Re Building, from the Latin in re:  "in the matter of" or "regarding" On the occasion of completing upgrades to the museum’s HVAC system and building’s roof, the exhibition Re Building celebrates the Museum of Northwest Art’s Permanent Collection and its role writ large in building up and cementing the reputation of the institution as a remarkable repository of the modern and contemporary trajectory of Northwest art.

Today, MoNA’s Permanent Collection includes 2,400 artworks ranging across all media and spanning from the early 1900s to the present. At the core of the collection is the seminal work of the ‘Big Four’: Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and Mark Tobey—who inspired by the landscape and unique quality of the light of the Skagit Valley—between the 1930s-1950s created works of lyrical beauty. In its entirety, the collection speaks of key aspects of the rich artistic history of the Northwest and reflects the cultural sensibilities and shifts that have informed, and continue to inform, the experience of living in this region. As we celebrate better and safer conditions for the art, we are reminded that the Permanent Collection is a living document that honors our culture's past and continues to tell our story into the future.