'This Room Is Ours' Brings Black Figurative Art to King Street Station

In a time where the creative arts are undergoing constant threat from artificial intelligence, a show in Pioneer Square is instead uplifting one of the most maligned subjects in the art world: the Black figure. "This Room is Ours: Centering the Black Figure," which is up at King Street Station until July 18, is curated by painter and first-time curator Lila Alexis Thomas.

The exhibition is a study in depicting the Black figure in all its complexity, portraying moments of joy, rest, quiet, celebration, and exploration. Thomas pulled together Black artists based in Seattle who are working in wildly different modes of figurative artmaking: Kamari Bright, Le'Ecia Farmer, Nahom Ghirmay, Adrienne Matthews, Ric'kisha Taylor, and Thomas. A desire to expand and deepen the legacy of the Black figure pushed Thomas to curate "This Room is Ours."

"I've always been really interested in the figure and it's always a question of, 'Why am I painting? Why do I paint?'" said Thomas, a 2026 Neddy Award finalist in painting. "For me, it's seeing and adding more Black figures to the Western canon."

And that interest manifests in disparate ways for the artists on view in the exhibition. At the far end of the gallery is videopoet and multidisciplinary artist Kamari Bright's "We Flew," a massive painted styrofoam sculpture of a Black woman levitating in the air, as if superhero-flying in the sky. (If the piece looks familiar to you, you might have seen it floating near Wa Na Wari at Walk the Block late last year.) That piece stands in stark contrast with Ric'kisha Taylor's fabric-based works that mine the muck of Florida's swamps and cultural stereotypes to upend understanding of Black femininity. Both render Black women, but one through fantastical projection and the other through cheeky humor.

Even the works using the same medium — painting — are markedly distinct from one another in their exploration of the Black figure. Nahom Ghirmay uses Impressionist brushstrokes and pastel colors to render his studies on Black subjects. "Resting on What Remains" depicts two Black figures resting on a cerulean blue quilt among shrubbery, underneath a gray sky: It's peaceful, seemingly observing a space outside of time. Contrast that with Thomas' "Jungle Beats" which they painted based on a picture of a house party in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Using blue and green hues, the scene is full of sweat and joy, deftly capturing an ephemeral moment on a dancefloor.

"This Room is Ours" serves as a glimpse into the excellent work Seattle-based Black artists are creating right now. In the spirit of continuing to encourage deeper connection between Black artists in the city, Thomas held a roundtable talk on July 2 and is hosting a figure drawing workshop on July 11. They say they hope visitors to the show "feel empowered, see themselves in art, and feel welcome in the space."

More July Art Shows Around the South End and Beyond

There are several group visual art shows happening in the South End this month that you shouldn't miss:

Mount Baker's VERONICA Gallery is running its offsite exhibition, "Pond in a Bowl," for the rest of the summer. At an undisclosed location in White Center (DM VERONICA Gallery for the exact address), the gallery has curated six works by Dawn Cerny and Bristol Hayward-Hughes into an outdoor sculpture and poetry garden — think bird feeders, sputtering fountains, and "pollinator rest stops" with water, birdseed, and nest materials for our winged friends. There are also kiosks with postcards and pamphlets featuring poetry by Pittsburgh-based poet Ed Steck. Rest, listen to the environment around you, and appreciate this intertwining of art and nature.

On July 11 from 2 to 8 p.m., Mini Mart City Park in Georgetown will debut a new group exhibition called "Flotation Device," bringing together art by Flora Wilds, Colleen Louise Barry, and Becca Fuhrman. All artists in the show make freaky, colorful works that speak to the slippery floridness of the summer season. I've been super impressed by Barry's recent explorations of texture and water hoses and am curious to check out Fuhrman's vibrant, evocative paintings that feel like Art Deco on 'shrooms. We'll also be treated to Wilds' text-based textile art: Her "I <3 the pace of the process" bumper sticker needs to be plastered across my forehead. 

A bit later this month, Big Surprise Studio in Georgetown will host The Seed Wants to Grow on July 25, a group runway show featuring a debut summer 2026 collection by custom apparel brand New Affection. For those out of the loop, New Affection founder Siobhan Teahan makes really cool pieces made of reclaimed leather, denim, and waxed canvas that are delightfully chic. The exhibition will also feature wearable art and fashion pieces that riff on New Affection's summer collection themes by Elva Bennett, Lane Bestold, Emma Kates-Shaw, Kiki Robinson, Noah Sanemitsu, Betty Wetter, Wizard Whimsey, and María Zamora. Just a heads up — the affair will be taking place on the (decommissioned!) train tracks behind the studio, so come wearing sunscreen.

And if you're looking for a quick trip even farther south, the Thurston County Museum of Fine Art (TCMoFA) in Olympia is opening their latest show, "Mother," on July 24. Like its title suggests, the group exhibition curated by Fern Tallos is a celebration of mothers and motherhood, exploring the multifacetedness of caregiving and identity. Exhibiting artists include Tallos, Anna Okrasinski Maddox, Ellen Tommila, Sophie Geist, Alcamy Henriksen, Lizzie Mithrandir, Holly Stevens, Mikaela Shafer, Yvonne Kunz, Kelsey Smith, Kelly Watson, Vida Hannon, Julia Reed, Kirsten Miller, Shelly Seder, Maria Delacy, Phoebe Wahl, A'misa Chiu, and Mariella Luz. I haven't had a chance to make it out to the Olympia-based "ephemeral museum" myself, but I might have to rally my car-having friends for this one.