The Seattle Art Fair happened. I was there. So were other people, though organizers won't tell me the official attendance numbers. Things were bought and sold. I was shocked when a man inquired about a glass sculpture that cost $60K and he didn't immediately faint.

On the whole, I am less impressed with the fair than my predecessor was—it was fine. While I definitely appreciated seeing work by artists from across the world, I struggled with the question: who is this for? Collectors? Art lovers? The general public? Artists? Gallerists? Everyone seemed to walk around a bit in a daze (like me) or tut disapprovingly at the Bread Face demo.

In any case, here are some of the works that broke through the Big Indifference—both big and small.

I've really been blown away by White's recent work—I'm loving the shift in perspective and how he's playing with the layout and interface of various apps on our phones. The way the light illuminates the face of White's subject reminds me of the way light moves in a Georges de La Tour painting—less warm, though. Makes me wonder what at a 17th century Mary Magdalene would look like when scrolling through the Infinite Feed.

"To a Flame" was acquired by the Frye Art Museum for their permanent collection as part of a two-year partnership between the art fair and museum. The Frye also acquired three other artworks from three other Pacific Northwestern galleries and artists: Jeffry Mitchell from PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, Ko Kirk Yamahira from Russo Lee Gallery, and Mary Ann Peters of James Harris Gallery.

"Peripheries #3" by Heather Day at Joshua Liner Gallery

The pictures I took of California-based Heather Day's work really don't do it justice at all. Her pieces are deeply satisfying to look at—the blend of colors, movement, and line come together to create captivating and attractive pieces. Throughout her work I noticed that this bright magenta would sometimes make an appearance amongst all those cool tones. Something hot to keep your eyes focused.

Aaron Johnson at Over the Influence Gallery

God, I love the gremlins and sentient orbs in Aaron Johnson's paintings. At the Over the Influence booth, the Los Angeles/Hong Kong gallery featured the work of Brooklyn-based Johnson. I jokingly said to myself (I was alone in the giant convention center), that “This is me on acid.” Not really though—I didn’t see any multidimensional elves while tripping balls.

In any case, Johnson’s paintings have a sense of atmosphere to them—they’re creepy, but I like them. I felt particularly drawn to the portrait series along the back wall of the booth—most of the figures had little teeth. Remind me of Tic Tacs.

"MFMF [YRB]" by Dan Gluibizzi at Russo Lee Gallery

These were small but sick—I'm a sucker for colored plexiglass. The Portland-based artist was super playful in an accessible way. No cheap thrills here. I'm most used to seeing his work in two dimensional, watercolor form, but his style's translation to sculpture worked perfectly.

I had to end with the girl that everyone was talking about. Anthony James's infinite sculpture drew interesting and weird comparisons: the Upside Down from Stranger Things, a robot's uterus, The Void. All are correct. I was 100% That Guy who spent five minutes trying to figure out exactly how the sausage was made—my guess was that it was a complex system of one way mirrors that were able to reflect into infinity. A part of me hoped that this piece of art would be able to rip the fabric of time and take us all out of here. Got as close as I could to the glass, closed my eyes waiting for it to take me. Nothing happened.

The Seattle Art Fair 2020 will be back next July 23-26. And so goes another year.