Tacoma Art Museum opens a solo show by Seattle photographer Eirik Johnson on Oct. 29, with a free evening reception.
"Leviathan Rising," part of the museum's Project NW series, features photographs Johnson shot from a sea kayak beneath the hulls of transoceanic barges idling on Seattle's Duwamish River. The exhibit runs through Jan. 24, 2027, according to the museum's exhibit page.
The opening reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public with no registration required, according to the museum's event listing.
What's on the walls
Johnson, born and raised in Seattle, paddles his kayak under transoceanic barges that port along the Duwamish, a polluted river that flows into the Salish Sea. From below, he captures the rusted steel ribs, oil-slicked surfaces and geometric patterns of sunlight that play across the vessels' undersides, according to his studio website.
The exhibit goes beyond photographs. It includes daguerreotype photograms of Japanese glass fishing floats, created with artist Daniel Carrillo. Those floats once held fishing nets in Japanese waters, broke free and drifted across the Pacific to Northwest shores, according to Johnson's website.
Two underwater sound works round out the show. Johnson composed them from aquatic field recordings made underwater in the Duwamish, capturing sounds like ship welding and distant propeller pulses.
The book and the backstory
The exhibit accompanies Johnson's new monograph, also called Leviathan Rising, published by MW Editions. The book features 68 color photographs, three gatefolds and underwater field recordings from the Duwamish, according to the museum. University of Washington Magazine reported the book includes an essay by Sylvia Wolf, director emerita of the Henry Art Gallery.
Johnson, a University of Washington graduate, works in photography, sound and installation, according to a Seattle Met profile published in June. His editorial clients include the New York Times Magazine and Dwell, and his work sits in permanent collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the International Center of Photography in New York, according to Lenscratch.
Ellen Ito, Tacoma Art Museum's curator of collections and special projects, organized the exhibition. Project NW is a museum series devoted to artists of the region.
If you go
Tacoma Art Museum is open Thursday through Sunday. Regular admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and military, and $10 for youth ages 6 to 18. Every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., admission is free. Tickets are available at the admissions desk or online.
