Stalemate

1974

American, born Morelia, Mexico,1935; died Seattle, Washington, 2023

Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Alfredo Arreguín immigrated in 1956 to Seattle, where he would spend the rest of his life. A prominent member of Seattle’s countercultural and bohemian scene, Arreguín developed a distinctive painting style in the 1970s that evoked both the tropical flora and fauna of his home country and the topography of his adopted city. In Stalemate, surreal natural and geometric patterns morph within and between amorphous figures, creating an otherworldly scene that is topped with a specific marker of place: the profile of Tahoma/Mt. Rainier.

Oil on canvas

Overall: 61 x 61 in. (154.9 154.9 cm)

Canvas: 60 x 60 in. (152.4 x 152.4 cm)

Bequest of the artist

2023.25.1

Provenance: The artist; by bequest to Seattle Art Museum, 2023

Photo: Scott Leen

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryBellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington, Alfredo Arreguín: Patterns of Dreams and Nature, March 23 - June 16, 2002. Text by Laure Flores. pp. 50, 56, reproduced, p. 53.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture, June 21 - September 2, 2024.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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