Sam Dewey / Adair Freeman Rutledge: [Un]Seen Women

Both Sam Dewey (painter) and Adair Freeman Rutledge (photographer) use their art to question cultural traditions that affect women. Dewey offers a dreamy escape into memory and introspection through representational landscape and portrait art that transcends the confines of reality. Dewey’s portraits depict people in attire and poses from other eras and evoke a nostalgic response while undermining both period and contemporary cultural norms.

Adair Freeman Rutledge is a photographer based in Seattle. Her series, The Royals, questions enduring traditions and underscores tensions between cultural practices and modern realities. Rutledge travels to far-flung places documenting girls and women receiving awards at such events as the Sequim Irrigation Festival, Queen of the Forest in Mason County, and the Sedro-Woolley Rodeo.