At Seattle Asian Art Museum, a legacy of clay makers

During the intense heat of summer, all I long for are dark rooms to mill around in to escape the blazing sun.

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Luckily the Seattle Asian Art Museum provides the perfect estival refuge. The latest show, The Kondō Family: Storytellers in Clay (through January 3, 2027), brings together four ceramic artists across three generations of Kondōs, one of the most prominent artist families in Japan: Yūzō (1902-1983), his sons Yutaka (1932-1983) and Hiroshi (1936-2012), and Hiroshi’s son Takahiro (b. 1958). 

While summer art shows often focus on poppy, easily digestible work, Storytellers in Clay is a thoughtful, toothsome exhibition tracing the lives, careers and interests of the Kondō family. Their pieces are intermingled with one another, presenting a unique perspective on their shared history. 

One case features three objects needed for a tea ceremony: a bright red tea caddy (tiny but stunning, made by Yūzō’s mentor Tomimoto Kenkichi), a bamboo-decorated porcelain-and-cobalt fresh water jar (made by Hiroshi), and a tea bowl for drinking (made by Takahiro using hand-thrown porcelain and his signature “Silver Mist” overglaze). It’s a simple but effective demonstration of each generation of the Kondō family, almost like a family portrait of sorts.

The most meaningful part of the show is seeing the ways technique and form have morphed with each subsequent generation of Kondō. In one part of the gallery sits Yūzō’s pristine and perfectly balanced white porcelain jars. Some are decorated with nature scenes using cobalt pigment in a technique called sometsuke, where the  pigment is painted under a clear glaze and fired in high heat, resulting in a blue-and-white design. During his lifetime, Yūzō was designated a Living National Treasure in 1977 for his mastery of this technique, adeptly depicting pomegranates, thistles, mountain ranges and other nature themes on his ceramic wares. 

Storytellers in Clay provides examples of every Kondō family member’s ability at the traditional implementation of sometsuke. And Yūzō’s grandson Takahiro takes it to a different level in his own art practice. He incorporated the technique into his self-portrait series, Reduction, made to commune with the 20,000 Japanese people who died in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Takahiro modeled his own body in clay – using silicone for the tricky bits around his face – shaped it into a seated position, and marbled layers of different colored porcelain in a process called nerikomi to reflect the destructive forces of a tsunami. 

After painting the surface with cobalt blue and chromium green pigments, he washed it with “Silver Mist,” his own unique watery overglaze made of silver, gold and other metals that, when fired, turns into tiny droplets frozen in time. 

In the exhibition, two of these self-portrait sculptures are presented against a video taken at Yuriage Beach in Natori, which was hit particularly hard during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. A faceless version of Takahiro’s Reduction sculpture sits on the beach being inundated by waves, a token of remembrance for the people who lost their lives in the disaster. It’s a haunting yet ethereally beautiful tribute, as if the entire Kondō family line is honoring the dead through their art. 

Summer dancing outdoors

As we get into the thick of summer, there are tons of opportunities to see — and do — dance outside, from South Park Plaza to Freeway Park.

Minnesota-based company BRKFST’s name hints at its style: a blend of hip-hop breaking (aka break dancing) and contemporary dance. Part of the Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation (SFADI) and co-presented by Velocity Dance Center and Seattle Art Museum, the group will present for now, but not for long outdoors at the Olympic Sculpture Park (July 19, 1 p.m.). Amid the popping and locking, BRKFST explores the ecological and industrial history of Olympic Sculpture Park. Listen for sounds of the environment woven into the score as the group leads you through the meadows and groves of the park. 

Across town, Seattle dancers Maya Tacan and Emma Lawes of the CO- dance collaborative are bringing outdoor dance to the brutalist sci-fi setting of Freeway Park (now celebrating 50 years). SHOW14 (July 18, performances 7-9 p.m.) is a performance and party featuring ballet dancer Amanda Morgan, choreographer Cameo, breakdancer Miguel Almario, drag performer Miss Texas 1988 and hip-hop artist sush with music by DJ Dark Wiley. 

If all this has you itching to do your own dancing in a park, check out the longrunning Dancing Til Dusk program (through Aug. 20), which offers a one-hour public dance lesson followed by live music and plenty of time to practice. Upcoming dance styles include honkytonk at South Park Plaza (tonight! July 16, 6-9 p.m.), salsa at Freeway Park (July 21, 6-9 p.m.) and swing at Occidental Park (Aug. 4, 6-9 p.m). Check out the full calendar and fire up your dancing shoes.

Seattle’s frenzy of seasonal festivals continues…

< Part of the Seafair festivities, the Indian Days Powwow at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center (July 17-19; all are welcome, Native and non-native) is celebrating its 37th year. Hosted by the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, this annual celebration of Northwest Native culture includes a market featuring over 50 Indigenous vendors, traditional dancing, crafts and drumming. A $10 donation for admission is encouraged, but feel free to pay what you can. 

< Calling all improv geeks! Get all your best impressions ready. The first-ever Jet City Improv Festival (July 16-19 at West of Lenin in Fremont) is hitting town with some stacked programming of workshops, classes, group skits and stand-up comedy. On the website, organizers say that the fest is meant to be a “welcoming and energizing” way to connect with other improvers across the city. There are classes on how to tune into your own unique point of view, improv songwriting and theatricality, as well as performances by improv groups like Formerly Known As and Queerly Beloved.

< BlastFest at Seattle Center (July 18, 21+) has become a reliable venue to see some of the best Afrobeats artists on the scene. The one-day festival headliners include Nigerian superstar and modern Afrobeats pioneer Wizkid, frequent Kendrick Lamar collaborator Mustard and Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist Shenseea. BlastFest has been a hit these last three years — more dancing in public places please!

< The San Juan Island Lavender Festival (July 18-19 at the Alchemy Field Campus & Lavender Farm in Friday Harbor) is celebrating 25 years, with two days of live music, artists and makers, roving circus performers and deep inhaling of the signature purple plant. 

< As it warms back up next week, those without AC might consider heading to the movie theater for SIFF’s Cold War Summer (July 22 – Aug. 26 at SIFF Cinema Uptown), a mini festival featuring killer films about spycraft and conspiracies. It’s a fun mix of films, with highbrow cuts like The Lives of Others (July 22), the Academy Award-winning German thriller about audio surveillance of East Berlin residents. But I’m personally intrigued by their 35mm screening of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Aug. 12), an incredibly silly sendup of James Bond movies and the ‘60s. It holds up!

< Hear ye, hear ye! The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire (July 18 – Aug. 16 in Snohomish) hath returned to our hallowed grounds, and all the noblest masters, mistresses, and everyone in between are called to revel in the historical fantasy of 16th-century Elizabethan England! Each weekend is themed (Viking, faes, and pirates galore), but each iteration will have all the hits – jousting, elaborate cosplay, meat-on-a-stick, ale, and lots of vendors.