Medium: Marbled monoprint
Dimensions: 15 x 11 1/4 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed verso
Artist details: Pacific Northwest, American, 1976
Date finished: 2022
Edition: 1/1

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist / Gallery Associate):

When things fall apart, it's easy to point fingers, dive into analysis, and urgently piece together the reasons why events unfolded the way they did. Ben Beres' marbled monoprint 'There Is No Why' is a beautifully straightforward reminder to give ourselves a moment to let go of our need to find answers and explanations, and allow our minds to rest so our broken hearts can heal. Only with clear minds and strong hearts can we take action together and accomplish the necessary work of repair and growth.

Series: The Alchemy of Love
Medium: Drypoint
Dimensions: 7 1/4 x 6 inches (Image/Sheet)
Signature: Signed on reverse
Artist details: American / Pacific Northwest, 1968
Date finished: 2023
Edition: of 7 E.V.

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

The 'Alchemy of Love' series is captivating, and this piece in particular can lock me in an endless loop. There's a little contradiction – using text and words to tell us 'There are no words here'. My mind can go over that detail again and again. In the end, I love it because this simple contradiction reveals how hard it is to express ourselves or our experiences. We have only words to describe the indescribable. Landsaat also offers twisted vines, knotted branches, and eccentric demons to help us visualize our predicament, but the rest is left to us.

Medium: Collage
Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches (Image / Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American / Pacific Northwest, 1954
Date finished: 2021

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist / Gallery Associate):

Martha Pfanschmidt's monoprint collages are delightful worlds of abstract form and color. I am drawn to the physicality conveyed in her work, especially this collage titled Just So. The way each piece of the collage precariously sits upon the other creates a felt sense of wobbliness, while an intentional balance steadies everything just enough. It reminds me of our varying efforts to maintain our own internal sense of center throughout the wobbliness of being human.

Medium: Hand-colored etching with chine-collé
Dimensions: 10 1/2 x 8 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1929 - 2017
Date finished: 1987
Edition: of 100

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist / Gallery Associate):

Often considered a symbol of grief, poppies are one of my very favorite flowers and I appreciate the unique way Art Hansen portrays them with soft textures and muted tones. The symbolism of this flower is beautifully communicated by the subdued color palette and the way the poppies are drooping and wearily leaning into each other. They even appear to be experiencing grief themselves, curled around one another in a gentle embrace. The combination of fully bloomed poppies and new buds represents the timelessness of grief - whether new or old, it is ever-present and universal, and also deeply unifying.

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 12 inches (Image) 13 x 17 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1937 - 2012
Date finished: 1986
Edition: of 33

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

The VW Bus is charming all on its own, but Lockwood Dennis’s version is even better. His woodcut style blends so well with the simple, graphic nature of the bus. This piece is not trying to be perfect, it's just trying to show its true character. It has plenty of nostalgia in the best way, showing a love for the bold graphics of the ad era when sleek and minimal had yet to reign. 

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist):

Michèle Landsaat's quietly whimsical etchings never fail to make me smile or tug at my heartstrings. I tend to be most drawn toward her more personal or poignant work, but 'Squirrel with a Pineapple' is an adorable piece that I enjoy just as much. A funny twist on a traditional still life, it sparks my imagination and inspires many questions in my mind, such as - How did the squirrel get indoors? What was the reaction of the person who encountered it? I love the vibrancy of the red strawberry and the look on the squirrel's face - caught in the act, but unbothered. As we enter deeper into the cool autumn months, surrounded by busy squirrels collecting food and building their nests, this piece gives me a new appreciation for these resourceful little creatures.

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager, Marketing Coordinator):

"I am so captivated by Rob Connell's less-is-more, no-nonsense, it-is-what-it-is ink and gouache paintings. There is plenty of texture where there should be, plenty of contrast throughout, and nothing else to get in the way. His skies are often stark white, untouched and overexposed, while his windows are pitch black, completely concealing any interior. This piece has all of Connell's best features topped off with a uniquely pink building, speaking for the under-appreciated textures of our cities."

Medium: Reduction woodcut
Dimensions: 15 x 32 inches (Image) 18 x 34 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1950
Date finished: 1999
Edition: of 10

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist):

"Terrain / 4 Directions is one of Mary Farrell’s largest and most intricate pieces featuring her iconic portrayal of hands. Reduction woodcut is a notoriously complex technique that requires a great deal of planning. And yet, Farrell conveys a sense of fluid immediacy with the sensitive and sketch-like quality of the forearms and hands. They dance together with strength, grace, and perpetual motion, while the background texture calls to mind both fingerprints and rippling water. Like fish gathered together and circling in a whirlpool, the hands engage in an animated, yet unspoken conversation. I see their vibrant, intertwined outlines as a representation of the vitality and connectedness of all living things."

Medium: Reclaimed wood monoprint, hand-cut paper, blind embossment and collage
Dimensions: 9 x 9 inches (Image/Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Korean / American, Pacific Northwest, 1971
Date finished: 2023
Edition: 1/1

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):

"Eunice Kim’s style and technique has evolved much over the years, but the natural spirit of her work and her commitment to using non toxic materials has only grown. In her new exhibition Currents & Tides, she uses reclaimed wood from a barn on her property to produce stark and natural woodcut prints. In Seedling (9) #1,  you can feel the energy and intention that Kim puts into the process of selecting the star pattern from the source print, and painstakingly cutting it out by hand with tiny scissors. Kim melds both natural and human history into a meditative harmony of birth, death, and rebirth."

Medium: Etching
Dimensions: 5 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches (image)
Artist details: American, 1950
Date finished: 2007
Edition: of 30

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):

"Mary Farrell's etchings have an amazing precision and texture that make her imagery so visceral. In Identity, Farrell uses harsh contrast to cover the figure's shoulders and neck in highlights but shroud their face in shadows. I find so much mystery in the figure - the lack of context encourages anonymity but the face seems so specific, the pose is generic but hostile or at least uninviting, a cold but honest portrait. The title further mystifies me as I wonder how well I know this person from Farrell's image, or what really makes up an identity."

Medium: Ink drawing on paper
Dimensions: 6 x 5 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1929 - 2004
Date finished: 1975

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):
"Wesley Wehr was known for living and creating modestly. Legend has it, he would carry an entire exhibition's worth of artwork in a small briefcase and could be found drinking coffee in the U District with his briefcase in tow. But what his drawings and paintings lack in size they make up for in charm and detail. His imaginary figures are drawn so carefully, without any stray lines or second thoughts, as if he always knew how the figure would emerge from the paper. Although I would never have invented the same figure, it made perfect sense to me from the moment I saw it."

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 12 x 8 inches (image) 17 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1987
Date finished: 2019
Edition: of 10

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"I'm delighted and pleasantly surprised by how lasting an impression this graphic yucca print has left on me since first seeing it. The vertical format, rich black gradient, and unexpected use of negative space are simple and satisfying. There's nothing to overthink and everything to enjoy. It's incredibly charming how Spitzack has taken an ordinary subject and made such striking imagery with it."