Quebrada, book with pigment, 5 x 12 x 7 inches



By The End Of The Day, oil on canvas, 12 x 24 inches

QUEBRADA
A collection of book sculptures
and
THIRTEEN VIEWS ON A STAY IN BRASIL
A selection of landscape paintings

December 2022 - January 2023

Guy Laramée's longstanding fascination with Brasil inspires his new Foster/White exhibitions, where he probes questions of belonging and estrangement in a series of atmospheric landscape paintings as well as a group of new sculptures sourced from second-hand bookstores in Florianopolis. Often with mountains or coastlines shrouded in mist, the paintings form a loose, narrative sequence closely associated with the ambiguity between dreaming and waking.

Laramée explains the connection between the paintings and book sculptures by focusing on the linen covers of the books: "...the faded jade tones of the fabric inspired most of my palette for the paintings." The poetics of travel weigh on the artist's mind as he studies questions of identity and belonging: "In traveling between cultures – and countries – something is abandoned, perhaps definitely. What is it? Is it the adhesion to one’s sets of beliefs? Is it the dream of finding a 'perfect world'?"



Explo, book with pigment, 8 x 9.5 x 8 inches

"In Portuguese as in Spanish, the word Quebrada has a double meaning. Literally, it means ‘broken’. But it is also used to designate a ravine, where the landscape gives the impression of being sunken down. Unlike my previous book work, I started each piece by breaking the spine of the book – apparently its most sturdy part. So I formed the book into a curved or broken shape before carving it. I was quite aware of the metaphor while working in this new way: breaking a book is obviously damaging the knowledge it contains. What does this say about our world? After two years of pandemic, we may have started to feel that our civilization is fragile. How long will it last? Some of the book titles evoke that: Paraiso Perdido / Paradise Lost, for example. In a way, our civilization is broken. Can it heal itself or is it bound to make room to a new one? But often times, from stark perspectives stem hope and the will to continue. Thus, using the other meaning of the word Quebrada, I carved those ravines into luxurious landscapes, suggesting that in this sinking down, something of life will go on." - Guy Laramée



Entering The Dream, oil on canvas, 12 x 24 inches

"Over fifteen years, I accumulated about three years in Brasil. My last stay lasted six months. This painting project is an opportunity to encapsulate the feelings that draws one to quit one’s culture, the inner experiences triggered by living in a foreign country. The paintings have a light narrative structure around my last trip in 2022. Each painting has a title that situates it within that narrative. From the first one, Entering the Dream, to the last one, Traveling Between Two Dreams, one questions if one ever comes back from those trips. In traveling between cultures – and countries – something is abandoned, perhaps definitely. What is it? Is it the adhesion to one’s sets of beliefs? Is it the dream of finding a “perfect world”? " - Guy Laramée

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Nighthawk, metamorphic stone, 51 x 24 x 12 inches

WILL ROBINSON
MOVEMENT & GESTURE
July 7 - 23, 2022
Opening First Thursday July 7, 2022 | 6 - 8 pm 


Seasoned stone sculptor Will Robinson’s nuanced sensibilities with his material have become highly instinctual throughout the three decades his career has spanned. Achieving warmth and softness with unforgiving stone, Robinson breathes life into each piece, revealing the innate qualities of the natural medium he works with. His sculptures are as much about discovery as they are reflections of the artist’s intuition.

Finding boulders and slabs across the Pacific Northwest is the beginning of his artistic process. From the exterior it is often impossible to determine the characteristics and mineral properties within each stone. It is only after he has begun to carve through each piece that he discovers what might be interesting attributes to highlight through sculptural form. Utilizing a wide range of tools, Robinson achieves finished works that not only celebrate the natural elements from which they are hewn, but composes fluidly balanced pieces. Within his newest body of work, Robinson weaves a diverse array of sculptures together through the common thread of his pursuit of beauty.

Fight or Flight, basalt and granite, 87 x 30 x 24 inches

Says Robinson, “my work stems from a free-flowing concept rather than being grounded in any sort of intended meaning.” Will Robinson was born in Bremerton, Washington and studied History at the University of Washington. Robinson's desire to create art began at an early age, growing up in a home filled with art, antiques and bonsai. He chooses to work primarily with stone because of its solidity and ability to withstand the elements and time.

To see other works by Will Robinson please visit his webpage.

Cameron Anne Mason, Townsend, textile including: cotton, rayon, silk broadcloth, and wool,
32.25 x 14.5 x 5.5 inches

CAMERON ANNE MASON
CONVERGENT PATHS
June 2 - 25, 2022
Opening First Thursday June 2, 2022 | 6 - 8 pm 
Artist in Attendance

Cameron Anne Mason came to fiber art through another passion; performance and installation art. She has since worked in a variety of textile processes, from dyeing techniques to surface treatments and intricate stitching. Largely inspired by nature, Mason utilizes nearby plants in her work, either in dyeing or as forms for printing processes. Often mistaken for paintings from afar, Mason’s textile sculptures are lushly detailed and attractively tactile.

