SAM Next Brochures
SAM Next: Oscar Tuazon and Eli Hansen, April 19 - October 26, 2008
In the inaugural SAM Next exhibition, artists Oscar Tuazon and Eli Hansen presented Kodiak, an exhibition that featured an architectural fragment that alluded to a second structure that the artists erected in a remote wilderness location. Viewers were invited to consider the significance of and commonalities between the two fictional spaces.
Tuazon and Hansen, born in 1975 and 1979, respectively, are brothers from Tacoma, Washington. The artists work both collaboratively and independently, and recent joint efforts have explored architectural concepts and solitary communities.1
SAM Next: Enrico David, November 8, 2008 - March 15, 2009
Enrico David created Bulbous Marauder, his first solo exhibition in the United States, specifically for SAM Next. The installation featured hand-made posters, wallpaper, and specially constructed lamps. This work transformed the space to conjure loneliness, alienation, and melancholy.
Enrico David was born in Italy in 1966 and is based in London. David's work traditionally blends visual arts media, performance, and theater to produce a mysterious, idiosyncratic, and intrinsically humane body of work.2
SAM Next: Corin Hewitt, April 4 - August 23, 2009
This exhibit, Weavings: Performance #2 (Portland, Oregon), features seventy-five color photographs from a three-week performance in Portland. The collection of still lifes, which were photographed and re-photographed, incorporated sculpture and performance to summon a sense of personal and cultural histories.
Corin Hewitt, a New York-based artist born in 1971, creates ephemeral still lifes through a blend of materials and photographic techniques. Hewitt's work traditionally explores themes related to memory, decay, preservation, and transformation.3
SAM Next: Heide Hinrichs, November 7, 2009 - June 13, 2010
In this site-specific installation, Borrowed tails, artist Heide Hinrichs utilized mixed-media sculptures and drawings to transform the SAM Next gallery into a topographical map of shifting geography. The exhibit explored themes of abstraction, language, and enactment of translation.
Heide Hinrichs, a German-born artist born in 1976, was based in Seattle at the time of this exhibition. Hinrichs' work often features subtly altered objects that combine into an imagined narrative. These stories evolve in conjunction with a participant's roving perspective and consideration.4
SAM Next: Cris Brodahl, July 3, 2010 - July 3, 2011
Cris Brodahl's SAM Next exhibition featured paintings, porcelain reliefs, and sculpture. The installation, created especially for SAM, culminated in a distinctive, collage-like atmosphere of juxtaposed and patch-like imagery.
Chris Brodahl, born in Belgium in 1963, creates provocative exhibitions that hinge upon balanced asymmetry. Her work often delineates a sense of intentional disruption and amplification. Brodahl's forays into three-dimensional expression culminated into a deeply engaging experience5
SAM Next: Mika Tajima, July 16, 2011 - June 17, 2012
Mika Tajima's installation, After the Martini Shot, challenged institutional precedents of displaying objects in a museum. The architectural exhibition, which incorporated a video projection, painting rack, double-sided paintings on wheels, wall-mounted paintings, and freestanding lamps, served as a hybrid investigation of structure and language of painting.
Mika Tajima, a New York-based artist born in 1975, is known for innovative and immersive installations that challenge traditional boundaries. Her paintings often double as fine art objects and stage props tucked into what look to be backdrops, stage sets, or a rehearsal space.6
1. Seattle Art Museum, "SAM Launches a New Contemporary Art Program," press release, April 14, 2008.↩
2. Seattle Art Museum, "SAM Next Features London-based Artist Enrico David," press release, September 2, 2008.↩
3. Seattle Art Museum, "Museum Announces 2009 SAM Next Series," press release, November 20, 2008; Seattle Art Museum, "Seattle Art Museum Presents 2009 SAM Next Series featuring Corin Hewitt," press release, March 11, 2009.↩
4. Seattle Art Museum, "Museum Announces 2009 SAM Next Series," press release, November 20, 2008; Seattle Art Museum, "Seattle Art Museum Presents SAM Next: Heidi Hinrichs," press release, November 6, 2009.↩
5. Seattle Art Museum, "SAM Next Features Belgian Artist, Cris Brodahl," press release, July 1, 2010.↩
6. Seattle Art Museum, “SAM Next to Feature Cross-Disciplinary Artist, Mika Tajima,” press release, May 18, 2011.↩