05/14/2026
Two very different excellent Seattle shows not to miss:
Marita Dingus’ ANCIENT ONES at Traver Gallery explores Marita’s exceptional processes of metal, fire, glass, fabric and repurposed material creating Ancient Ones; how things were done prior to the Industrial Revolution, metal faces literally pounded out in her fireplace in the middle of winter creating the facial features: definitely watch the excellent video on travergallery.com Through May 30.
The second show “Modern American Masculinity” at Base Camp Studios 2 plays with fire in a very different exhibition and perspective: “ MAM seeks to present an authentic snapshot of what it means to identify as male in today’s society….and asks wheee is our collective concept of masculinity based and where is it going?” I must admit I was skeptical of this show prior to experiencing it because several international shows challenging the Manosphere as reported in the NYTimes. With broad Seattle artist representation and viewpoints, myriad of mediums, video, books, games, performances (Ezra Dickenson’s Mother’s Day performance was especially relevant and excellent.) For me, most surprising is the section of MAM is revisiting through photography January 6 (Nate Gowdy) and the games men play. Gabriel Zea’s paintings and Rich Stevens multi-media confection are reason alone to see the exhibition. A MAM fashion show performance will be taking place June 6th 6:30 - 8:30. MAM closes June 12. 👁️🔥👁️ 🙏🏻❤️