Convergent Paths is Mason's second body of work created during the pandemic; she continues to find refuge in her home and neighborhood, deepening her exploration of the convergence of natural and man-made. Not shying away from the domestic, Mason embraces it. Her work is inspired by her home environs, including plants found close at hand, and her daily view of the Puget Sound. While her suburban setting can be one that insulates from the harsher realities of climate change, Mason challenges us to look beyond our immediate neighborhoods. Only by thinking globally will we truly impact the safety of our own backyards.

Cameron Anne Mason, Buckhorn (two views), textile including: cotton, linen, rayon velvet, silk velvet, cotton thread and polyester thread, 29 x 11.75 x 4.75 inches

Cameron Anne Mason holds a degree in Visual Communication from the Art Institute of Seattle, and studied Liberal Arts at the University of Washington. Her work has been shown across the country and at galleries around the Northwest, as well as Whatcom Museum, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and Bellevue Art Museum. Her work was also included in a group exhibition at Miniartextile in Como Italy, and the Rio Patchwork Design Show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

To learn more and see available works, visit Cameron Anne Mason's page.

GROUP EXHIBITION
COMPLEXITY/SIMPLICITY
May 5 - 21, 2022 
Opening First Thursday May 5, 2022 | 6 - 8 pm 

Foster/White Gallery is pleased to present the work of 5 sculptors who are new to the gallery. The artists work in an intriguing range of techniques and materials, from glazed medite and sintra to stone carvings with needle felted wool, and from stitched, salvaged neoprene to slip cast and assembled ceramics. This collection of works runs the gamut from the most simple to the most complex combinations of shape, color and form.

Sara Coffin’s glazed medite and sintra wall mounted sculptures, which the artist refers to as sconces, repeat a simple rectangular form within a larger rectangular form. Utilizing a unique glazing technique to create a spectacle of candy like colors, these pieces seem to be super-naturally glowing with light emanating out of every edge and angled join.

Kyle Johns’ builds complex, multi-faceted molds to create slip cast ceramics which fall between vessel and sculpture. These works take on the appearance of multiple components stacked or assembled, one on top of the next, like a colorful and far more inventive version of Jenga, or a teetering tower with shapes and contours that seem to be moving in every possible direction all at once.

Gabriel John Poucher takes a building block approach to his highly complex ceramic structures which he has described as maximal and cacophonous. Inspired by industrial aesthetics and childhood construction toys, the artist embraces the unpredictability of his chosen material. As the clay reacts to the conditions of firing, stability deteriorates and these pieces contort and collapse resulting in somewhat chaotic forms that veer in and out of accidental harmony.

 Stephanie Robison’s stone and felted wool sculptures bring these seemingly opposing materials into unexpected conversation with each other. Simple organic shapes which at times look like strange creatures, with rounded extremities protruding outward, neatly interact with themselves. They are odd and awkward but simple and delightful, and seem to have been dreamed up with a light-hearted sense of humor and freedom.

 Henry Jock Walker is an Australian artist whose practice is intertwined with his surfing lifestyle and surf culture. His instincts for breaking up space with line and shapes are somewhat classical but the use of neoprene, which he sources from used wet suits, brings a satisfying texture to the surface. The stitched seams create soft grooves which behave as graphic elements between brightly colored patches of fabric. Often playful and with unexpected titles, the assorted mix of salvaged neoprene offers varying levels of reflection and light absorption which allows the work to take on a more serious tone at times.

To learn more and see all works in Complexity/Simplicity, please visit this page.

Tom Burrows, Elisha Bay, polymer resin, 48 x 48 inches

TOM BURROWS
THE CURVE OF TIME V
March 3 - 26, 2022
Opening First Thursday, March 3, 6 - 8 pm - Artist in Attendance
Artist Talk: Saturday March 5, 12:30 pm 

The artwork included in The Curve of Time series by Tom Burrows are named after bodies of water and landmarks from the Inside Passage (Puget Sound near Seattle up to Alaska). The Curve of Time by Wylie Blanchet is inspiration for the series and it takes place in the Inside Passage.  This book recounts Blanchet's summer sailing adventures with her five children and dog in the 1930s and 40s.

After realizing that many places along the Inside Passage were named for the admiralty of the explorers, Burrows decided that he could just as well name them after some of his family who have enjoyed their cabins in the British Columbia waterway for a few generations. Elisha Bay is named for his son, Elisha; the two sail together, and the piece is a rich blue. Other pieces with family names are Gina Rocks, Josh Cove and Yasmine Arm.

Burrows approaches his work with an open, intellectual thoughtfulness. His artworks embody concepts through color, exuding presence and luminosity. Each piece provides its own space for meditative encounter and reflection. The Curve of Time V was born of Burrows observations of and experiences within a familiar region he has long inhabited, but which in some ways has changed noticeably. Surrounded by the Salish Sea, Burrows spends much of the year at his island studio, where the effects of climate change are clear. 

