"Meet the Artist" Series at Alexis Hotel for 1st Thursday from 5 - 6:30pm

What: Meet The Artist Series
When: Thursday, July 7 from 5 - 6:30pm
Where: Alexis Hotel Lobby
Who: Seattle artist, Chris Sheridan

Swing by the Alexis Hotel lobby for a glass of wine and a chat with Seattle artist, Chris Sheridan. Sheridan will be showing some of his latest work and will be available to answer questions and talk about the Seattle art scene. This is a great way to kick-off your 1st Thursday art walk and it's within easy walking distance of all the major art venues in Pioneer Square.


About the Artist:
Chris Sheridan, originally from Cape Cod, MA, received his BFA from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL and his MFA from The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Sheridan comes fresh on the heels of a recently featured video on VIMBY.com, a solo shows at Art Whino in Washington DC & Upper Playground's FIFTY24SEA gallery in Seattle, WA and shows in Finland and Monaco.

Sheridan's work takes an in-depth look at magic and religion, their symbolism and ritual, how they played a role in building our early societies, and the disconnect between these theories and beliefs and contemporary modes of thinking. Deeply psychological, laced with multiple layers of meaning and references to the trickster archetype, the work also explores the manipulative quality found in us all. Also hidden in the work is the artist's search for the soul, which he believes is the construct that holds all of these ideas together in our collective unconscious.

Alexis Hotel
1007 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

Bherd Gallery at 1st Thursday Artwalk: April 7 starting at 5pm

We're bringing Bherd on the road this month for 1st Thursday. First, stop by and see us at the Alexis Hotel for our "Meet the Artist" series from 5-6:30pm. Siolo Thompson will be painting live during the hotels wine reception. Alexis is also a great starting place for the art walk, as they are a short walk away from where we will be next... at 619 Western, 3rd floor!

About the Artist:
Siolo Thompson is a visual artist currently living in Seattle, WA. She is interested in exploring through image the human need for narrative and our relationship to our own histories and the stories of other lives. In her paintings Siolo imbues animals and robots with totemic powers and she attempts to bring a sense of history to all of her subjects. When not working she enjoys reading, watching animation, cooking and interacting with the strange, beautiful, broken things and people that fill her world.

Thompson's work has been published in Paraphilia Magazine, Foliate Oak literary journal, and Pank Magazine. Her work has also been used as cover art for "Cut Through The Bone" short story anthology by Ethel Rohan, in addition to, "Suspended Heart" short story anthology by Heather Fowler. Thompson also works with animation and had one of her pieces featured in the International Festival of Cinema where she received 2nd place for Best Music Video in 2010.

For more of her work, please visit: www.siolothompson.com



On the left & right: "The Fallen" & "Genuine" by Eric Osborne
In the middle: "Dog" by Justin Kane Elder

You're in luck if you missed our "Book Club" show based on the book Good Omens, the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. We will have a 1-night encore showing at 619 Western on the 3rd Floor in the hallway outside of Kate Protage and Chris Sheridan's studio.

About the Show:
17 Seattle urban contemporary artists provide their visual interpretations of the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. This darkly humorous cult classic pokes fun at the end times and nearing apocalypse. We found this a particularly timely piece of literature for a 2011 exhibit, with predictions of the end days right around the corner. Featured Seattle artists include: Nick Beery, John Belli, Mike Capp, Cris Cook, Duffy, Justin Kane Elder, Eddy Lee, Matt Lewis, Xavier Lopez, Eric Osborne, John Osgood, Augie Pagan, Kate Protage, Chris Sheridan, Brian Thies, Siolo Thompson and Brian White.



And we would definitely be going here, if we were able to sneak away from 619...


Hope to see you all out on the walk tomorrow!

Kicking off our 2011 "Meet the Artist" Series at Alexis Hotel: Thur, Feb 3rd

Meet The Artist Series
Featuring live painting by Seattle artist, John Osgood
Thursday, February 3 from 5 - 6pm

Alexis Hotel
1007 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

Stop by the lobby of the Alexis Hotel this Thursday and enjoy a glass of wine and a chocolate covered fortune cookie in celebration of the Lunar New Year! This is a perfect opportunity to kick-off the 1st Thursday artwalk in style and you're within easy walking distance of other great venues like the 619 Western & TK Buildings. Alexis also showcases Seattle artists works in their corridors curated by SAM rental gallery. This bi-monthly "Meet the Artist" series is brought to you by Bherd. (Mark your calendar for 1st Thursday in April for the next one, artist TBA).


About the artists work:

Osgood paints idiosyncratic characters with a bold palette in an urban art style. His collection of colorful and odd characters are inspired by life and the uncomfortable, forlorn and many times humorous circumstances that happen within it. He is a processed oriented painter and uses vibrant contrasting color palettes to illicit a “pop” factor. He often juxtaposes bright vivid color with depressing emotions to provide a balance to surprise the viewer. Viewers will find something of themselves or people that they know in many of his portraitures, as his focus is on conveying a certain emotion. Whether it’s a guy overloaded with information in “Processed Thoughts” or the proudly over-bronzed guy in a “Perfect Tan”, Osgood likes to find the humor in each situation. http://www.johnosgood.com/

Kate Protage Featured Seattle Artist at the Alexis Hotel

One of Kate Protage's most recently finished paintings that will be hanging at the Alexis Hotel.

Stop by the Alexis Hotel this Thursday, December 2nd from 5-6pm and kick-off the 1st Thursday artwalk with our new "Meet the Artist" event. The Alexis is within easy walking distance from a majority of 1st Thursday galleries and venues. Artist, Kate Protage will be in the lobby speaking with guests and artwalk attendees about her work and will have a selection of her paintings on display through the SAM rental gallery and the Bherd Gallery "Meet the Artist" program.

For non-guests, cocktails & other beverages are available at the Bistro & Bookstore Bar and can be brought into the lobby during the event. For hotel guests, this event is held in conjunction with the guest wine reception. This is a great chance to speak with Kate about how she creates her paintings from beginning to end. You'll definitely want to ask her about her evening photo shoots while driving!



Above are pieces from our "Take 5" exhibit that will be showing through December 24th at Bherd Studios Gallery. We will be taking a few of them along to show at the Alexis on Dec 2nd.



Artist Statement
I have a love/hate relationship with the cities in which I’ve lived. Everywhere I look, evidence of planning and structure exists simultaneously with chaos and unpredictability. Depending on the time of day, there are two worlds that exist in the same physical space: streets that appear gritty, dirty and depressing by day turn into an environment infused with a strange kind of lush, dark beauty and romance at night. Taking it all in can be both stressful and exciting, and I feel compelled to capture these moments and remember them.

What interests me most is the junction between sensation and fact—the way different objects come together, a combination of colors, lines and geometric shapes working together in a lyrical fashion to form intensely vivid, sometimes quite abstracted compositions. The origin of individual shapes becomes unimportant as color and texture take over, and different emotions emerge.

My paintings are the beginning of a story—a space that is somewhat recognizable and familiar, but leaves room for the story of the viewer’s choosing. Whether it feels magical and beautiful, or oppressive and ominous, that’s up to the viewer; but the plan is to take people to another place, one that’s part memory and part imagination, and provide them with a momentary escape.

I seek visual harmony, order and polish—in a tumultuous world, these are the things that keep me balanced, and they are the tools for my escape. I choose to pursue beauty.