2013 SHOWS
December \ Cristin Ford \ Planar Visions
Cristin Ford \ Gradient No. 11
This solo show with Cristin Ford features a series of folded paper wall sculptures representing a gradient; topographical acrylic sculptures; and a large-scale hand painted wall installation in one half of the gallery. Ford's work in paper incorporates soft edges and prismatic folded shapes; while her acrylic sculptures continue to explore the vertical form of skyscrapers and city skylines. Layers of line and shapes build an environmental topography to engulf the viewer in a fictional landscape in a site-specific wall installation.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
November \ Julia Hensley \ Star Systems
Julia Hensley \ AB8 Blue Star System
For this exhibition, Julia Hensley has created a series inspired by the universe and technology. Hard-edged squares play off washes of color in response to NASA images and translated into a messy, futuristic vision. Hensley isn’t necessarily striving for a literal explanation of these ideas, but she does provide some formal aesthetic solutions based on the idea of observation, documentation, adhesion, construction, destruction, and repair. If the elements that cause the effect of creation to take place have any strength in metaphor, it’s here amidst disparate pieces of materials clumped together to form objects. Figures rotate around one another in space, attract and/or repel other objects. They blossom, bloom, and glow; colors spilling out across the visible universe like so much spilled ink. If a gaseous dusty cloud is the birthplace of stars, then Hensley’s gaseous forms are in turn generating a powerful group of paintings about them. A suite of six Star Songs recorded by the artist and presented as cds in a limited, handmade edition expands this vision into the sonic realm.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
November \ Affordable Art Fair Seattle
AFFORDABLE ART FAIR \ NEW GRADS \ MANUAL LABOR
Joe Rudko (Western Washington University, BFA 2013)
Jared Bender (University of Washington, MFA 2013)
LxWxH Gallery was pleased to be a part of the Affordable Art Fair in Seattle, November 6-10 2013! We were invited to curate the New Grads portion of the show in booth A14, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall this November.
Joe Rudko and Jared Bender represent contemporary art that reveals a love of process, structure, and formal composition from everyday objects. Each artist’s intent is very different, but they each convey a sense of tenderness and caretaking by revealing the artist’s hand; and emphasizing time, labor, and repetition in their works.
Joe Rudko (Western Washington University, BFA 2013)
Jared Bender (University of Washington, MFA 2013)
LxWxH Gallery was pleased to be a part of the Affordable Art Fair in Seattle, November 6-10 2013! We were invited to curate the New Grads portion of the show in booth A14, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall this November.
Joe Rudko and Jared Bender represent contemporary art that reveals a love of process, structure, and formal composition from everyday objects. Each artist’s intent is very different, but they each convey a sense of tenderness and caretaking by revealing the artist’s hand; and emphasizing time, labor, and repetition in their works.
October \ Kyle Jorgensen \ Kinetic Theories
Kyle Jorgensen \ Personal Climates
This solo show is Salt Lake City artist Kyle Jorgensen's Seattle debut, featuring geometrically patterned drawings and paintings which resemble video game environments, graphic data charts, and surreal representations of nature and topography. Kyle’s palette is chromatic, candy colored, and glittery. He combines abstraction with familiar objects in familiar space, but the deliberate boundaries and borders of its location create new terrain. When not depicting graphic icebergs and forests, it suggests a breakdown and crossover of digital and visual information - corrupted files mixed with organic elements. His landscapes are fictitious realms in a time that might not be our own, but eerily close, as the memory of a dream.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
September \ Jennifer McNeely \ Into the Deep
Jennifer McNeely \ Untitled #1 (white)
Jennifer McNeely's solo show of biomorphic soft sculpture comes from her recent experience with illness and recovery, embodying her personal journey into the cracks between spirit and science, and the personal language of symbols. For us, these creatures and forms provide a mirror to examine the shape of our own inner oceanic dwellers. If there is a crack through which we can feel wonder, delight, joy, sadness, love, labor, or yes even beauty; McNeely has broken it wide open. We are rewarded with not just feeling, but vision - out of the deep, and in the light of day.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
August \ Zwischerliecht group show
Cable Griffith, Shaw Osha, Timothy Cross, Eric Elliott, Whiting Tennis, Susanna Bluhm
In late summer, after the solstice, this exhibition asked artists to consider the witching hour, twilight, and the line between night and day; the half-light. Traditionally, twilight is a mystical time commemorating the thinning of the veil. We wondered: How does this not-day and not-night hour manifest through the Pacific Northwest lens, or tap into the region's inherently sublime nature? These six artists examined the quality of the light, whether restricted only to earthly light or astral light, and the philosophy of its nature.
