I received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in 1992 from
the University of Washington and am currently living
in Detroit Michigan, and teaching at The College For
Creative Studies. My art involves many influences but
I feel I have a distinctive style and direction. My
work is influenced by Minimalism and the use of common
materials is very important to me, as well as direct
composition and clarity of form.
Many of the formal elements of Minimalism apply to my
work, although Minimalism stressed the machined precision
I feel the hand of the artist should not be hidden and
craftsmanship is very important to me. The combination
of sparse composition and little or no manipulation
of materials allows me a direct working style, which
clearly announces the materials being used. Rhythm,
repetition, scale and measurement as well as materials
all become important in these simple forms. Details
and arrangement of elements are also crucial. In my
art I search for a "Universal" appeal, which
sometimes has a blend of past and present. I feel craftsmanship
and attention to construction of my work is essential.
I work in an intuitive manner and each piece leads into
the next therefore a relationship exists between most
of my works. Many of my pieces show a dichotomy of materials
such as: strength and fragility, or natural and man-made
materials. The combination of opposing materials such
as steel and glass, or wood and steel allow me a vocabulary
of opposites that meld together in interesting combinations.
I feel the mixing of materials allows the viewer to
identify with the works, and have a closer relationship
with the pieces. The viewer is important and is considered
in the scale of my work, many of which are sized to
the human body.
As
an artist Gary has had the opportunity to work in many
areas of sculpture from casting glass at The Pilchuck
Glass School and Pratt Fine Arts Center both in Seattle
to a summer spent at The Skowhegan School of Painting
and Sculpture in Maine. Through the classes at Pilchuck
Gary has learned from some of the best glass casters
in the world, Bertil Vallien of Sweden and Gene Koss
of New Orleans. Both of these masters have perfected
their own specialty in casting, Vallien in sand casting
and Koss in steel form casting. The summer spent in
Maine allowed Gary to spend time with 65 other talented
artists in a working environment with many famous guest
artists such as Richard Long and Elisabeth Murry. Gary
also has been an Artist in Residence at Pratt Fine Arts
Center in Seattle (1992), which allowed him to develop
a series of cast glass pieces which he is still working
on today. In 1998 Gary received a GAP grant from Artist
Trust in Seattle, then started to work on a set of molds
for glass casting which are still in progress. Gary
was awarded a residency at the creative Glass Center
of America in the summer of 2000.
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