Snohomish County Arts Commission

County, Arts Commission Exhibit Features Northwest Original Sculptures

Artworks representing a variety of styles from six Puget Sound region artists will be on public display as part of a temporary sculpture exhibition on the Snohomish County Plaza, 3000 Rockefeller, Everett, beginning June 20, 2007.

“Public art contributes to community identity and character,” said County Executive Aaron Reardon.  “Incorporating art into the urban landscape of the County Plaza  supports the arts and promotes our campus as a community gathering place.”

The sculpture exhibition including “African Totems” by Steve Jensen, James Madison’s “The Raven Brings the Light,” Merrilee Moore’s “Loophole”, “Angel of Music” by Alexei Kazantsev, “Pilaster” by Brandon Zebold and John Sisko’s “Minotaur” will be on display through 2007.

“One of the goals of the Snohomish County Arts Commission is to connect citizens with a range of cultural opportunities that celebrate the diverse arts and culture of the County, said Rebecca Chawgo, Chair of the arts commission.  “This exhibition brings new cultural experiences and exploration directly into the lives of our community.”

The free exhibit is open to the public and accessible during County business hours.

For information contact: Wendy Becker, Cultural and Economic Development Coordinator (tel. 425-388-3186)

Full exhibition brochure (570 kb - PDF)

Snohomish County Arts Commission Web Site (external site)

VI sculptures

Click image to view larger size	I Minotaur John Sisko, 2005 Forton John Sisko has always been fascinated by the man/animal duality. He feels “its duality generally expresses something honest about what we are as people.” The Minotaur myth expresses that man/animal duality nicely. The Minotaur myth is particularly powerful, because it is an elegant expression of a cluster of dualities: chaos/cosmos, individual/community, mind/body, creativity/conformity, sexual/spiritual, fear/desire, power/vulnerability, life/death, interior/exterior and pride/shame. John is an editor, serving on the editorial board of  Sculpture Review Magazine  and has been elected to the National Sculpture Society of New York City, NY.  The Sisko Gallery is located in Seattle across from the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Click image to view larger size	II African Poles Steve Jensen, 2005 Carved Cedar For the past two decades, Steve Jensen has developed a body of sculptural work derived from his experiences and the landscapes he encountered, including his travels through Egypt, Tahiti, India, China, and Thailand. The experiences encompass both his heritage and a broader contemporary circumstance. The "African Poles" were carved from naturally fallen cedar and inspired from his recent trip to Kenya, where he was able to see original African carvings. This artwork begins as homage to its source media. All of the wood used in his carvings is naturally felled. No living tree has or will be cut for the sake of his work. “I come from a long tradition of Norwegian fishermen and boat builders, said Jensen.  The chisels I use have been passed from my grandfather to my father to me. The craftsmanship of my work speaks to the universality and the timelessness of carving.”
Click image to view larger size	III Raven Brings the Light James Madison, 2007 Stainless Steel and Copper Tulalip artist James Madison combines European techniques and traditional Native forms to create Raven Brings the Light. Madison uses stainless steel and copper to represent the story of the raven that released the sun and created life on earth. James uses Tlingit form-line design and Coast Salish elements as he explores unique ways to bend a 2-D form around a 3-D surface.    Madison was born in 1973 to a family of Coast Salish and Tlingit heritage.  From the age of eight, James would carve alongside his grandfather, uncle and father at the kitchen table.  They, along with the work of Haida Master Bill Reid, have been his greatest artistic influences.  Jim studied art at the University of Washington and received his BFA in 2000.
Click image to view larger size	IV Angel of Music Alexei Kazantsev, 2005 Cast Stone Alexei Kazantsev is a Russian born, internationally known artist now residing on Whidbey Island. For the past 27 years, he has sculpted primarily in stone, but also bronze, clay, wood and concrete. 90% of his work is commissioned by corporations, churches and private collections.  Alexei’s work is a new take on classical traditions. Angel of Music is an example of how he fuses contemporary style with a traditional view. He combines the human figure in cast stone perfectly with a musical instrument using a steel beam as a stand. It plays on the contrast of straight steel lines and the curve of the heart and human body.
Click image to view larger size	V Loophole Merrilee Moore, 2005 Fabricated Stainless Steel After a decade of creative exploration, Merrilee Moore’s work ranges from functional objects to large mixed media sculptures.  She is intrigued with the juxtaposition of glass with metal and stone. Loophole was inspired by a Dr. Seuss whimsy which invites interaction with its playful gestured form and peek-a-boo cut-outs. “I encourage the viewer to get close to Loophole. Do touch! View it from all sides. Play with the negative space, Moore says.” Loophole was fabricated at H & R Mechanical with the help of Michael Hunsberger and Brian Hendry.
Click image to view larger size	VI Pilaster Brandon Zebold, 2005 Flame Cut Steel After graduating from Western Washington University with a BS in Visual Communications and a BFA, Brandon learned to weld from the stage carpenters at the ACT Theater. About 17 years ago, Brandon started drawing on steel. With an oxyacetylene torch, he cuts out the drawing and makes steel drawings/sculptures. Pilaster was made out of salvaged steel from a scrap yard that I recycled it into art. “Of all the media I have explored, steel has offered an exciting range of shapes and surfaces to draw on, said Zebold. The chalkiness of the welder’s soapstone pencil I use lends itself to drawings that are superimposed, added, subtracted, broken, and blended on the rough and rusty steel forms.”