Rebecca Woodhouse: A Visual Protest
August 7-30, 2025
Politics has always been woven through Rebecca Woodhouse’s life—and her art. Her father, Ned Woodhouse, founded a commune and taught political science for decades. Her great-grandmother, Chase Going Woodhouse, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut as a Democrat. This legacy of civic engagement has quietly informed Woodhouse’s abstract work for years.
In 2016, Woodhouse’s political commentary moved to the surface. What began as a short, cathartic mini-series during the first Trump campaign evolved into a central, ongoing thread in her creative practice. A Visual Protest is the first exhibition to bring together a wide selection of this growing body of overtly political work.
Best known for her abstract linocut paintings—complex hybrids of printmaking and painting that build richly textured layers of color and pattern—Woodhouse applies the same technical and aesthetic sensitivity to her political work. She presents a striking series of reimagined American flags infused with global and inclusive symbolism. Colors and icons drawn from other national flags, a spectrum of skin tones, peace signs, and LGBTQ+ pride motifs challenge the notion of a singular American identity. As our political landscape grows increasingly fraught, symbols of nationalism have been co-opted by far-right movements. This exhibition challenges that narrative, reclaiming the flag as a symbol of the people—all people. It also raises a set of questions: If liberal states were to secede, what would their flag look like? Could we create a new national symbol that reflects inclusion, diversity, and global solidarity?
Can we even save this country?
Beyond the flags, A Visual Protest includes paintings, collages, and installations that extend the conversation toward peace, resistance, belonging, and hope. Some works are driven by fury, others by aspiration—but all ask what it means to participate in this moment with awareness and purpose.
“I wonder what I can do as an artist to help the world; my voice doesn’t reach far,” Woodhouse writes. “However, each voice is part of a collection of voices, and that collection can rise and be heard. It’s that power, that slow wave, that changes the world.”
Rebecca Woodhouse is represented by WaterWorks Gallery in Friday Harbor and regularly exhibits with Gallery 110 and Domicile Gallery in Seattle. She recently completed a month-long residency in France and contributed to the book Give & Take: Motherhood and Creative Practice.
