"Art by Attrition"
Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG Exhibit at Kobo)
May 26 - June 25
Opening reception: Saturday, May 28, 5 - 8pm
featuring
Teresa Faris
Julia Harrison
Shinji Nakaba
Jon Ryan
Emily Watson
Hiroko Yamada
Teresa Faris
Whitewater, Wisconsin
Faris' pieces are the culmination of an unusual collaboration: the work of reducing wood blocks into pieces small enough to be set into brooches is done by birds. Faris honors their activity, reminding us that throughout the animal kingdon, "...rhythmic and repetitive movements encourage introspective or creative thinking."
Julia Harrison
Seattle, Washington
Working mostly in wood, Harrison uses traditional carved techniques and forms (netsuke, masks, chains, foliage, chip-carving) as a stage for exploring intensely personal values and concerns. She uses non-motorized hand tools almost exclusively, working slowly and quietly.
Shinji Nakaba
Sagamihara, Japan
Nakaba is an enthusiastic explorer who adapts his carving techniques to accommodate precious materials (gold, pearls, cameo shell), non-precious materials (acrylic, steel) and the contents of his trash can (bottle caps, drink cans, PVC pipe). The faint shadow of former lives gives Nakaba's pieces a sense of depth and humor.
Jon M. Ryan
Wheaton, Illinois
Ryan's pieces are a fascinating blend of tradition and innovation. He uses both hand engraving techniques and power tools to reduce aluminum blanks into sinuous, seemingly quilted forms. The shapes are then annodized, dyed, and sealed--giving them bright colors and a tough protective skin.
Emily Watson
Columbus, Ohio
Watson's wide-ranging work is tied together by a concern with the intersection of geography and anatomy. The textural and formal potential of these themes is particularly evident in her carved pieces, executed in wood, acrylic, bakelite, corian, vulcanite, bone, horn, jet, and stone.
Hiroko Yamada
Madison, Wisconsin
Primarily a metal-worker, Yamada describes her delicate carvings as a "sketch book"; she creates them in order to work out ideas that may later appear in chased metal. She carves tagua or "vegetable ivory", the hard, white kernel of a type of tropical palm.
A selection of the show will also be featured on www.koboseattle.com. Go to "shopkobo", find "artworks" then to "KOBO Exhibits On-line"
http://www.snagmetalsmith.org/
