Cable Griffiths large-scale 2015 painting Two Lights in the Woods will be at Seattle Art Fair 2016, in G. Gibson Gallerys booth.
Cable Griffith's large-scale 2015 painting Two Lights in the Woods will be at Seattle Art Fair 2016, in G. Gibson Gallery's booth. Courtesy of the artist and G. Gibson Gallery

Paul Allen's Seattle Art Fair, in its second incarnation this coming August 4 through 7, has finalized its roster of 83 galleries selected to participate. Of the three New York titans that showed up last year, only Gagosian won't return. David Zwirner and Pace will be back. The LA heavy hitter Roberts & Tilton (representing Kehinde Wiley, among others) has joined the lineup, and so has New York stalwart Marlborough, which represents Dale Chihuly, Seattle's glass king. Other highlights: the return of LA's Charlie James Gallery and NY's Donald Ellis Gallery and Paul Kasmin Gallery; a greater number of galleries from Asia (yes, Kaikai Kiki will come again), and a still-healthy contingent of Seattle and Portland galleries, including Greg Kucera Gallery, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, G. Gibson Gallery, SEASON, Upfor, James Harris Gallery, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Abmeyer + Wood, Foster/White, and even Sharon Arnold's new Bridge Productions. Full list here.

Last year!
Last year! Courtesy of Seattle Art Fair

The highlight of last year's fair for many people, including me, was the large-scale video exhibition by artists from all across the Pacific Rim, organized by Afghan-born curator Leeza Ahmady, head of Asia Contemporary Art Week New York. That show was an anomalous gift.

This year's artistic director for the fair is an LA-based writer and curator named Laura Fried, given a smaller operations and bringing fewer and less diverse and international offerings: performances by LA-based artist/musician Brendan Fowler in collaboration with local artists, to happen in Pioneer Square; dancers from Velocity in the International District; and sculptures and interventions at the fair itself by Dawn Kasper, Wynne Greenwood, and Public Fiction.

Casey Currans golden wave at Out of Sight 2015, at the charismatic venue King Street Station, where it will happen again this August.
Casey Curran's golden wave at Out of Sight 2015, at the charismatic venue King Street Station, where it will happen again this August. JG

Meanwhile, over at King Street Station, Greg Lundgren's alternative survey of Northwest artists, Out of Sight, will happen again on fair weekend (and run through the month of August). This time, rather than a team of three curators, Lundgren (curator) has assembled a full-on crew of collaborators: Sierra Stinson (curator/exhibition producer), Minh Nguyen (curator), Julia Fryett (curator, film, video, and new media), Beth Sellars (curator, installation), Molly Sides (curator, dance and performance), Scott Lawrimore (exhibition caretaker), and Justen Waterhouse (exhibition manager). No artist list has been released, and I have no idea what their process is, but we'll find out as the time approaches. Organizer bios here.