April and May, 2011 at Traver Gallery - Seattle

on exhibit April 7 - May 29, 2011 

Dual: The Private Life of Sculpture   

John Marshall: Recent Work in Silver

Kait Rhoads:  Physis

Nancy Worden:  Protection 

Artist Reception:  April 7th, 5-8pm

Traver Gallery is very pleased to host four exhibitions during the months of April and May.  Featuring a diverse range of works in glass, metal, and mixed media, from both emerging and established artists, these exhibitions showcase some of the most innovative new work in metal sculpture and art jewelry.

Dual: The Private Life of Sculpture

    Dual: The Private Life of Sculpture, is a survey of artists creating artworks that exist successfully in two capacities - as sculpture, and as objects that relate to and interact with the body.  Catherine Grisez, the curator of the show, explains the concept for the exhibition:   

The significance of jewelry and sculpture transitions throughout history, but in recent times, their meanings have become interchangeable.  Art jewelry has pushed the boundaries of body adornment to the effect that sculpture has become the prominent role.  Whereas, sculpture, previously object-centered and predominantly representational, has shifted towards the experiential through installation and performance art. In both cases the result of contemporary works is often art with a double life. 

    The exhibit is curated by Seattle artist Catherine Grisez, and features the work of 13 artists, including Seattle based artists Molly Epstein and Sara Owens.  The exhibition is held in connection with the 2011 Society of North American Goldsmiths annual conference and is accompanied by an exhibition catalog. 

John Marshall:  Recent Work in Silver

    Traver Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new works by master metal-smith and University of Washington Professor Emeritus, John Marshall.    Marshall, one of a few remaining artists working in a long line of traditional metal-smiths, showcases an intimate series of works in silver, copper, and stone.  This new body of work highlights the masterful metal-working techniques for which Marshall is known -- raised free-form vessels with planished surfaces compliment flawless basalt bases.  These sculptures, like much of Marshall's recent works, are quiet odes to the eroded desert landscape of Eastern Washington.   The intricate sculptures exhibited showcase Marshall's long roots in traditional silver-smithing and are evidence of a continuously creative career in which the exploration of sculptural form, and non-traditional techniques has played a central and defining role.  

  Kait Rhoads:  Physis

     Traver Gallery is pleased to present Physis, a solo exhibition featuring new work by Seattle artist Kait Rhoads.  The exhibit, which centers around a series of woven murrine "soft-sculptures", draws inspiration from the artists long-time relationship with the sea.  Richly patterned and undulating in form, these works call to mind the fluid forms of the aquatic realm.  Contrary to most works in glass, these woven structures comprised of murrine and wire are malleable, curvaceous, and supple.  Rhoads says of her methodology, "I think of the individual units; the hollow murrine, as architectural elements fitting together creating a fluid or floating object, their orientation determining the curvature of the form".   Kait Rhoads received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Alfred University in NY.  In 2001, she received a Fulbright Grant, which she used to study glass design in Venice, Italy.  This is Kait's sixth solo exhibition with the gallery.  A new self-published catalog featuring Rhoads' "Soft Sculptures" accompanies the exhibition. 

Nancy Worden:  Protection

    Traver Gallery is pleased to present Protection, a solo exhibition featuring new work by renowned Seattle jewelry artist, Nancy Worden.  Wearable metaphors, this new series of richly deocarted, beautiful, sometimes humorous amulets trigger memories, and provoke feeling.  Worden pushes past the comfortable, and asks the viewer to recontectulize their understanding of object, and message.  Initially inspired by a friend's battle with cancer, these amulets are designed to protect the wearer from the evils of modern life, and to provide comfort during major life changes.  Each piece is inspired by an individual, but the morals, and the fables Worden tells are universal.  Politics, parenting, illness, and consumerism are all themes addressed in this new body of work.