In late summer, after the solstice, this exhibition asked artists to consider the witching hour, twilight, and the line between night and day; the half-light. Traditionally, twilight is a mystical time commemorating the thinning of the veil. We wondered: How does this not-day and not-night hour manifest through the Pacific Northwest lens, or tap into the region's inherently sublime nature? These six artists examined the quality of the light, whether restricted only to earthly light or astral light, and the philosophy of its nature.
July \ Shaun Kardinal \ Inertia
Shaun Kardinal is a Seattle-based artist and designer whose work focuses on pattern, repetition, and symmetry. His beautifully layered collages follow a quiet meditative theme, reminiscent of mandalas with the crisp edge of a laser. In this solo exhibition, Kardinal continues to push his aesthetics to new places, experimenting with site-specific installation and larger more elaborately embroidered collage.
June \ The Obsessive Unknown Origins of Grotesque Irregularity group show
Nancy Baker \ Luna
Katy Stone, Izzie Klingels, Bette Burgoyne, Tony Sonnenberg, Casey Curran, Mandy Greer, Tyna Ontko, Nancy Baker, Ken Weaver
This show is inspired by Rococo, Surrealism, and the Baroque. Each of the presenting artists have roots in obsessive processes, storytelling, and adornment. The presentation of these works together creates an environment that is not only immediately magical, but which also carries an undercurrent of fascinating narrative in obsession, dreams, the subconscious, folklore and literature. Abundant and lush, these artists push the boundaries of clutter, beauty, and complicated aesthetics in contemporary work.
LxWxH Gallery is also pleased to welcome two New York artists to Seattle, Nancy Baker and Ken Weaver (courtesy of Schroeder Romero & Shredder). By exhibiting artists from other cities en tandem with local artists, LxWxH Gallery hopes to draw connections between the work in Seattle to the work in other cities, building bridges and connections that keep us from further isolation as a cultural center; and demonstrate that Seattle is not so far removed from trends and movements in the art world at large. LxWxH Gallery will remain an exhibition space devoted to the promotion of local artists, but we were so excited at the success of the Portland show "The City and The City" that we want to begin more conversations like it.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
This show is inspired by Rococo, Surrealism, and the Baroque. Each of the presenting artists have roots in obsessive processes, storytelling, and adornment. The presentation of these works together creates an environment that is not only immediately magical, but which also carries an undercurrent of fascinating narrative in obsession, dreams, the subconscious, folklore and literature. Abundant and lush, these artists push the boundaries of clutter, beauty, and complicated aesthetics in contemporary work.
LxWxH Gallery is also pleased to welcome two New York artists to Seattle, Nancy Baker and Ken Weaver (courtesy of Schroeder Romero & Shredder). By exhibiting artists from other cities en tandem with local artists, LxWxH Gallery hopes to draw connections between the work in Seattle to the work in other cities, building bridges and connections that keep us from further isolation as a cultural center; and demonstrate that Seattle is not so far removed from trends and movements in the art world at large. LxWxH Gallery will remain an exhibition space devoted to the promotion of local artists, but we were so excited at the success of the Portland show "The City and The City" that we want to begin more conversations like it.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
May \ The City And The City group show \ co-curated with Daniel Glendening
Samantha Wall, Lisa Radon, Zachary Davis, Jason Lee Starin, Laura Hughes, Patrick Kelly, Evan La Londe, Chase Biado, Rebecca Steele, Lydia Rosenberg, and a performance by Sean Joseph Patrick Carney
"The City and The City" is a curatorial collaboration between Sharon Arnold and Portland artist and writer Daniel J Glendening. Taking it's title from the novel by China Miéville, the exhibition was born out of a desire to connect two cities that, though psychologically distant, occupy an intersecting geographical region. Often, only one city can be seen at a time, but with a shift in perspective both become visible.
