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Porcelain Works on Display at Bellevue Arts Museum

Sculptor Chris Antemann brings sexy back

A porcelain figurine on a table with a lot of food on it.
A porcelain figurine on a table with a lot of food on it.

This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.

While art in the 20th century expanded its scope through abstraction, minimalism and conceptualism, something was clearly lost in the process. It would only be a matter of time before the sensuality and underlying eroticism of traditional Western figurative art—which held sway from ancient Greece until the Victorian era—would come back with a vengeance.

Oregon-based sculptor Chris Antemann, whose work is now on display at the Bellevue Arts Museum, has taken up the cause of its restoration. While participating in the art studio program at Meissen, the historic German porcelain factory, in 2012, she created a 5-foot-long, sweetly debauched work titled “Forbidden Fruit.” A contemporary celebration of the 18th-century banqueting craze that uses the Garden of Eden as its metaphor, the work is populated with her own cheerfully erotic figures, who are surrounded by a provocative array of dessert, ornamentation and flowers.

Be prepared to indulge. Through 5/29. Times and prices vary. Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE; 425.519.0770

 

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

Dance, drag, and immersive art collide in an eight-week exploration of our phone-obsessed lives, with a few surprises along the way. 

What do drag queens, smartphone addiction, art installations, and an old luggage shop have in common?  According to longtime Seattle choreographer Alana O’Farrell Rogers, a lot.  “There’s no dead time anymore,” says Rogers, explaining how the proliferation of smartphones fills the empty spaces that once served as time for rest or connection. Where we snuggled…

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Ahead of their performance at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture gala, the hip-hop pioneers talk about creative ownership, connecting with new generations, and the songs that still resonate.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) will host its annual ICONS of Pop Culture Gala in Seattle on October 22, honoring five artists and institutions whose work has helped shape entertainment and culture.  This year’s honorees are martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the video game franchise Halo, hip-hop pioneers…

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Drawing on childhood memories, neighborhood history, and salvaged materials, Christopher Paul Jordan’s latest show at Cornish’s Behnke Family Gallery explores how the past stays with us.

Start in the middle. It’s good advice for telling a story, and a way into Christopher Paul Jordan’s paintings. By the time you encounter them, their materials have already been something else, and who knows what they might move on to become. The Tacoma interdisciplinary artist works with salvaged objects, including screens, picture frames, canvas,…

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…