Group Show at COCA

I will have three pieces in a group show in Seattle later this month. The show is titled Inquiry as Collection: Wonder Cabinets, Collage, Assemblage. This opportunity emerged from a course I took at the Pratt Fine Arts Center last month; more background is available elsewhere on this site. From the press release,

Inquiry as Collection is an exploration of the ways in which contemporary artists deploy strategies of collecting in both two- and three-dimensional works. The exhibit also demonstrates the resurgence of interest in Renaissance "curiosity cabinets," known for their often idiosyncratic combinations of art and science.

Running from August 30, 2007 – September 27, the show is curated by David Francis, Instructor in Diverse Disciplines at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, who previously curated Shard at CoCA, which Regina Hackett described as “bustling with originality and strangeness.” Francis had previously curated archaeological artifacts for history exhibits.

The show centers on the work of six artists who studied Wonder Cabinet aesthetics in a class taught by Francis at Pratt earlier in 2007: Mary Ann Henderson, I-Pei Lin, Clare Livingston, Jodi Reid, Thomas Robey, and Nan Wonderly. In the same way that Renaissance “Wunderkammern” blended art and science, the box constructions of these artists reveals their diverse backgrounds: Henderson and Robey are scientists; Lin comes from a Design background; Livingston’s parents ran a museum; Reid and Wonderly are artists from Lake Chelan and Seattle.

The show's opening reception is August 30 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Shilshole Beach Club in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. The club is also open to the public every Thursday evening until September 20.