On August 28, some of the art at Gallery B612 will walk right past you. Paintings will reappear on garments, while fabric sculptures become part of a performance.
Art & Fashion: Claiming My Space in This World takes its name from a painting by Ruby Lindner featured in SHE: Narrative Work on the Feminine Experience, on view at the gallery through August 29. The group exhibition brings together artists whose work reflects a range of identities and personal histories without settling on one definition of femininity. Korean American artist MiYoung Margolis, Gallery B612’s founder and director, curated SHE. “From there, I began thinking about how those ideas could move beyond the canvas—through what we wear, how we move, how we use our voices, and how we physically inhabit a space,” she says.
Throughout the night, runway presentations, live music and performance will flow through the gallery alongside the works in the show. Visitors will experience the program as a whole rather than as a series of separate acts, with one form spilling into the next. The runway will feature Seattle Aphrodite, Made By Ebu and Dhivya Bala Design Studio.
Foreground, Made By Ebu by Ebubechi Abonyi; Background: Ruby Lindner, Claiming my Space in the World (Detail), 2026, Acrylic on canvas. 48 × 60 × 1 1/2 in.
Photo by Jos Riv / courtesy of Gallery B612 and the artist
Seattle Aphrodite will present Margolis’ paintings as textile prints, with silhouettes shaped by her background in dance. Designer Ebubechi Abonyi of Made By Ebu will show her one-of-a-kind pieces that pair sleek silhouettes with thoughtful, unexpected details. “I want my clothing to feel both effortless and intentional—pieces that make you feel like the best version of yourself when you put them on,” she says. Originally from South India, designer Dhivya Balasubramanian of Dhivya Bala Design Studio in Queen Anne transforms pre-loved saris into custom, fashion-history-inspired formalwear.
“For me, ‘claiming space’ is not about taking something away from someone else,” Margolis says. “It is about recognizing that your story, your body, your creativity, your identity, and your voice deserve to be present and visible.”
Above the gallery floor, artist Valeriya Bugatti will present Aerial Art in Movement. “I create pieces that are meant to be experienced, not simply viewed. I want the work to shift with you and reveal something different each time you return to it,” Bugatti writes in her artist statement.
Foreground: Bugatti Aerial Art by Valeriya Bugatti; Background: Ruby Lindner, Claiming my Space in the World (Detail), 2026, Acrylic on canvas. 48 × 60 × 1 1/2 in.
Photo by Jos Riv / courtesy of Gallery B612 and the artist
Iranian-born fiber and performance artist Nakisa Dehpanah’s Rebel places nine fabric sculptures in conversation with the body. Some are sharply geometric, while others are loose and irregular. Together, they give physical form to the struggle of pushing against boundaries that no longer fit. The work draws from poet Forough Farrokhzad, whose writing challenged the restrictions placed on women.
“I don’t believe harmony comes from everyone becoming the same,” Margolis says. “I think harmony becomes beautiful because we are different. When different voices, traditions, and forms of expression are allowed to exist together and respond to one another, they can create something that none of them could create alone.”
Margolis also founded the O-Jak Bridge Art and Dance Festival, which brings together roughly 100 artists and performers from many backgrounds. This year’s festival, Once Upon a Time, comes to Broadway Performance Hall November 14-15.
Art & Fashion: Claiming My Space in This World is a collaboration with Styled For Strength, the mother-and-daughter team of Marist Ferolin Santos and Heather Alexia Ward. Gallery B612 will donate net proceeds to Margolis Arts Foundation in support of O-Jak’s nonprofit programming.
“If people leave feeling a little more permission to be fully themselves—to take up space, express their individuality, and also make room for the individuality of others—then I think the evening has done what I hoped it would do.”
Art & Fashion: Claiming My Space in This World takes place August 28 at Gallery B612.
