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Bellevue Arts Museum
Michael Peterson: Evolution/
Revolution
Bellevue, Washington
April 9 - September 20,2009
bellevuearts.org
The Northwest artist Michael
Peterson has shifted over the
past 20 years from a masterful
maker of turned wood bowls
into a sculptor of organic ab-
stract works whose complex
fonns and textured surfaces are
achieved through a variety of
processes without the use of
the lathe. This exhibition dem-
onstrates Peterson’s progres-
sion from turner to carver to
sculptor through more than
30 works—some 15 vessel forms
shown alongside more than 20
of his most recent sculptures.
Peterson’s chosen material
is the burl portion of trees—
dome-shaped outgrowths of
madrone, maple, elm, locust and
others—that he is drawn to for
their organic form as well as
their density and unique grain
patterns. He harvests this idio-
syncratic material from downed
timber he finds near his home
on Lopez Island in Washington
State. The Texas-born artist
settled in the Northwest in the
1970s, lured by the physical en-
vironment, especially the na-
tive woods.
In his quest to explore the
qualities of these woods, Peter-
son developed techniques such
as bleaching, sandblasting and
pigmenting to transform the
material to evoke landscapes.
One sees this in the surfaces
of turned works like
Taos,
1989
©, or
Landscape
series, 1989©.
“I think what was happening
was that my techniques were
becoming aligned or in accord
with the natural processes of
nature, such as the effects of
wind and water, sand and sun,
all working away on surfaces
and forms,” says Peterson, in
an interview with Michael Mon-
roe, the show’s co-curator, pub-
lished in the catalog.
Gradually abandoning the
lathe for the chainsaw and carv-
ing tools, Peterson shaped or
hollowed out chunks of wood,
often working it in its wet,
green state. He created group-
ings, generally paired forms,
which sometimes resembled
birds, stones and other natural
elements. In his most recent
pieces, for example,
Coastal
Stacks
ri/©, he goes vertical,
building multiple hollowed out
boxlike units into asymmetrical
arrangements that suggest wave-
tossed driftwood on a beach.
Where the earlier turned pieces
contained landscapes, these
works seem to be landscapes in
themselves, the effect enhanced
by Peterson’s rich use of color.
Though the latest works
seem radically different from
the early vessels—the “revolu-
tion” implied by the show’s ti-
tle-the continuity of Peterson’s
oeuvre is apparent, not only in
the persistent landscape theme
but also in the realization, as
one observes these forms and
textures—no two alike—that this
is work that grows out of its
making, following its own logic,
rather than any predetermined
plan. As Peterson says, quoted
by Kevin Wallace, “When
starting a piece it’s not always
best to know where it’s headed.
Rather than thinking my way
through a piece, it’s more like
feeling my way through it. I’m
drawn to a process that allows
the material to reveal itself, and
favor one that allows me to
become as lost in the process
as possible.”—
b . s .
The catalog, with essays by
Michael Monroe, Robyn Horn,
Matthew Kangas and Kevin
Wallace, is $45.
FL/Tallahassee
© Florida State University
Museum of Fine Arts
24th Tallahassee International
Aug. 24-Sept. 27
mofa.fsu.edu
A diverse showcase of talent
includes the work of such artists
as Rob Millard-Mendez, cre-
ator of
Ship o f Geniuses.
GA / Kennesaw
Kennesaw State University
Don Russell Clayton Gallery
Spotlight200p
Aug. 20-Sept. 24
kennesaw.edu/visual arts/accse
A versatile exhibition of south-
east makers coincides with the
American Craft Council South-
east Regional Conference.
IL / Evanston
Henry Crown Sports Pavilion
on Northwestern University
Campus
25th Annual American Craft
Exposition
Aug. 28-30
americancraftexpo.org
This exposition offers the time-
less appeal of the handmade.
KS/W ichita
Wichita Center for the Arts
IVichita National A ll Media
Craft Exhibition
Sept. 4-Oct. 18
wcfta.com
Since 1945, this esteemed show
has been attracting some of the
best crafts in America.
012 american craft aug/sep09
