this most unfortunate is that enrollment had been going well, and the financial prospects for the educational program itself were promising. All enrolled students will receive full reimbursements; renovations on the property will continue in the hands of others. BRET FETZER
