benjamin edols & kathy elliott: light marks
Exhibition Runs: May 8 - 31, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 7, 5 - 8 pm

Traver Gallery is pleased to present the work of Australian glass duo Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott. Light Marks features an exciting array of new blown and hot-sculpted carved glass sculpture from signature series as well as new work from the Capillary series. A continuing exploration of the flora and fauna that surrounds their lush home of Australia, Light Marks focuses on the subtle grace found in nature.

The use of traditional Italian techniques folds seamlessly into these sensuous forms; the rich, dense colors draw the viewer’s eye deep into the carved surfaces. The fluid forms are simultaneously reminiscent of leaves and flames, seeds and water. The dynamic interplay of the forms and colors creates a lasting moment of focus.

The artists love the process of working with glass - from the initial drawings, to the physical manipulation of a hot mass, to the subtle touch required to carve a delicate piece. Working collaboratively allows the artists to develop a more refined sculpture before they ever begin working with the glass. “Each piece is the product of a dialogue between us; it really helps us develop new ideas and directions while still being able to achieve a high level of refinement.” says Edols. This dialogue, rooted in opposing views of working (blowing being an additive process and carving being solely reductive), allows the final composition to benefit from alternate modes of viewing space. No piece is divorced from either technique. It is a synthesis of two minds, bringing forth the essence of the natural beauty that infuses their lives.

Edols and Elliott’s work is included in major collections and museums throughout the world, and has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications. Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott teach regularly at Pilchuck Glass School, the Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, and other institutions throughout the world. They have won numerous scholarships, grants, and awards, both together and individually.

alan fulle: northwest boy
Exhibition Runs: May 8 - 31, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 7, 5 - 8 pm

Traver Gallery is pleased to present new work by artist Alan Fulle. Northwest Boy will feature an exciting array of paintings from the new Photo Gem series and sculptural work from the ongoing Tower series. Born and raised in Seattle, Fulle responds to the various landscapes of the area to draw inspiration for his abstract compositions. The artist sees the Northwest split in two contrasting views; the City and Nature. He explores this dichotomy in the series that make up Northwest Boy. Bold use of color and experimentation with material are signature aspects of Fulle’s technique. Always striving to develop his voice further, Fulle approaches his paintings from a startling new vantage in this latest exhibition.

In the Photo Gem series, Fulle starts with a source image of recognizable Northwest natural landscape - foliage, arching trees - to indicate the awe and grandeur that nature and growth hold. He embellishes these photographic images with dynamic abstractions, creating the sense of life and movement - an aspect that he explored in the earlier Gem Box series - in addition to the organic, natural growth captured in the image itself. The spare abstractions create alternate focus and juxtapose the vivid energy of life with the quiet of the forest.

In contrast, the Tower series focuses on the more rigid aspects of the city, the beauty in the man-made. Fulle has seen his landscape shift and change over his lifetime and as a union carpenter has participated in the construction of some of that change. He revels in the precise forms and relationships that are created as a skyline evolves, and views the relationship between the buildings as paintings in space. The Towers themselves are a response to this. While alternately capturing or reflecting light and creating dense areas of color and focus, Fulle’s monumental forms bring awareness to our societies “continual drive for art and design in our visual landscape.” The combination of the two bodies of work creates a synthesis between the contrasting environments that make up our landscape.

Since graduating from the University of Washington with a BFA in painting in 1989, Alan Fulle has shown his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions along the West Coast and was curator of Material Witness at the Kirkland Arts Center in 2005, an exhibition featuring 35 abstract painters from the Seattle area. Alan has shown with Traver Gallery since 2001. This is his ninth solo exhibition with the gallery.

www.travergallery.com

Seattle

110 Union Street #200
Seattle, WA 98101
206.587.6501 phone
206.587.6502 fax
info@travergallery.com

Seattle gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday 10-6,
Saturday 10 - 5 and Sunday 12 - 5

Credits
benjamin edols & kathy elliott
“green capillary”
hot-sculpted and carved glass
10″h x 31″w x 9″d

alan fulle
“upward motion”
archival inkjet print, various paints and epoxy resin on board
38″h x 30″w x 4″d