A Look Inside "Blues," Po-Yan Tsang's Solo Exhibition

In our second show of 2024, Magnuson Park Gallery presents 17 pieces filled with coastal views, plastic takeout bags, and translucent icebergs, in Po-Yan Tsang’s solo show, Blues.

Sheer Splendor is one of two series featured in this exhibit, including pieces depicting frosty glaciers that live adjacent to pieces displaying the intricate folds of plastic bags, creating a captivating juxtaposition of natural beauty and man-made waste. Po-Yan’s second series in the show is titled Home and is comprised of compositions of ocean waves and coastal vistas.

The title of the show, Blues, not only alludes to the predominant color palette but also serves as a thematic anchor, highlighting Po-Yan's deliberate color choices. Out of a sea of melancholy blues, a bright yellow ducky “floats” on turbulent waves of plastic; Bright blue skies contrast to gray waves on a cloudy day; Subtle purples and greens live in the folds of plastic and walls of glaciers.

The juxtaposition of realistic ocean views with still-life setups of inorganic, single-use plastics, tied together simply through their color schemes, presents questions about the relationship between plastic, the ocean, and home—both to Po-Yan and her audience.

Click below to listen to an interview with Po-Yan Tsang on our podcast, The Magnuson Park Gallery Exchange.

If you want to find Po-Yan and her work, check out her website, her Instagram @poyan.art, or Equinox Studios' monthly art walk every 2nd Saturday, from 5-9 PM.

Blues is on view March 7 - April 20, 2024. The gallery is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-3 PM, or by appointment. Join us on every Third Thursday of the month for an Artist Talk, where an RVSP can be made here. Visit The Magnuson Park Gallery in Building 30 West at Magnuson Park (7448 63rd Ave NE, Seattle WA 98115).

Featured Artist: Ellen Rutledge, March 2024

Building 30 West's Featured Artist of the month is Ellen Rutledge! Read for an interview with Rutledge about her art process and career.

Seattle artist Ellen Rutledge creates rich works on paper using the venerable techniques of metal plate etching and hand-printing. Each image is carefully layered with foundpapers, collage elements and hand-coloring that enrich the printing process. Rutledge’s work evokes the domestic sphere of home and hearth.

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How would you define your distinctive artistic style and the elements that characterize it?

My visual vocabulary is a hodge podge of worn, used and common objects. They are a constant and ongoing fascination for me and I like puzzling their implications to human activities and thought as well as their metaphorical references. In addition to cakes and purses and birds and gloves, I like to use text from old books, not only for the ongoing stories in life but for the beauty of lines and letters and old pages.

Can you describe the routine or creative flow that guides your artistic process?

The intaglio print process has been meaningful in this process. It allows me the freedom to repeat, layer, sculpt and juxtapose color, line and shape. By imbedding text, maps and my own drawings into the work through the old technique of chine colle, I add reference to daily life and its complexity. The production of my pictures involves multiple print techniques including dry point, photo etch, soft ground etching, mezzotint and chine colle and collage.

How has your artistic process and style evolved over the course of your career?

I came to my artistic practice by way of a fifteen year nursing career. When my daughter entered first grade I made the decision to pursue a BFA in art from Cornish College of the Arts. My intent was to focus on painting, but I fell in love with print! I am inspired by looking at many different kinds of art. I am motivated by the mundane items all around me. 

Where can audiences find more information about you and view your artwork?

My work can be viewed at www.ellenrutledge.com and Instagram (@ellen.rutledge).

Featured Artist: Fong Baatz, February 2024

Fong moved from Taiwan to Seattle in 1987, and graduated from the University of Washington Painting Program in 2000. She has been featured in several shows and has received various awards during her art career. In addition to her time spent painting, she has taught after school art programs and helped run community program workshops. Her pieces are mainly portraiture and figurative with an impressionistic emphasis. She finds the artistic rendition of people to be a satisfying complex challenge.

Aside from exploring and developing her paintings, she currently teaches lessons and host open studios at her workspace in Magnuson Park. View her artwork and visit her website here!