The Curator's Eye: Mavi Contemporary Art Gallery

Out of the Ashes

The closure of the much-loved Two Vaults Gallery earlier this year was viewed by most as a tragedy for the local arts community. Where others saw an end, though, Mavi and Elizabeth Ashe saw a beginning: an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream to own a gallery.

 
A Summer Day in St. Tropez, 2001, oil on canvas, 60 x 72 inches

With the opening of the Mavi Contemporary Art Gallery last month, the mother-daughter team is keeping the former Two Vaults space on 6th Avenue open to the arts in the hope of doing something new and fresh within the Tacoma arts community. The first step came with a quiet opening on August 19 for a solo show featuring acclaimed painter William Quinn, entitled European Odyssey.

“He’s a dear, dear friend,” says Mavi, the elder of the two gallery owners. Mavi met Quinn after moving in 2000 to the south of France, where Quinn was living with his wife. When the artist decided in 2008 to move to Tacoma, where Mavi had also relocated, it seemed to the Ashes like a perfect opportunity to introduce this exciting new artist and exciting reimagined space to the Tacoma community.

Quinn’s work has been shown in France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and he has been prominently mentioned in Who’s Who in American Art. His work combines elements of European modernism with Pollock-esque “action painting” and has a contemplative quality.

FOCAL POINTS

Quinn’s alma mater, where he taught for thirty-three years: Washington University in St. Louis

School Elizabeth Ashe is soon to attend for a second MFA: Maryland Institute College of Art

Mavi’s last business venture was: A coffee shop on Bainbridge Island

Mavi’s next business venture will be: A completely sustainable fine-arts building in Gig Harbor

William Quinn’s age: “He’s eighty-something, but you would never guess it,” says Mavi. “He’s got so much energy!”

“He isn’t someone a lot of people around here know,” Mavi admits, “but he’s done so much in Europe and the eastern U.S. He’s just amazing. His work is really important in the art world, and people here need to know him.” 

Quinn, however, is just the first in a line of important artists that the Ashe women plan to bring to the Tacoma art scene through their new space. A world-renowned 

photographer, some celebrity painters and the gallery owners themselves are all on the exhibition short-list, and plenty of local art will be featured as well. “There are some exceptional artists in Tacoma,” Mavi states with pride, “and we are going to support the locals – we’re big believers in that.” •