SEATTLE SHOWCASE

Paintings and Mixed-Media Work from Four of Seattle’s Up-and-Comers

Young, precocious, and new on the scene, four of Seattle’s nubiles give us a peek into the budding art scene of Portland’s northern neighbor. Backspace Gallery is proud to present Seattle Showcase, a group exhibition featuring works from Carl Faulkner, Parskid, Peekaboo, and Soso.

In the past decade, Seattle has been the home to such prominent artists as Robert Hardgrave, Blaine Fontana, and Grant Barnhart. So what does this new generation of art mag cover-girls have to offer? How is their voice unique, and what are they saying?

Faulkner’s abstract and ethereal artwork features collage pieces, works in oil, and photography. Faulkner’s work is heavily influenced by his affinity for comic books, fantasy, and science fiction, and his affection for mixed media gives him a singularly characteristic style. Regardless the medium, Faulkner’s pieces all have an energy and vitality that really draws out the Sci-Fi junkie in every viewer.

The whimsical and dreamy landscapes of Parskid’s works are equally inviting. His characters drift effortlessly through peaceful fields of tall grass and within looming forests. Their fat bodies and thin arms make them undeniably cute, if somewhat creepy. Light and darkness play freely in Parskid’s pieces and he achieves this through the careful patterning and layering in his paintings.

Peekaboo brings a boisterous quality to the show. His bold lines and colors give his characters a freshness and humor that speak of his graffiti background. Twisty-armed, vacant-eyed, saggy-breasted fairy-tale animals are characteristic of his outspoken work. These adorable characters are further divorced from reality with switchblades and sharp teeth, giving Peekaboo’s pieces a capricious air that is both chic and well executed.

Soso rounds out the show with her doe-eyed caricatures. Her bittersweet portraits of little girls and owls in gorgeous vintage frames are juxtapositions – the characters are childlike, yet hold a strange wisdom in their eyes. However delicate, her pieces seem simple but are emotionally complex.

Please join these four artists for Seattle Showcase’s opening night at Backspace Gallery with a live-painting performance and artists’ reception from 6pm – 12am on First Thursday, September 6, 2007.