Tacoma Art Drive Tonight: Three Picks

Last month I tried to be comprehensive with my "Art Drive" itinerary. The result was a maddeningly frantic dash between venues. Conclusion: it's tough to see it all.

This month, I'm going with three picks and slowing down to take things in.

I wish Tacoma had a true gallery district where all of the spaces were clustered in close proximity. I prefer my art "walks" to be car-free. Maybe the answer is to travel by bike?

Tonight at 6pm at Fulcrum Gallery (1308 Martin Luther King Jr. Way), Troy Gua will present an artist’s talk on Monument, his sculpture and photo installation that opened last month.

Troy Gua, Untitled Soldiers

For those who haven't yet seen it, Monument is a tribute to the men and women fighting in the Iraq war and a contemplation of loss. (Loss of life, loss of limbs, loss of life as it existed before the war.) Loss is not a happy topic — so what do we do? Sanitize it, ignore it or look away? Gua’s show asks us to meditate on difficult truths. In his artist’s statement he writes that he does not attempt to answer questions, but that he does hope to spark some dialog. Tonight is an opportunity to hear him expand on his work and take part in the conversation.

In addition to Monument, Gua is also exhibiting his Pop Hybrids, portrait montages that cleverly meld cultural icons like The Davids 2.0 (David Bowie and Michelangelo’s David), shown below. With their tongue-in-cheek aesthetic, these candy-colored works stand in striking contrast to Monument's somber tone. And yet, like two radically different guests seated next to each other at a dinner party, the pairing makes oddly good sense. The genius of each personality is illuminated by the juxtaposition. Loss. Humor. Life is full of strange contrasts. How we balance them is part of the quest.

Troy Gua, Davids 2.0, acrylic and resin

Another event of note is an opening reception from 5pm-9pm at  Two Vaults Gallery (602 South Fawcett) where artist Marsha Glazière presents a new collection of large paintings.

A few weeks ago, when I stopped in at Two Vaults, I was treated to a sneak preview. One of Glazière’s large canvases, The Way Home (shown below), had just been delivered and was leaning against the wall. Viewing the work at ground level, I found the large-scale work to be all encompassing. The vertical mixed-media strips in the foreground recall a gate — a point of entry and an invitation to step inside the landscape of the artist’s imagination.

Marsha Glazière, The Way Home, acrylic, mixed media on canvas

Glazière’s show is inspired by an eight-year exploration, which began in 1996. She refers to it as her ‘artistic detour’ between Northwest Washington and Northeast Florida. These journeys, she writes, gave her fresh eyes for the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. With mixed media and metaphor, the artist shares her journey with nine of her latest works.

Photo by Paul Uhl

And last, but certainly not least, is a big party at Speakeasy Arts Cooperative (746 Broadway) on antique row. The co-op has been open for a few months, but tonight’s grand opening makes it official. The evening’s festivities include special music performances by Voxxy Vallejo (Gene Vallejo shown above), Stephen Bucklew, Angela Jossy, Paul Uhl and Daniel Blue. 7pm-11pm. Here's a video flyer to whet your artistic appetites:

Happy driving!