Gallery4Culture
2009-2010 Season

Evan Blackwell
Lost In Space
November 5 - 27, 2009

reception November 5, 2009, 6 – 8 p.m.

Gallery4Culture is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Seattle-based sculptor Evan Blackwell during the month of November. The exhibition is a continuation of Blackwell’s quest to establish order and harmony between the reality of urban existence and his personal ideology. Trained in ceramics, his studio work has evolved into an inventive repurposing of scavenged materials. Collected for their inherent qualities, materials are reworked and transformed into, "a new kind of hybrid representation of our time".

The thread that connects Blackwell's background in craft with his current studio practice is an abiding fascination with materials. In a show that utilizes such things as old doors, picture frames, mirrored balls, metal studs, coat hangers, shoes, vinyl and Plexi-glass, Blackwell's artistic sensibility and search for meaning alter each into something entirely different. In the words of the artist, "I am in the process of constructing forms, compositions, structures, and spaces that serve as lens to see both the materials from which they were constructed and world we live in with fresh perspective."

In Lost in Space, the artist uses geometry as a metaphor for life and interconnectedness. Central to the exhibit s a 6 foot icosahedron, a 20-sided polyhedron made of equilateral triangles constructed from metal studs. A structural system with endless metaphorical possibilities, Blackwell's icosahedron contains an unexpected interior element, plastic drinking straws.

Blackwell was born in New Rochelle, New York. He earned his BFA from Alfred University in 1999 with a focus in ceramics. Soon after, he moved to Seattle. He was a finalist for the Seattle Art Museum's Betty Bowen award and a recipient of a PONCHO Special Recognition Award in 2005. In 2008 he earned an MFA from the University of Washington. In 2009, Evan Blackwell traveled to Shanghai, China for The Pottery Workshop (PWS) Shanghai Residency. He was a 2009 recipient of a 4Culture Individual Projects Grant for a "ReUse Proposal" to create temporary installations around Pioneer Square and the International District, Seattle.

Gallery4Culture is located within 4Culture offices at 101 Prefontaine PL S, Seattle WA 98104 at the corner of Third and Prefontaine, in the Tashiro/Kaplan Building. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, closed government holidays; the gallery is open and free to the public. For more information about this program call 206 296.8674.