Juried by Ginny Ruffner

(Seattle, WA) Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) presents the latest incarnation of its storied series exploring contemporary art in the region, the Northwest Annual, a juried group exhibition presenting a wide variety of media. This year’s 25th anniversary of the Annual, CoCA is proud to announce Ginny Ruffner as juror. CoCA received nearly 60 submissions from around the Northwest that explored themes of nature, narrative, and abstraction.

Participating artists include: Suze Woolf, anna macrae, Andrea Lawson, Lezlie Jane, Eva Skold Westerlind, Steve Jensen, Neil Berkowitz, David Berger, Hannah Salia, Joy Hagen, Renee Adams, Joy Kloman, Deb McCarroll, Nicholas Bowman, Bella Yongok Kim, Jennifer Fernandez, Tom Gormally, Susan Christensen, Mindi Katzman, Susanne Kelly, Ingrid Lahti, Madelaine Millar, Aaron Morgan, Maulsri Jha, David Julian, Jill Sahlstrom, and Hannah Newman.

Internationally recognized for her pioneering role in the glass art community, Ginny Ruffner has also expanded into public art and explored new media technology in using augmented reality. Her interest in the natural world, especially flora and gardens, anticipated the recognition of climate change in the 21st century and the need for sustainability, sequestration, and conservation.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Glass Art Society's Lifetime Award in 2019.

In selecting 37 works by 27 artists in Washington, Oregon, and Montana, Ruffner offered the title, On the Natural. The exhibition includes a rich assortment of sculpture, collage, prints, painting, sound, and mixed media works that echo each other in surprising ways; interpretations of the botanical world are especially vibrant and abundant.