At the SAM

Today we went to see the exhibit of Peruvian art at the Seattle Art Museum. It was extensive and quite impressive. Photography is generally not allowed in these special exhibitions, and anyway, I had forgotten my camera.

After we were through touring the Peru exhibit, we wandered through some of the other galleries on the fourth and third floors. Most of the items we had seen before, but there were a few new acquisitions.

On the third floor, there was a small gallery with some recent acquisitions of modern pieces that draw on aboriginal influences. They may have been included in an exhibit we saw last year, but I can't say for sure.

However, one piece really caught my eye. I took two pictures of it with my iTouch, one of the whole piece and one close-up. The photo of the whole painting did not turn out well — it's a little blurry.

But the other turned out well enough.

Unfortunately, I neglected to make a note of the artist and when it was painted, and this particular piece is not featured on the SAM website.

The entire painting is about 4 feet tall by 8 feet wide, and covered with these elongated teardrop shapes. I can't imagine how long it took to create it. When you see the whole of it, the way the small dabs of white coalesce into these flowing waves is amazing. There is a sense of movement, but it is smooth and soothing, even meditative.