Munson Hunt, Charred Glass Slabs, 2011
kilnformed glass, 96 x 67 x 12 inches (installed)
Photo by: M. Endo
Portland, OR – Bullseye gallery is pleased to present Crossover, a group exhibition exploring the exchange of ideas that occurs when artists cross media. In conjunction with BECon 2011, Crossover will be on view June 1 – August 20, 2011.
Crossover brings together eighteen artists from the United States, Argentina, Italy and the United Kingdom to explore the ways in which ideas are translated and transformed as artists move from one medium to another. Arriving at kiln-glass from diverse backgrounds, these crossover artists bring new concerns and techniques to the medium. “My approach to this new material,” explains printmaker Lynne Avadenka, “ was to bring along some familiar tools, ways of working and thinking. Beyond this, I had no idea where kiln-glass might take me.” Other artists, through kiln-glass, discovered new ways of working. “There is a swiftness, freedom, immediacy, sense of mystery, and honesty I feel working in glass,” says Mindy Weisel. “I’m not sure I felt quite the same way in all my years of painting.” Some find the boundaries between media non-existent and instead focus on how material and content are entwined. “I believe there are no neutral materials,” explains Silvia Levenson, “I try to use materials for their intrinsic and metaphorical content.” These artists, with work as diverse as their backgrounds, are brought together because their unique trajectories have crossed at a material junction – glass.
Portland’s biennial BECon is the glass industry's foremost conference on kilnforming. This year, the event will focus on the exchange of ideas that occurs when artists cross disciplines. BECon explores new ideas and new processes by inviting leading artists from a variety of disciplines to share their knowledge and vision through a series of panels and workshops. The conference will be held on the metropolitan campus of Portland State University.