Spring 2026 Artist Interviews

Every exhibition at SJIMA begins with an artist and a body of work — but behind each piece is a story worth hearing. This spring, SJIMA sat down with Lauren Boilini, Janis Miltenberger, and Dan Brown to explore the ideas driving their work, the processes that shape it, and the personal experiences woven into it.

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In the Nichols Gallery, Seattle-based painter Lauren Boilini discusses the concept of excess at the heart of Celestial Navigation — how abundance, pushed to its extreme, dissolves into pattern — and shares the thinking behind the show's title, from moths navigating by light to fireflies as personal star charts.

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In the North Gallery, Lopez Island glass artist Janis Miltenberger takes us inside Productive Uncertainty, walking through the symbols and stories woven into her sculptures — from the medieval Doctrine of Signatures to the deeply personal Works in Blue series — and reflecting on the ongoing friendship with her material that continues to surprise her.

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In the Sterner Atrium Gallery, sculptor and former art teacher Dan Brown talks about a lifetime of making things from found materials, the unexpected path from wildlife biology to the art classroom, and why, for him, creating is simply a necessity.

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All three exhibitions are on view through June 1, 2026. We hope these conversations deepen your experience of the work.