This exhibition features work by eleven Portland-based artists, some of whom will be making their Seattle debut. Working in varied and disparate mediums, the artists included in the exhibition represent a wide range of practices and modes of thought. Despite their material differences, various overlapping themes run through the work, including an interest in site or locale, trans-disciplinary dialogue, immateriality and anxiety.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
*all photos below courtesy of Daniel J. Glendening
"The City and The City" is a curatorial collaboration between Sharon Arnold and Portland artist and writer Daniel J Glendening. Taking it's title from the novel by China Miéville, the exhibition was born out of a desire to connect two cities that, though psychologically distant, occupy an intersecting geographical region. Often, only one city can be seen at a time, but with a shift in perspective both become visible.
This exhibition features work by eleven Portland-based artists, some of whom will be making their Seattle debut. Working in varied and disparate mediums, the artists included in the exhibition represent a wide range of practices and modes of thought. Despite their material differences, various overlapping themes run through the work, including an interest in site or locale, trans-disciplinary dialogue, immateriality and anxiety.
To read the catalogue essay, please visit dimensionsvariable.org. Catalogues are available at the gallery.
*all photos below courtesy of Daniel J. Glendening
April \ Sean M. Johnson \ Pieces of a Whole
Sean M Johnson \ Last Seen Jan. 30 1989
Sean M. Johnson's work in Pieces of a Whole demonstrates the mass in multitude. The mass, made of singular components repeated, is built of objects which serve as a stand-in for the figure - the mass is humanity.
In considering how people are often documented as reductive faceless numbers in society, ie information, statistics, and otherwise accumulative data; Johnson strives to point at their quantity as well as their worth. A penny is a penny until it is a sea of pennies - but how many does it take to make an impression? 700, 7000, or 70,000?
The mass risks facelessness or misunderstanding of its individuals, but this is partly his point: an individual is born into, builds, and/or retains an identity, and whether rightly or wrongly that individual is identified by others. By creating portraits or structures out of multiple units exactly the same, he is challenging our assumptions about population, bringing forward the uniqueness of the components within the legion and the potential power of the legion because of - or even in spite of - its components.
In considering how people are often documented as reductive faceless numbers in society, ie information, statistics, and otherwise accumulative data; Johnson strives to point at their quantity as well as their worth. A penny is a penny until it is a sea of pennies - but how many does it take to make an impression? 700, 7000, or 70,000?
The mass risks facelessness or misunderstanding of its individuals, but this is partly his point: an individual is born into, builds, and/or retains an identity, and whether rightly or wrongly that individual is identified by others. By creating portraits or structures out of multiple units exactly the same, he is challenging our assumptions about population, bringing forward the uniqueness of the components within the legion and the potential power of the legion because of - or even in spite of - its components.
March \ Catch & Release group show
Jana Brevick, Dorothy Cheng, Kimber Leblicq, Tara Brannigan
Catch and Release is a group show about sculpture and the body, featuring pieces that might be extremely uncomfortable, impractical, or impossible to wear. The inspiration behind this collection of work was to play on the idea that jewelry can create a kind of armor, whether actual or psychological, or that it is used as a sort of plumage to display wealth or power. Often, the collection will demonstrate the tension between opposites: attraction/repellent, caress/recoil, fragile/indestructible, natural/synthetic, and so on. The title is a play on words indicating the function of jewelry's hardware, utilizing some sort of hook or clasp, and its potential to snare, encapsulate, and eventually release.
