Matter Gallery is closing at the end of the month.  Matter has been part of the recycle art scene since September 2009, featuring art work made from repurposed, upcycled, and/or sustainable materials created by artists up and down the west coast, many of them our friends from the Pacific Northwest.

Jo Gallaugher, founder of Matter Gallery, July 2012

It was a colorful, eclectic place, crammed full of interesting and unusual things, like Pat Tassoni‘s lamps “…culled from the consumer detritus of the American wasteland and reverse-engineered with alien technology;” the paintings and furniture made with wooden boats, sail remnants, and other odd stuff by George Kurzman; Micki Shampang-Voorhies‘ “kinky shoes” made from scrap metal and old tools; rustic reclaimed metal sculpture by Pattie Young; Loran Scruggs‘ bottle cap whistles and tin assemblages; Jennifer Kuhns’ mosaics; Stu Gullstrand‘s masks made from junk he finds along the railroad tracks and in dumpsters (really, I have taken walks with him and his dog in their SoDo neighborhood); plastic bag babies and soda pop top jewelry by Ruby Re-Usable; and Steven Suski’s paintings and assemblages.

“For me it was great having my art at Matter to validate artists who make art out of junk or recycled material. Matter’s art pushed my boundaries of what art can be made of and what can be art. Matter’s closing is a real loss of diversity for Olympia’s art community.” — artist Steven Suski, on the closing of Matter Gallery

Read more about Matter Gallery closing in the Weekly Volcano

Matter Gallery owners 2014                                                                                                                                          front row: Roxanna Groves, Cha Davis, Jude Manley                                                                                back row: Pat Tassoni and former employee Louise Morgan