Interesting. I think of Seattle galleries as all having very distinct personalities. Howard House, to my mind, tends more towards art that has an academic, studied quality to it, and much of it has something to say. Howard House also seems a little less susceptible to the trends of the moment: collage-art, new interpretations of wilderness, new interpretations of ready-mades, shellacked and shiny pieces that look like candy. This is ok. What I find at HH is usually surprising and different from what I can expect to find elsewhere, but it is still clearly chosen with great care.

All that said, the current show -- Ten Years at Howard House -- feels a bit like they're cleaning out the storage closets and trying to pay some bills. Also ok, I suppose.