Crossing Over the Bridge

We have initiated a demanding and exciting project at Pottery Northwest. Crossing Over the Bridge is an undertaking made possible with the support of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Rick and Peg Young Foundation and many of our valued patrons. In the next few months we will be hosting guest artists in our studio who do not ordinarily work with clay. We will provide them with technical assistance and a stipend to accomplish a project or work piece. We hope to create a cauldron for dialog among artists, in particular our resident artists and the guests, but also drop in visitors, students, anyone interested in exciting work that crosses disciplinary boundaries. That is why we chose Crossing Over the Bridge as a title for the project. We choose to ignore the boundaries of a particular medium and instead build connections between artists. We have a strong belief that artists in any discipline have common ground and knowledge to share, both formal concerns and that intangible intuitive that comes from years of work. It is already rewarding.

First Step . . . John Grade

John Grade is our first guest in this project. John is well known in the Seattle region, as well as having completed a number of residency projects abroad. You may have seen his work at Davidson Galleries or the Bellevue Art Museum. Starting with beautiful forms and impeccable craftsmanship, John constructs his works and then often fosters a second and third phase in which the work is placed in the natural environment and endures the rigor of weather, and other life forms. John’s project with us will be along those lines. In John’s words:

Circuit is a sculpture designed to change in direct response to an alpine landscape. After it is initially exhibited in New York and then Seattle (Cynthia Reeves Gallery April 29 – May 1, 2010 and Davidson Galleries Sept 1 – October 2), I will divide the eight parts of the sculpture. I will carry these parts up a mountain and secure them to eight chosen sites. Each site has unique characteristics. The sites all vary in elevation and topography, but if connected by a trail, they would describe an ellipse around the mountain peak. For one year the sculpture will remain on the mountain. Periodically, I will document changes through video and photography. Finally, I will retrieve the eight parts and exhibit them together again along with documentation of the site work.

This project continues my investigation into how sculpture can reflect perceptions about landscape and expand these ideas through change and displacement. Because Circuit will be spread over eight sites, a complex portrait of this landscape will be captured and a mixture of subtle and dramatic change should result.

Community Involvement

We are very interested in involving the larger community in this project. We need volunteers to help construct the pieces that comprise Circuit. If you wish to learn something about the nature of paper clay, the sometimes elaborate steps involved in John’s work , and you enjoy dialog let us put you on a list of volunteer artists and schedule some work time with John and our studio.

More!

John Grade is the first in this series of guests to our studio. There is more to come including video interviews and new perspectives. Watch this space!

Next Steps . . . de la Torre brothers

We are pleased to announce that the “next steps” in Crossing Over the Bridge are the fabulous de la Torre brothers, Jamex and Einar. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico and finishing high school in California, the brothers divide their time between Ensenada, Mexico and California. Likewise their work crosses many borders.

Their work is an amalgam of politic, beauty, social commentary, the sacred and the profane. Who are they like? Well nobody else really, but maybe the closest would be the equally amazing Guillermo Gomez Pena, the performance artist who took all of our nostalgic ideas about south of the border culture and lit them on fire. This is exciting, transgressive and beautiful, yes beautiful work.

Jamex and Einar will be in residence at PNW May 6-10. It just so happens they will be showing work at the William Traver Gallery in that same time frame so you will have ample opportunity to see their work in glass while they address clay. We are looking forward to an exciting and enlightening stay!