Janice Vitkovsky, Moment When Whole III, 2007,
fused and murrine glass, 6.875 x 41.375 x 1.5 inches installed
Sylvie Vandenhoucke, Stripe, 2007, pâte de verre, 13.75 x 13.75 x .25 inches
Portland, OR - Bullseye Gallery is pleased to announce two solo exhibitions by international artists: Sylvie Vandenhoucke’s “Break of Day” and Janice Vitkovsky’s “Beneath the Surface,” both on view September 25 - November 17, 2007. Although achieved through different methods, both artists’ work has a keen sensitivity to detail and rhythm, witnessed in elaborate textures and patterns that remain restrained in color. The results are dissimilar but equable, a harmonious balance between the chaotic and sparse.
Sylvie Vandenhoucke is a Belgian artist and currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sunderland in the UK. Vandenhoucke uses the pâte de verre (“paste of glass”) technique, building a relief mold and then packing it with ground glass. The resulting wall-mounted pieces have a frosty, delicate texture, studded with a pattern of flower-like shapes. “The work reveals a non-physical or inner space, trapped between the layers of the miniature landscape,” says Vandenhoucke, whose sculptures have recently been shown in Japan, the UK, Belgium, and the US.
Janice Vitkovsky, a native Australian, graduated in 2005 from the Australian National University in Canberra. She honed her practice of the Italian murrine technique through a mentorship with Giles Bettison in 2003, and her sculptural works bear testimony to his attention to detail and craftsmanship. Miniscule slices of brightly-colored glass float and bend in unison, suspended in matte transparent forms; a glimpse into an microscopic, underwater world. “By working with pattern and layering, I wish to expose rhythmic and intricate patterns that relate to the inner workings and mysteries existing beneath the surface of our reality,” explainsVitkovsky. The artist will attend a reception celebrating her exhibition at Bullseye Gallery on October 3, 2007, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
Download: Vandenhoucke/Vitkovsky, September 19, 2007