Belltown Gallery This unusual gallery is a four-foot deep by 38-foot long "show case" that creates a lively, dynamic installation space for artists of all media and disciplines. Located on the first floor of the Avenue One Condominiums at 2721 First Avenue, the gallery is viewable through the three windows on the Clay Street side.    Installations are curated by CoCA board member Ray C. Freeman III and are typically maintained for 60-90 days.   For more information, see the gallery opening press release.

Current Show February, 2008 MISSING, 2007 Ronald Hall Oil, mixed media and collaged elements on canvas    Ronald Hall: Three Paintings Opening Wednesday, February 13, from 7-9 pm. Reception above the gallery at Avenue One. Ronald Hall lives in Seattle, but grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He has had solo exhibitions at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art in Anchorage, Alaska; Custom House Studios and Gallery in Westport, Ireland; Gallery 110 in Seattle; and at the Susquehanna Art Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "Ronald Hall and Jacob Lawrence" was organized by Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound in 2006. His work is in the collections of Tacoma Art Museum and Green River Community College. He exhibits at Pacini-Lubell Gallery in Seattle. Matthew Kangas guest-curated this show in conjunction with "Black History Month: Faces" now on dispaly at CoCA's Shilshole Gallery. See more of Ronald Hall's work at http://www.ronaldhall.com

History, Previous Shows In 2001 Avenue One Condominium Developer Intracorp hired Seattle Artists Buster Simpson and Nori Sato to develop an art opportunity on the site of their new building.   Due to the artists' association with the Hugo House, a Seattle literary organization, Hugo House was originally brought on board as the sponsor of the space, and they in turn appointed Seattle Architect Ray C. Freeman III as Curator. A number of shows were presented during the first year under this management:

The deChirico Overlap Mohammed Daudi and Francis McCue Richard Hugo House kicked off the inaugural exhibit of the Hugo Belltown Gallery with "The de Chirico Overlap," a series of five paintings by Mohammed Daoudi and five poems by Frances McCue. "The de Chirico Overlap" is the story of a Muslim Berber who paints and the poet who writes about him. She writes about both of them, really, and about their overlapping fondness for de Chirico.

Room Upon Room, We Poke Debris Buster Simpson and Nori Sato Buster Simpson and Nori Sato thrust natural phenomena, technology and poetry into dynamic juxtaposition in this second show at the Gallery.   As backdrop wallpaper, three Richard Hugo poems-"Alki Beach," "1614 Boren" and "What the Brand New Freeway Won't Go By"-set the stage for the three vignette doorway/window installations. Historical references, landmarks of Hugo's Seattle of the '50s and '60s, and the ephemeral nature of poetry, the marginal nature of life, are the detritus of this installation, a reflection in time and word.

Recruitment Center for Scottish Buddhism Jay Craig For this installation at the Belltown space, Jay conducted a three-month long piece of installation and performance art in the form of a launch of the Scottish Inquisistion, utilizing his access to his own bagpipes and kilts as well as the work of other artisans to put together the installation. The gallery space was outfitted as a recruitment center for the upcoming Inquisition, and the openings took the form of membership drives.

"Oh No! Baby Doe!" John X. Ambrosavage Seattle cartoonist and humorist John X. Ambrosavage presented 32 framed hand colored prints of each page of his children's book, "Oh, No! Baby Doe!", together with a number of enlarged cartoon prints, and a room-scaled mobile featuring some of his favorite characters from over the years. John set up a cartooning desk in the space, where he could often be found working on cartoons and hawking his children's books in the late afternoons and on weekends.

Miguel Edwards "Someplaces I Went Last Summer" April-June, 2007  The CoCA Belltown Gallery presents a single large mural by Seattle Artist, Photographer, and Sculptor Miguel Edwards. It was originally commissioned by Debra. Media is Acrylic on Panel with Sequenced LEDs. This installation is dedicated to Blyss. For additional images, click here.         Holly A. Senn "Textural" July-August, 2007 Textural, a site-specific installation, challenges viewers traversing an urban landscape to contemplate the life of the mind. Senn uses pages from discarded library books to create textures; the abstract forms are metaphors for the ways in which we gather and experience knowledge — the organic, non-linear process in which thoughts have a genesis and then are adopted, refuted, or discarded. Freeing viewers from literal reading, the reconfigured texts enable contemplation of the larger influences of a textural landscape.          John Schuh Photo Collages September-October, 2007 John Schuh is a photographer who creates images in two steps, first by photographing his subject or thematic content from hundreds of different angles, and then cutting and assembling small prints of these images into a larger image at a much larger scale. The relationship between the larger and smaller images can be compared to a fractal, as the images are often self-similar at multiple scales.      Joan Engelmeyer "Conversations" November-December, 2007 Joan Engelmeyer's painting are familiar to Seattle art-lovers, but here is something you haven't seen before. A few years ago, Joan got interested in encaustic, and transitioned to a new media. Since then, her work has gradually become both more abstract and more sculptural. In this collection of new work, Joan's chairs grow right out of the wax, each one with a personality, a history, and a story to tell. Artist Statement: "I paint life with an eye for the underlying nerve that makes experience powerful and personal. Through minimal detail and stylized human forms, I hope to catch the viewer unaware. They see a simple scene but feel a richer drama, one they've witnessed, or been apart of. I choose my subjects for their levels of meaning and expression. Encaustic and oil painting allow for the depth of the subject. I use my subjects as metaphors for larger themes, reinforcing them through the use of different surfaces, materials, and design elements. In the series, "Conversations", chairs represent the human form. Painting in wax gives them an organic, skeletal structure. Aerial compositions challenge the viewer to realize and accept objectivity. In each scene there are infinite perspectives and in no way are we able to say which is correct. We can only observe and wonder. By producing a series of paintings on specific subjects, I attempt to sift down to the basic elements of experience-the conflicting core of emotions that make life complex and compelling. In the end, I hope the viewers see a refracted glimmer of their own lives through my work. " -Joan Engelmeyer http://www.engelmeyerpaintings.com/

David Chula Tupper "Tales from the Shore" January, 2008 A 2007 participant of CoCA's annual Painting marathon, as well as a veteran of many CoCA events, David has participated in numerous solo shows and group and juried exhibitions. Most recent solo venues include the Debra Owens Gallery in San Diego, CA, and a show at the Friesen Gallery in Seattle, entitled "You're Innocent When You Dream".