Donald Young, Seattle Gallerist

Donald Young, Seattle and Chicago gallerist, passed away recently. Mr. Young's gallery presence first at 2107 3rd Avenue and later at 1103 Pike Street have yet to be eclipsed by a regional gallery, in terms of presentation of the critical elite of contemporary artists. Mr. Young, perhaps more significantly known parenthetically as a gallerist in Chicago, first establshing a gallery partnership with Rhona Hoffman in the Chicago gallery Young Hoffman (1976-1983). In 1999, Mr. Young moved his gallery back to Chicago. Between, the two Seattle incarnations of Donald Young Gallery brought Seattle an as yet unmatched stable of artists to the awareness of the unwitting populace. Mr. Young established his gallery in Seattle to raise a family in a mild, magical environment. Foot traffic from the average Seattle citizen did not figure in Young's business plan. Mr. Young's collectors, prefiguring the proliferation of art fairs, jet-setted to his gallery, which could have been sited it in the Yukon, if there were an airstrip of sufficient size. Importantly for myself, making a few trips in person while in my formative artistic development to the Seattle editions of Donald Young Gallery was seminal, acting as an adjunct to viewings and art experiences at cultural institutions such as museums. After hearing from my sister's boyfriend of Donald Young's Third Avenue gallery (the address was, sadly, omitted by Bad At Sports in his obituary), I visited Donald Young Gallery to see John Baldessari, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, Richard Serra and, of course, Gary Hill. And many others. I followed Mr. Young's programming to 1103 Pike and have been following the creative expressions of Young-represented artists since. I felt compelled to write this short report as a means to assuage the lingering grief I feel regarding the death of Donald Young. My condolences to his family and friends.