Sudden Growth 2024 | Oil on canvas 75 x 75 inches
An Invitation From Kevin Cosley
There are places I can feel but are impossible for me to name.
When entering the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue for the first time, one is immediately struck by the impressive architectural volumes that bend from one huge space to another and arc high overhead. Especially inspiring to me was looking up at the epic windows, which gave a direct view into the wild, changing world that was the sky on the day we installed the work.
My hope is that my large-format paintings, in that space, also serve as direct windows into other worlds, wild and real. Unnameable spaces that grow as naturally as the weather outside from the invisible currents shaping the world around and inside us. Like the sky outside the windows, these spaces that I paint travel beyond the dimensions of the canvas.
Mapping the Unseen
Kevin Cosley’s artistic process is intuitive, responsive, and rooted in a deeply interior connection to the world outside. Rather than representing specific images, his paintings explore invisible currents (physical, emotional, environmental, and behavioral) that shape the designs we see in the world. His large-scale works often teeter between abstraction and familiarity, inviting viewers to recognize something they feel but can’t quite place.
This new exhibit continues that exploration. Each piece grew without a fixed outcome. The process was one of emergence and listening, resulting in work that feels alive with shifting light, memory, and atmosphere.
Inside the Exhibit: Five Windows Into Flux
Curated by Tamar Alsberg, who is bringing some exciting exhibits to new spaces east of Seattle, Somewhere I’ve Never Been Before features five large-scale paintings installed in the public atrium of Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center. Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the space allows visitors to experience the work in natural light and at their own pace.
The recurring themes include:
Echoes of natural forms in flux that appear to grow naturally from uncertain processes
Movement and constant change in all aspects and directions, reflecting metamorphosis
A feeling of expansion and branching from one or many points, overlapping and interacting
Iridescent textures that shift with movement
Together, the paintings form a living system that shifts depending on who is looking and when.
A Visual Language of Change
Cosley’s world is layered with interactions and moments that emerge from processes in the world around him. His works carry a sense of ongoing transformation. Recurring ideas include:
Discovery that unfolds rather than directs
Chaotic forces beyond control, like tides, winds, or the unconscious
Beauty within impermanence
The dynamic tension between childlike wonder and play and the limits of ideas and materials
The atmosphere is always moving. There is no still point. Only rhythm, color, and change.
Quake 2023 | Oil on canvas 74 x 79 inches
Bellevue as Cultural Space
The Meydenbauer Center is one of the region’s most trafficked venues, hosting over 300 events annually. By integrating contemporary art into its public space, the center becomes more than a functional building. It becomes a cultural beacon.
“We are thrilled to have Kevin’s work on display … so that both the local community members and traveling convention delegates will have the opportunity to experience his work,” said Sara Waltemire, Chief Operating Officer at Meydenbauer Center. “The movement and emotion in his pieces tie so beautifully with the diverse arts and community events we host in our space.”
(Quoted from the Meydenbauer Center blog)
What Viewers Carry Home
These paintings do not explain. They invite. Viewers often leave the exhibit with more questions than answers:
What forces or influences effortlessly form the designs and patterns in the world around us
What deep memories of these forces might be just out of reach?
What does it feel like to remember something you never experienced?
This artwork comes alive in a space where the viewer’s intuition and the artist’s process meet. There is a shared joy and surprise inherent in the making of the work. A connection and collaboration that invites contemplation and evolves with time and context.
For Collectors and Curators
Kevin Cosley’s work is part of the visual fabric of Seattle. Known for large-scale paintings that bring intuitive rhythm and emotional weight to both public and private spaces, his practice resonates with those seeking more than decoration. These pieces are made to live with… to be returned to, reconsidered, and felt.
If you are a collector, curator, or gallerist interested in learning more about available work or upcoming series, please contact kate@lionandlamb.art.
See the Work in Person
Location: Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE 6th St, Bellevue, WA
Exhibition Dates: October 1, 2025, to January 26, 2026
Public Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free and open to the public
From Me to You
This show is deeply personal. It holds questions I am still exploring every day in the studio. I hope these works give you space to pause and feel something, maybe just beneath the surface of awareness. Thank you for stepping into this space with me.
If you are a collector, curator, or simply curious, I would love to stay connected.
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For direct inquiries, contact kate@lionandlamb.art.
— Kevin
