Friesen Gallery is pleased to present Pilchuck: The 15th Year of Emerging Artists in Residence, an exhibition showcasing artworks created by Pilchuck Glass School’s 2004 Emerging Artists in Residence. It opens at Friesen’s Seattle gallery on Thursday, October 6, 2005, and will run through Saturday, November 26, 2005.

There will be an opening reception coinciding with Seattle’s First Thursday Art Walk:

Thursday, October 6, 2005
5:00 to 8:00 pm

Pilchuck and Friesen will co-host a second, special reception for the emerging artists:

Thursday, October 20
8:00 to 10:00 pm

Friesen Gallery is located at 1210 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington. The gallery’s operating hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Pilchuck’s 2004 emerging artists in residence were drawn from varied locales and artistic approaches. They are Kristina Arnold ( Nashville, Tennessee), Jessyca Burke ( Eugene, Oregon), Lenka Novakova ( Alpharetta, Georgia), Elizabeth Perkins ( Bumpass, Virginia), Mielle Riggie ( Seattle, Washington) and Laura Ward ( Seattle, Washington).

“2004 marked the school’s fifteenth year supporting an important residency known for nurturing innovative, contemporary artists in a potentially collaborative environment,” observes Ruth King, Pilchuck Glass School’s Artistic Co-Director. “This group of emerging artists continued that tradition by examining an individual’s relationship to place and culture while exploring the medium of cast glass and other materials. In this exhibition of artwork created during their residency, an audience will discover distinct voices as well as common concerns.”

Daniel Kany, Friesen Gallery’s director, revels in the strength of artists’ individual voices as well as the common considerations that unite the group. “All of this work is so content driven – especially in terms of scale. Many of Mielle Riggie’s pieces are made from paper dresses she wore in public. Laura Ward works with actual, abandoned houses. And Jessyca Burke’s drawings are limited by the length of human hair. Scale, for them, is critical.”

One of the common results of this residency is an extraordinary level of collaboration among the six residents. As residents possess varying experience in creating with glass – ranging from little to accomplished – they learn from one another, often forming strong social, as well as artistic, bonds. “While the artists were pre-selected for the residency,” notes Andria Friesen, “this exhibition has an unusual coherence – like a curator’s dream. There is no sense whatsoever of a clique but, rather, it seems crystal clear that like minds came together to inspire and drive each other further on their own paths.”

For more information about Friesen Gallery and the 2004 Emerging Artists in Residence exhibition, visit the gallery’s Web site at www.friesengallery.com.

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