Tom Burrows, Okisollo Channel,  polymer resin, 48 x 48 inches

In his artist statement, Burrows shares “Very early in the summer of 2021, a searing heat dome hung over the island for days emphasizing the presence of a record drought that by mid-August had lowered the local aquifer to the level that my pump failed. We had no water for the first time in fifty years on that island. A third of my planned studio production had to be abandoned.  Luckily, we were spared most of the smoke wafting from the burning mainland forests as I fumbled about trying to reconstruct the plumbing. By November the highest recorded rainfall for that time of year had finally penetrated the heat-baked soil and the aquifer began to rise. Water re-emerged from the faucets.

We live in a time of crisis. The sheltered interconnected seas and channels that line the Northwest coast from Puget Sound to Alaska offer protection from the vast powers of the open Pacific. If one attempts to read the ever-changing light of that inner passage, its tidal surge, the spawn of its creatures, there is a possible solace. The Curve of Time V (a series now in its fifth year), strives to portray the luminosity of those inner coastal waters in its subtle variance."

It is indeed this notion of solace that Burrows so aptly captures and shares. With subtlety and exactitude, Burrows allows his artworks to appear effortless; each is filled with character, highlighting the sublime colors of the natural world from which Burrows draws comfort. Yet far from being static, the wall sculptures contain within their fields of color gentle insistence that we pay attention; to ensure that what inspires us today exists in perpetuity.

 Tom Burrows, Beazley Passage and Sockeye, both polymer resin, both 48 x 30 inches

Throughout his career, Tom Burrows has explored a myriad of sculptural materials and styles, ranging from performative, site-specific installation work to two-dimensional pieces. His work has always been concerned with drawing attention to social and environmental issues; he has presented research-driven artist responses to homelessness, housing, and displacement, and more recently refers to the increasingly evident negative impacts of climate change. Having developed a unique process through his explorations in casting polymer resin, Burrows’ resulting wall sculptures showcase color as an entity, light as an active participant, and stillness as essential.

Tom Burrows has a BA in Art History from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, and studied Sculpture at St. Martin’s College, London, UK. He has shown his work internationally, at galleries across North America, and at places like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium; Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France; and Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC. His work is part of collections including the Canadian Embassy to Japan, Tokyo; Government of Ontario Art Collection, Toronto, ON; the Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; and Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON among others.

Click here to learn more and see available works.

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GROUP EXHIBITION
ELEMENTS: FIRE
Opening November 4, 2021

The second of four group exhibitions grounded by the elements, Elements: Fire opens at Foster/White Gallery on November 4, 2021. A wide range of interpretations, the artwork in this grouping includes explorations of the increasing frequency of forest fires and their implications, the raw violence of fire, and the beauty of a flame; we are reminded of water's power against an inferno, given images of death and rebirth, of natural cycles, and of the devastation left in a fire's wake. And, despite the impact of that devastation, many of us have deeply cherished memories attached to fire - it can represent gathering with loved ones, staring into embers beneath starry skies, learning to make a s'more for the first time, or warming cold hands after hours in the snow. 

Historically relied upon to sustain life - warmth, light, the daily preparation of meals - fire has taken a lesser role in our lives in modern society; its domestic presence is typically limited to the infrequent hearth, reserved for back-yard fire pits, and camping trips. Still, collectively we acknowledge the power and mystique of its immense force; one that we control when we can, and are lost to when we cannot. 

Elements: Fire is a challenging exhibition in light of the current reality and impact of forest fires around the world, but beautiful in its diverse perspectives. We grapple with the knowledge that this combustion often stems from the negative impacts of our race on the natural world, while also navigating the inherent truth of an environmental  cycle that includes fire and its effects as part of a healthy rhythm. In a world that has changed so significantly in the past fifty years, we have yet to find a balance between ourselves and some of the most constant and elemental forces of our planet. Seeking to master fire, we are as yet subject to its tendencies, despite how drastically our own have changed.

Says participating artist Sarah Winkler,

"In the Smoke Signals paintings, I want to capture the explosive dance of the wildfire. Emit the heat of the moment. The splatters of smoke and lines of a blaze where the almost amorphous land forms appear to melt. A wildfire is an event which demonstrates both nature's violence and its vulnerability. Though this environment is nothing but hostile for human life, through choice of color these images have a sensuality, a sense of calmness. A pure celebration of the power of nature."

Shar Coulson, Fauna Flora Figure 173, 48 x 40 inches, $8,300

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Opening October 7, 2021

Julie Himel’s work explores the space between our connection with and distance from the natural world. Her first solo exhibition at Foster/White Gallery, Broken Beautiful is an exploration driven by the artists close ties with the natural world; favored places become recognizable to us as the artist returns to them, perhaps in different seasons, capturing changes in light, emotion, and growth. Himel also invites us into imagined places, using color and contrast to draw us into the dreamlike spaces she creates.
 
Says Himel, "On all levels of human experience there is the coexistence of two ends of the cycle. At this time, we are facing massive environmental change, and watching the way things were shift to a new reality. The reason for that shift and for what is broken is human interaction with the environment. The title of this exhibition is an acceptance of needing to let nature be, and honoring the beautiful adaptations."

Julie Himel, It Was Written in the Sky, mixed media on canvas, 48 x 40 inches

Click here to view collection.