Our 25th Anniversary (part 2) group show

October 7th - 28th 2023

Opening night reception Saturday, October 7th 6-9pm All are welcome to attend

WHEW! Its seems like we just opened a few years ago and then again it seems like a hundred years have passed. We have been through a lot, and we are ready to celebrate this important milestone. 

Roq La Rue 25th Anniversary Show opens Saturday May 6th 6-9 pm and features an array of artists the gallery has shown through the decades! Because we have worked with so many artists, this show is Part 2 of our celebration, Part 1 opened last May with a different roster of artists. 

Featuring: Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Ryan Heshka, Christian van Minnen, Andrew K Currey, Syd Bee, Mary Iverson, Adam Alanis, Chris Berens, Hunter Saxony III, Justin Lovato, Debra Baxter, and Scott Musgrove

Roq La Rue was started in 1998 by Kirsten Anderson. Seeking to create a space in Seattle for for the rising “Low Brow” art scene, the gallery showed everything from Kustom Kulture art, outsider art, prison art, Polynesian Pop art, work by underground cartoonists, anything that was sub-culturally influenced and provocative from an art world point of view. Known for it’s raucous late night “kegger” opening parties full of artists and fans of the work, the gallery embraced its outsider status and eschewed art world norms. What started as an experiment in a cheap space in an space about to be torn down for development, the gallery was actually successful enough to move into a location, eventually drawing in a few art loving investors. These developments helped the gallery survive long enough to get on it’s feet and quickly start supporting itself.  As the gallery grew and the artists in the scene started to be less transgressive but more refined and sophisticated, trading kitsch for symbolism infused magical realism and more nuanced storytelling, the scene shifted into calling itself “Pop Surrealism” (incidentally named after Anderson’s book of the same name, “Pop Surrealism” (2004), the first  survey of this burgeoning movement and re-naming the entire genre). Roq La Rue was on the cutting edge of this new movement, exhibiting the best artists in the genre and discovering new talents. This led to gaining not only an international roster of artists and collectors, but a reputation for being highly discerning. Over the years the gallery has moved 7 times, most recently landing in a beautiful space in the Madison Valley neighborhood in Seattle, and Kirsten now has full ownership of the gallery. The gallery currently shows emerging and mid-career artists who excel at merging thoughtful fantastical symbolism and meaning, magical realism, and technical excellence.