So far, it’s been a busy summer for interdisciplinary artist and printmaker Romson Regarde Bustillo. While splitting his time between Seattle and Barcelona, he was named a finalist for the prestigious Neddy Award, he opened a solo exhibition at J. Rinehart Gallery, and soon he will be presenting a new body of glass work as part of the Seattle Art Fair’s 2025 Public Projects.
In To Remember or Forget, J. Rinehart Gallery’s first solo exhibition of Bustillo’s multifaceted work, they showcase a mix of his expertly layered multimedia canvases alongside vibrantly colored glass sculptures, all of which reflect his continued exploration “into our presumed capacity to hold multiple ideas, including contradictory concepts, while considering one’s proximity to intended meanings.” These transcendent works instigate curiosity about the things we perceive as true, and the reality of what meanings lie beneath an image based on our contextual knowledge. He also considers how we individually and collectively interpret various imagery and patterns, informed by our personal knowledge and memories. Whether it is through a cultural, political, social, or spiritual lens, we all hold a wide range of references that inform how we engage with and understand the diverse symbols and imagery that exist within Bustillo’s artistic practice. With his mixed media work, the controlled chaos of motifs and contrasting colors juxtaposed against one another invites a multitude of interpretations, all of which coincide, contradict, and everything in between.
To make hard soft, Bustillo’s site-specific mixed media, glass, and textile installation at the upcoming Seattle Art Fair features his recent foray into glass. This body of work highlights Bustillo’s ability to transfer his exploration of meaning-making to 3D sculpture by sandblasting imagery and open-ended symbols (similar to what is reflected in his mixed media work) onto blown glass. These works, created at residencies at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, re-imagine cultural burial jars and vessels from pre-colonial Philippines and Southeast Asia. These sculptures act as literal vessels that hold complex truths about how we navigate cultural death practices, rituals, and grief.
Between flat, multi-patterned monoprints, complex multimedia layers, and 3D sculpture, Bustillo presents a visual journey on how we make meaning of various imagery and symbols, and how we navigate the intersections of parallel and opposing truths. With his new body of work, he has provided the space for us to expand our understanding of cultural traditions and structures, and given us permission to create new narratives for us to connect with.
An artist talk will be held on Saturday, June 21 at 1pm at J. Rinehart Gallery. Opening night for the Seattle Art Fair is Thursday, July 17, 6-9pm.
To Remember or Forget is on view through June 25, 2025, at J. Rinehart Gallery (319 3rd Ave S.), Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-5pm.
To make hard soft is on view during the Seattle Art Fair July 17-20, 2025 at Lumen Field Event Center (800 Occidental Ave S), Friday – Saturday, 11am-7pm, and Sunday, 11am-6pm.
ENTROPY, for those who dream awake before dawns is on view through September 13, 2025, at The Behnke Family Gallery at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University (1077 Lenora St, Seattle, WA 98121), Thursdays and Fridays, 12-7pm, and Saturdays, 12-6pm.
More information on Romson Regarde Bustillo can be found at www.romsonbustillo.com.
