Kirkland Gains Two New Galleries

Cass Contemporary Art, 120 Park Lane. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., 889-8899. Foster/ White Gallery, 126 Central Way. Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. 822-2305. --------------------------------------------------------------- -- KIRKLAND Two new art galleries have staked their claims in downtown Kirkland this summer, giving greater variety to the city's thriving arts scene.

Art patrons got their first look at Cass Contemporary Art and the Foster/White Gallery at this month's Kirkland Art Walk.

Cass Contemporary Art came to Kirkland in May after 15 years in a Minneapolis-based wholesale art brokerage business.

Foster/White opened its Eastside gallery this week with original watercolors, sculpture, glass and mixed-media work. More familiar to local art patrons, Foster/White spent nine years in downtown Seattle's Frederick & Nelson before that store closed its doors for good in June. The company still maintains a gallery in Pioneer Square.

Owners of both galleries say Kirkland's commitment to the arts made their moves easy.

"It's the amount of public sculpture and public interest in the arts here," said gallery manager Cale Kinne. "It's the draw of the waterfront and because it's a people-oriented place."

Cass Contemporary Art owners Jack Cass and Pat Yentzer shopped for space in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Southern California before

signing a lease in Kirkland.

Cass said he felt he had made the right choice during this month's art walk through Kirkland's 13 galleries.

"We had more than 600 people in here enjoying art and sipping Perrier," said Cass. "We went through 750 bottles of Perrier and we overheard people saying `I didn't know there were art pieces like this available in Kirkland.' One guy asked to use our phone and called his friend to come down and see it that very night."

Fifteen-foot ceilings hover over Cass's single-room gallery, which features a broad mix of prints by contemporary artists. Some items not on display are available in Cass Contemporary's back rooms; others are available by special order.

"We want people to know we're not snobs. We're not hoity-toity," said Yentzer. "You'll find everything here, ranging from a framed $310 piece to a $46,000 Frank Stella."

About one block away, Foster/White celebrated its grand opening this week with an exhibit of Vic Calderon paintings (see next page) that continues through Sept. 21.

Guests were introduced to the 2,500-square-foot gallery featuring five open, airy rooms with 14-foot ceilings. Toward the back of the gallery is a room for current exhibits. Off to the side is a room designed for displaying Dale Chihuly glass. Special wall mountings are under construction for some of Chihuly's pieces.

The Kirkland Foster/White will display new pieces on the third Thursday of each month. Pioneer Square's gallery will display the works first, on the first Thursday of each month.

Though some art patrons fear that Kirkland's small, specialty art houses may be threatened by these two larger galleries, Kinne said that may not be the case.

"I suppose some of the smaller galleries might be feeling swamped," said Kinne, "but I believe we all enhance each other to some extent.

"We hope to be able to complement what Kirkland already offers," Kinne added. "Foster/White has a large client base on the Eastside, and this is so much more accessible for people who don't want to go into Seattle on a Saturday."