January 2021: Art of the Quarantine

Art of the Quarantine

A Virtual Exhibition
January 10 - March 19, 2021

The Helen S. Smith Gallery in partnership with Art at the Cave presents Art of the Quarantine, virtually featuring works by approximately 100 artists from the Cave in various stages of their creative growth. This exhibition brings us together while we continue to be apart.

Here is a link to the March 10, 2021 virtual Artists' Panel Discussion with artists and organizers from the Cave exhibition.

L to R: Under This Hair by Mikayla Glosser, Danger Out My Window by Marie Wolfe, Red Impact by John Turley, Untitled (sculpture) by Teri Elioff and Bill Leigh, Freedom by Reilyn Sabado

The virtual exhhibition presented here for Green River College is a culmination of works gathered by the Cave Gallery in Vancouver, WA during the spring of 2020.  These works represent a wide variety of artists in various stages of creative growth - children to emerging professionals and established artists.

Visit The Cave to view a still gallery of the work.

The Cave Gallery closed its doors to the public that spring. They invited select artists to make and present works of art that responded to the first weeks of quarantine when Covid 19 initially struck the Northwest.  This work was hung in the windows of the gallery space and only viewable from the street. The Columbian reviewed the exhibition, highlighting the gallery to demonstrate the resiliency of art in a crisis. 

During the summer of 2020, as the pandemic continued, the gallery reopened to in-person visitors.  Artwalk in Vancouver was effectively cancelled, as were any receptions or artist talks that normally happen in a professional gallery setting.  The Cave extended its call for art to the greater community and curated an exhibition of works bringing together shared experiences highlighting creativity and cultural resiliency.

Helen S. Smith Gallery partnered with The Cave to continue the conversation by extending and building on the exhibition as a way to support artists, build community, dive into a bigger academic conversation about the role of art and to support the Cave Gallery's mission during these trying times.

Art of the Quarantine will function as a prompt for a bigger community conversation and response as it moves to Green River College.  That’s where you come in!  The Art of the Quarantine continues as a rolling exhibition into the spring of 2021 accompanied by artist talks and discussions.  All works submitted by artists working in the Northwest will be featured virtually on the Helen S. Smith Gallery website until May, 2021.    One artist will be selected for a solo exhibition physically in the Gallery in 2023.  Visit the Call for Art section of our website to learn how to participate!