Iskra Fine Art

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Industrial Strength Update: Show Hours and More

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Iskra Industrial art at SAM Gallery
“Blanchard Street” and “Salmon Bay,” limited edition mixed media prints on canvas, 40×40″ (electrical outlet shown for scale.)

Hi Friends,

Thank you to everyone who came out to the opening at SAM Gallery last Thursday! It was a great time, and I so appreciate the support from the community, patrons and friends. It was really wonderful to meet some of my collectors and to hear the stories behind their connection to my work. (And some of the conversations may have inspired a Social Practice project: stay tuned for #engineerslookingatart. . . . who knew it would be the biologic engineer who found brassieres in my abstraction of scaffolds?)

Many people have asked me how long the show will be up, and since SAM Gallery has a different model than most galleries I thought I should send out a quick note to let you know the best window for seeing the work in its original installation. [Read more…]

Industrial Strength at SAM Gallery, with Iskra Johnson, Kate Protage, and Kellie Talbot

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Ash Grove in Blue, by Iskra Johnson, SAM Gallery
Ash Grove in Blue, 40 x 42 in., archival pigment print, © Iskra Johnson

Please save the date for the opening reception of Industrial Strength on second Thursday at SAM Gallery, September 14 from 6-7:30 PM. This show presents the work of painters Kellie Talbot, Kate Protage and myself, exploring our three very different interpretations of the industrial landscape.

Late last year when SAM Gallery suggested I propose a show the idea for “Industrial Strength” quickly surfaced. I have long been fascinated by the dramatic and heroic scale of industrial infrastructure, whether it involves trainyards, cement plants and construction sites, or the stubborn and implacable charm of the slightly less heroic dumpster. The urban landscape is papered with the beauty of accidental surface, composed of error overlayered with more error, moments of intention and endless revision. This pentimento is, in any language, a story. I love the challenge of marrying surface and atmosphere with structure, and here in the northwest we have it all: more cranes than any other city in the USA  and more Northwest Mystic Cloud Cover™, not to mention two epic mountain ranges, the Duwamish River, a lake, a bay and the vast expanse of Puget Sound. Against this backdrop the machinery of industry has never looked so good. [Read more…]

Iskra in Prints Today at SAM Gallery

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View Corridor, archival pigment print by Iskra Johnson
View Corridor, limited edition archival pigment print, 20 x 49 inches, © Iskra Johnson

 

PRINTS TODAY | CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKERS

Wed June 8- Thu July 7

Reception Thursday, June 9th, 6-7:30 PM

SAM Gallery at Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Avenue, Seattle WA 98101

 

It’s about time printmaking got some love in this town, and I am happy to say it’s big love! On June 8th Seattle Art Museum opens its much anticipated show “Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, R. Crumb. In conjunction,  SAM Gallery launches “Prints Today,” featuring six contemporary Seattle printmakers including Troy Gua, Rachel Illingworth, Curt Labitzke, Stephen Rock, Kate Sweeney and myself. [Read more…]

New Work at SAM Gallery

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As August fades the light changes from amber to cooler colors. A recent visit to Whidbey Island and my favorite muse of land and sea, Ebey’s Landing, inspired this new print, “Passage.”

"Passage" fine art print, inspired by Ebey's Landing, by Iskra Johnson
“Passage,” 24″ x 24″, limited edition archival pigment print © Iskra Johnson

Sometimes a certain vista feels eternal. Seasons may alter the colors, as well as the winds and the taste of the salt, but the silence that holds it all remains constant. The official name of the Northwest’s main waterway is “Puget Sound,” but those who live here just call it the Sound. You will know why if you climb the bluff at Ebey’s Landing and stand there for awhile on a hot summer’s day. Give yourself enough time to settle into the golden grass, and let at least two ships go by. Then walk back along the beach and don’t leave until every pocket is full of warm stones.

"The View from Ebey's Landing" Archival pigment print by Iskra johnson
“The View from Ebey’s Landing,” 24″ x 24″, limited edition archival pigment print © Iskra Johnson

Both of these prints explore the aesthetic of traditional Japanese woodblock, approached from a modern perspective, using digital photography and printmaking. I am thinking about rice paper, and pale inks from porcelain bowls, and the colors of silk on old kimonos. In Yoshitoshi’s day, and in the time when Ebey’s Landing got its name, the world was roiled by mayhem and violence. Oh wait, and that might be true as well today . . . When there is a moment of peace, I’ll take it, and keep it with me.

“Passage” and other prints from The Floating World, Construction|Reconstruction and Infrastructure, are available at SAM Gallery. If you are interested in a studio visit to see other work I can be contacted here. A previous post tells the story of the Floating World and my muse, Yoshitoshi.

 

How to Purchase Artwork from Iskra Fine Art

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I currently sell my work through the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) Gallery, in person through my studio, and through my new Etsy shop. I am very excited about the launch of the shop and I hope you will take a look. You may also purchase work directly from my website through the Shop link in the menu. If you use the menu link you will remain in the Iskra Fine Art interface and will enter Etsy only at checkout. To keep up with my latest work and what’s happening in the studio subscribe to my blog and newsletter.

A selection of my work at SAM Gallery can be seen here. The gallery has a wonderful new space in the museum in the heart of downtown Seattle. One of the unique and very smart things the gallery offers is the option to rent art as well as purchase. Many companies and individuals start by renting art at a very affordable monthly rate and then decide to purchase, with the rental costs going towards the purchase.

My mid-sized print prices range from $300 to $1,800 –$2,500 for larger prints, and the cost is the same whether you purchase from the gallery or through me. On Etsy I am offering a wide range of work at smaller sizes to allow people to purchase a many different levels. To learn more about my prints and about digital printmaking go to the print section of my website. If you choose to buy from me directly I can ship unframed prints to you if you are out of the area, or I welcome you to contact me for a studio visit, where you can see a large body of work and examples of framed art.

I am happy to collaborate on special site-specific projects. Although most of my prints are intended for specific papers and are sold in editions limited in set and quantity some of them may be printed on alternate surfaces such as metallic papers and face-mount acrylic, or mounted on panel.

I also work in many other media besides printmaking, and I sell my drawings and paintings directly or through SAM Gallery. The prices of these pieces vary greatly depending on medium and size, so if you have interest in a particular piece please feel free to contact me for more information.

 

Art in interiors. A print of my beloved Japanese Pear Apple.

Living with art. A print of the beloved Japanese Pear Apple in my garden, in autumn.

 

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