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Shoutout for July.2006: Western Bridge

There are a number of free art venues at the disposal of the public in any city, one of the finest in Seattle being Western Bridge, a public extension of the private art collection of Bill and Ruth True.

Western Bridge opened its large, curious door to the public in May of 2004 with a show investigating the theme of possession.

the show treated audiences to, among a throng of other contemporary artworks, a room full of Zoe Leonard's spooked dolls ("Mouth Open, Teeth Showing," 2000) and Shirin Neshat's haunting film "Possessed" (2001).

It was a heckuva debut show for any space, let alone one that was and remains admission free. (See Regina Hackett's P-I article here for a full report on The Bridge's debut.)

The current show, Boys and Flowers (on display through Aug.12.2006), furthers the venue's attempt to bridge the gaps between private collections and public exhibitions as well as between Seattle and the rest of the world.

Two standouts in the current crowd — Paul Morrison's mesophyte (2006) and Jeffry Mitchell's byobu screen (2006) — clearly illustrate that an inspiring balance can indeed be struck between private and public, local and international.

Shoutout to the Trues and their badass curatorial staff, Eric Fredericksen and Matthew Cox, for bringing this important contemporary space and its boundary-crossing contents to Seattle audiences for over two years now!!