Portland, OR - Bullseye Projects presents a group exhibition whose artists use the city as a starting point for their studio practices. In the City, featuring work by Nathan Sandberg, Stacy Lynn Smith, and Karlyn Sutherland, is comprised of kiln-glass sculpture, panels, and mixed media installations inspired by the architecture, infrastructure and ephemera of a city. In the City will be on view October 7 - December 23, 2015.
Portland-based artist Nathan Sandberg is influenced by the mundane forms seen on Portland streets. Walker (2015) is made from kiln-cast glass, resembling a texture reminiscent of asphalt. The pattern, formed from white glass powder, recalls the dot texture found on the edge of the light rail platform. Decontextualized, they draw attention to the unnoticed subtle forms that record or guide our movements. Similarly, Stacy Lynn Smith focuses on the unseen cultural production of a city. The myriad posters, fliers, and ads that swell community bulletin boards or telephone poles are collaged and represented in screen-printed glass panels, relating the deeply personal narratives of a city's inhabitants. Scottish artist Karlyn Sutherland uses the iconic croft roofline and rectilinear spaces found throughout Caithness in Scotland to reflect on the dialog between people and place. "Curiosity draws me to derelict buildings," says Sutherland; "I search for subtle clues to their history and for traces of past occupants."