About
Artist living and working in Seattle, Washington
Debi Boyette
b. 1974 Jacksonville, Florida
Lives and works in Seattle, Washington
Debi Boyette is of American Asian French descent. Raised in Florida by her father who was deaf and blind and her mother of Chinese Filipino descent. Her mother, grandmother and stepmother raised Boyette with Hapa Asian culture and traditions.
Boyette uses materials gathered from everyday objects, photographs, vintage ephemera and incorporates them into her world of distorted whimsy. Turning drawings into paintings, collages, sculptures into wall works, furniture, installations and transmitting simple real materials into new expressions.
Playful, funny, altered, curious and dystopian imagery inspires us to read a story and to see unexpected in the everyday paradox.
Boyette’s multidisciplinary practice includes works on paper, collages, wall works, freestanding sculptures, wall-mounted works and site-specific installations. Regardless of medium, Debi's work produces distorted culturally based works, both mocking and referencing the established forms.
Born in Jacksonville, Florida and currently living Seattle, Washington, Debi’s work has been included in exhibitions at Ballard Works, Seattle University, Victrola Art, MOCA Jacksonville, Florida Mining, Le Merde, Saw Gallery, Terminal Gallery and Youngblood Gallery.
Select Exhibitions
Soft Touch, Group Exhibition, Museum of Museums, Seattle, WA 2023
How Are You Doing, Group Exhibition, Get Nice Gallery, Seattle, WA 2022
The Longest Decade, Group Exhibition, 9th & Thomas, Seattle, WA 2022
Clouded Thoughts, Grey Sky Gallery, Seattle, WA 2022
Life is but a Dream, Group Exhibition, Ballard Works, Seattle, WA, 2022 — Link
Group Exhibition, Ballard Works, Seattle, WA, 2022 — Link
Cakes and Trees, Installation, Seattle, WA, October 2021
Debi Boyette (Solo), The Big One, Beats and Bohos, Seattle, WA, September 2021 — Link
Debi Boyette (Solo), Victrola Art, Seattle, WA, September 2021
Debi Boyette (Solo), Ballard Works, Seattle, WA, August 2021
Debi Boyette (Solo), Victrola Art, Seattle, WA, February 2020
Permanent Collection, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2020
A Vision For Art, St. Marks, Jacksonville, FL, April 2019
Full Send, Florida Mining, Jacksonville, FL, May 2019
Group Exhibition, Le Merde, Seattle, WA, July 2018
Group Exhibition, Scribble Studios, Seattle, WA, 2013
Hit and Run, SAW Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2002
Art/Not, Terminal Gallery, International Women's Month, Atlanta, GA, 2002
AKA Altered Egos, Youngblood Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2000
WOMEN, Name Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2000
Group Exhibition, MOCA Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, 1997
Debi Boyette (Solo), HeartWorks Gallery, Jacksonville, FL, 1996
Education
Seattle Central College, Design, Seattle, Washington, 2005
Atlanta College of Art, Painting and Printmaking, Atlanta, Georgia, 1997
Professional Experience
Director and Curator, Le Merde, Seattle, WA
April 2014 – Present
Seattle based curated concept boutique and gallery featuring vintage collections, local and international, independent designers, artists and exhibitions. Combining the experience of community, art, design, fashion and sustainable practices.
Art Docent and Art Board Member Lead, Loyal Heights PTA, Seattle, WA
August 2010 – May 2021
Served as Art Docent Lead on the PTA Board for two years and Art Docent for 10 years for the early learning years K-5th classes.
Director, Curator and Instructor, Scribbles Studios and Gallery, Seattle, WA
January 2012 – December 2012
Women led, organized exhibition space, studio, event space and workshop for all ages.
Art Instructor, Loyal Heights Community Center, Seattle, WA
August 2011 – March 2012
Art Instructor for Homeschool students and after school care.
Director, Founder and Curator, Crawlspace Gallery, Seattle, WA
January 2002 – January 2005
A not for profit 501(c)3 foundation began as a women-run cooperative gallery then became inclusive for all genders as an artist run space. The exhibitions included art from over 100 emerging artists, to lead to more community interest in the visual arts and further curatorial installation opportunities. Sponsored by the Allied Arts Foundation.
Press
8 Puget Sound-area museums all art lovers must visit, The Seattle Times, 2023
Suboart Magazine, March 2023, #2, pp. 34-35
Soft Touch @ Museum of Museums, The Ticket, 2023
Daily, Arts & Culture, Silence us Sexy, 2023
Museum of Museums, Experience Soft Touch, 2023
The Longest Decade Art Exhibition, EverOut Seattle, 2022
This Pop-Up Gallery Before the Building Gets Bulldozed and Turned Into Condos, The Stranger, 2022
Debi Boyette at BallardWorks, 2021
Art Up/Chow Down Art Walk – The BIG One – Sept 10 and 11, Art Up Phinney Wood, 2021
In Arts News by Emily Hall, Polaroids and Pie-Eating, The Stranger, 2003
AKA Artists don Altered Egos at Young Blood By Cathy Byrd, Creative Loafing, 2000