Recognizing the important role artists play in shaping and reflecting our society, the Frye Art Museum has emphasized exhibiting and supporting regional contemporary artists since its opening in 1952. Join us for a moderated conversation with three contemporary artists who are deeply connected to the region and will be exhibiting at the Frye this fall: Samantha Wall, Marita Dingus, and Margie Livingston.

Curator Georgia Erger will lead the discussion, uncovering the many surprising ways that history and home are manifested through the artists’ work, while offering insights into these important artists’ perspectives working today.

This talk is part of Ripple Effect: Northwest Contemporary Art Then and Now, a larger series of conversations centering artists practicing in the Pacific Northwest and the history of the art community that has shaped today's contemporary arts scene. Register for the full series.

About the Artists

Samantha Wall lives and works in Portland. She immigrated to the United States as a child and comes from a multiracial background. Operating from within this framework, her drawings embody the experience of navigating transcultural identity through portraiture, gesture, and ritual practices. Wall has exhibited work at the Hangaram Art Museum in the Seoul Arts Center, CUE Art Foundation in New York, and the Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, as well as exhibition spaces in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Frankfurt. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including an MFA Grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, a Golden Spot Residency Award from Crow's Shadow Institute for the Arts, and a Hallie Ford Fellowship from the Ford Family Foundation.

Marita Dingus was born and raised in Washington State and considers herself an African-American Feminist and environmental artist. She received her Masters of Fine Arts from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Dingus is a 1999 Guggenheim Fellow and has shown in the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway; NATO, Brussels, Belgium; Museum of Glass, Tacoma; and Seattle Art Museum; Tacoma Art Museum. Her work is in the collections of Microsoft, Safeco, City of Seattle, Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, and many private collections.

Margie Livingston is a visual artist who calls herself a “painting nerd.” The reinvention of her artistic practice and experimentation with materials are integral to her work. She recently presented Flux, a new series of paintings that employ chance and serendipity to create unexpected narratives at Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle. Her awards include: Fulbright Scholarship in Berlin (2001); Artist in Residence at MONA FOMA in Tasmania (2019); Vermont Studio Center Fellowship (2019); and Artist in residence at Residency.ch in Bern (2012). Based in Seattle, she earned her MFA. in painting from the University of Washington (1999). Livingston's work resides in the permanent collections of the Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Frye Art Museum, King County, and the City of Seattle.