Roq La Rue has been the forefront of the national alternative art scene for more than 25 years. The gallery has helped shape art movements globally, including Pop Surrealism and New Contemporary.

We are focused on exhibits and champions mid-career and established artists working in fantastical contemporary realism who display a highly refined technical excellence in their work.

We also occasionally exhibit emerging artists who we feel offer exceptional talent and vision.

History

Roq La Rue was started in 1998 by Kirsten Anderson. Seeking to create a space in Seattle for for the rising “Low Brow” art scene at that time, the gallery showed provocative, countercultural informed works ranging from "Kustom Kulture", Outsider art, prison art, tiki art, and work by underground cartoonists.

Over the years the scene refined itself and evolved into the “Pop Surrealism” genre, trading kitsch for magical realism and more nuanced narratives. Roq La Rue was on the cutting edge of this movement, exhibiting the most sought after artists in the genre and discovering and showcasing exciting new talents. This led to gaining not only an international roster of artists and influential collectors, but a reputation for being highly discerning in our curation for over 25 years.

Kirsten Anderson

Kirsten Anderson is the owner and curator of Roq La Rue, which she founded in 1998.

In 2004 she edited and curated the seminal book “Pop Surrealism” (pub. Last Gasp) which was the first survey of the new burgeoning art scene known at the time as “Lowbrow”, and she is the person who coined the name “Pop Surrealism” and changed the moniker of the art movement.

She was given the honorific of “Editor at Large” at Hi Fructose magazine from 2007-2014, interviewing and writing countless articles about artists including Mark Ryden, Kehinde Wiley, Nick Cave, and every major artist in the Pop Surrealism movement until she stepped down to focus on conservation projects.

She has lectured about art, mentored students abroad, and is the go to person for artist monographs due to her influential curation, writing skill, and art history knowledge. She has written monograph essays and forwards for Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Camille Rose Garcia, Travis Louie, Femke Hiemstra, Martin Wittfooth, Victor Castillo, and more.

In 2009 she began raising money for wildlife conservation efforts, collaborating with artists to create limited edition prints. In 2016 she founded Creatura Wildlife Projects 501c3 and continues to raise money for wildlife through artist collaborations, private donations, and hosting clients on specialized safari trips in East Africa. 

Philanthropy efforts

Wildlife conservation is important to the gallery and we have raised money for multiple organizations over the years, mostly through owner Kirsten Anderson’s 501c3 non profit Creatura Wildlife Projects.

All money raised through Creatura/Roq La Rue is donated 100% to various wildlife organizations. Creatura/Roq La Rue has supported non-profit conservation groups such as Wildlife Works, The Sheldrick Trust, Big Life Foundation, Saving The Wild, Mara Elephant Project, Osa Conservation, Bat World Sanctuary, and Wild Love Preserve. We thank artists Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Camille Rose Garcia, Audrey Kawasaki, Jeff Jacobson, and Josh Keyes for supporting us and providing the artwork to make these donations possible. In 2021 and 2022 artist Mark Ryden donated profits from the sale of two prints to Creatura that we used to help fund Mara Elephant Project, Wildlife Works Elephant Protection Trust, Saving the Wild, Wild Love Preserve, and Bat World Sanctuary. Stay tuned for more!