Mixed media art of Pat Siler, Tanden Launder featured in ‘Jumping Off’

“Jumping Off,” which runs Friday through Feb. 2 at the Art Spirit Gallery, highlights the mixed media art of Pullman’s Pat Siler and Coeur d’Alene’s Tanden Launder.

Siler has been a professional artist and educator for more than five decades.

“Jumping Off” will feature some of Siler’s paintings, ceramics, stencils and woodcut prints, inspired by the German expressionism movement of the early 20th century, vintage comic book art, Asian brush art and Mexican muralists.

“I’m sure of the relevance of art by its persistent presence in human culture,” Siler said in a statement. “I’m not so sure of the significance of my observations and creations but the challenge is always there and so is the mystery of creation.”

Siler taught in the Washington State University fine art department for 33 years and is a professor emeritus. His work has been exhibited in museums around the country including the WSU Museum of Art, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the Seattle Art Museum, the New Museum and the American Craft Museum, both in New York City, the Boise Art Museum and the Chicago International Exposition.

Artist, entrepreneur and small business owner Launder creates mixed media art that features well-known Americana characters, created using vintage books and papers, and found objects.

“My interest and appreciation for Americana started in boyhood, stemming partially from reading many biographies,” he said in a statement. “Those books now serve as the part of the collage material I use to build up the layers on my art.”

When creating a piece, Launder focuses on what he calls “the draw,” the part of the piece that initially captures a viewer’s attention and inspires them to take a closer look at the work.

“The intention is to have an art piece that rests easily in a space but isn’t a simple study,” he said.