Deconstruction @ Bullseye Resource Center New York: Jeff Wallin

Mamaroneck, NY - Bullseye Resource Center New York Gallery presents Deconstruction, a solo exhibition of new work by Portland, Oregon-based artist Jeff Wallin. Using kiln-glass, Wallin constructs his wall-based works from fragments of figure drawings and architectural studies.

Drawing is central to Wallin's practice, and it shows in the finished works. Observational drawings of the figure are cut, reimagined, combined with other imagery, and re-formed into complex abstractions translated into kiln-glass. Wallin uses the transparency and plasticity of glass to add depth, texture, and to further develop each composition. Pillars (2018) depicts a somber portrait that is roughly hemmed in by the repetitive facade of an apartment building and, looming above, ambiguous shapes that only hint at their original source, but never come into focus. The glass pieces, tiled and fused, create a jagged surface upon which Wallin's delicate glass powder portrait seems to float. A tension is created between the physicality of the construction and the weightlessness of the imagery, resulting in work that is simultaneously jarring and meditative.

Jeff Wallin has spent his life in the Pacific Northwest. He studied under Professor Keiko Hara at Whitman College, graduating in 1995 with a BA in studio art. Since moving to Portland, Wallin has continued to pursue drawing and painting at The Drawing Studio with Philip Sylvester and more recently at Hipbone Studio with Jeff Burke. His introduction to glass came in 1999 at Ray Ahlgren's Fireart Glass, where he continues to work.