Catch and Release is a group show about sculpture and the body, featuring pieces that might be extremely uncomfortable, impractical, or impossible to wear. The inspiration behind this collection of work was to play on the idea that jewelry can create a kind of armor, whether actual or psychological, or that it is used as a sort of plumage to display wealth or power. Often, the collection will demonstrate the tension between opposites: attraction/repellent, caress/recoil, fragile/indestructible, natural/synthetic, and so on. The title is a play on words indicating the function of jewelry's hardware, utilizing some sort of hook or clasp, and its potential to snare, encapsulate, and eventually release.
February \ Brian Cypher \ Future Forage
Brian Cypher \ Color Cloak oil on panel
We're excited to present this new series of paintings by Brian Cypher, each a compelling study of color and light. This work envisions both pre- and post-human environments, and is inspired by the artist's close attention to natural surroundings in a world increasingly rooted in technology.
Historically, Cypher's work draws on geometry, pattern, rhythm, and markmaking; his lineage echoing the aesthetics and formalism of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. In this new series, he breaks free from the confines of line to revel in an electric display of organic forms and bright chroma.
Whereas previously Cypher's work was rooted in equation, he now draws from ecology, specifically the flora which pervades our daily life in the Pacific Northwest. In a conceivably not far-off future where we don't look out our windows as much as we look at screens, how will one invoke old relics, totems, symbols, and ancient landmarks that will be recognized?
Historically, Cypher's work draws on geometry, pattern, rhythm, and markmaking; his lineage echoing the aesthetics and formalism of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. In this new series, he breaks free from the confines of line to revel in an electric display of organic forms and bright chroma.
Whereas previously Cypher's work was rooted in equation, he now draws from ecology, specifically the flora which pervades our daily life in the Pacific Northwest. In a conceivably not far-off future where we don't look out our windows as much as we look at screens, how will one invoke old relics, totems, symbols, and ancient landmarks that will be recognized?
January \ Bette Burgoyne \ Forest
Bette Burgoyne \ Trio 2012 white pencil paper 4" x 4"
LxWxH is proud to present Bette Burgoyne's premiere of "Forest", a nearly thirty foot scroll of narrative work in which she unfurls chapters of intricate, obsessive, and dynamic illustration in her trademark white-on-black method.
Of the work, Burgoyne says:
"Since February 2012 I've been working on a scroll format black paper drawing, Forest. It is a horizontal narrative of texture and events. Within Forest are passages of dense thicket, energy dynamic, water phenomenon and physiological illustration comprised from wavering lines and spots of white pencil. Forest is a work in progress that will be complete when it is presented as a video in collaboration with composer Alan Lamb. On either end of the drawing are titles and credits for the future video."
Bette Burgoyne is known for building elaborate cobwebs and lacework in line. Her attention to pattern, detail, and tone are emphasized by her monochromatic palette, creating a polarized effect that highlights detail. When captured by Burgoyne's drawings, one realizes she reveals a kind of hidden theater visible only by microscope; it is evocative of neurons, nerve networks, wood grain, and dandelion fuzz. In this way our senses, memory, and dreams are provoked and brought to life, and we surrender to the inescapable journey through her narrative. Though the work sometimes appears minimal or effortless, even the smallest of her drawings take hours of painstaking labor while creating these small, tight clusters of marks.
Of the work, Burgoyne says:
"Since February 2012 I've been working on a scroll format black paper drawing, Forest. It is a horizontal narrative of texture and events. Within Forest are passages of dense thicket, energy dynamic, water phenomenon and physiological illustration comprised from wavering lines and spots of white pencil. Forest is a work in progress that will be complete when it is presented as a video in collaboration with composer Alan Lamb. On either end of the drawing are titles and credits for the future video."
Bette Burgoyne is known for building elaborate cobwebs and lacework in line. Her attention to pattern, detail, and tone are emphasized by her monochromatic palette, creating a polarized effect that highlights detail. When captured by Burgoyne's drawings, one realizes she reveals a kind of hidden theater visible only by microscope; it is evocative of neurons, nerve networks, wood grain, and dandelion fuzz. In this way our senses, memory, and dreams are provoked and brought to life, and we surrender to the inescapable journey through her narrative. Though the work sometimes appears minimal or effortless, even the smallest of her drawings take hours of painstaking labor while creating these small, tight clusters of marks.
