PDX CONTEMPORARY ART is pleased to present Elemental Things, a solo exhibition by Heather Watkins.
The works in this exhibition developed through multiple, successive actions and gestures, each move informed by the last. Ink drawings made by pouring and guiding ink across a surface were then excised, freed from their grounds to become sculptures. Molded metallic reliefs that at first glance appear to be formed by great force, perhaps involving an industrial process, turn out to be ink drawings made on the back of a luminous, lightweight sheet of paper. A collection of mysterious ink drawings made with ink soaked cotton cord draw influence from beginnings in Ovid’s Metamorphosis.
Heather Watkins’ practice is rooted in a deep engagement with the transformation of materials, with a desire to find ways to hand off a part of the creative process to forces beyond her control. Watkins works with the elemental forces that shape our world—gravity, suspension, compression, evaporation—embracing flux states and unforeseen results.
Some of the works included in this exhibition were originally commissioned by and presented in a two-person exhibition curated by Stephanie Snyder at the Cooley Gallery at Reed College, Dark Moves: Fabiola Menchelli & Heather Watkins.
Organizer
Opened in 1996, PDX CONTEMPORARY ART continues to be one of the most forward-thinking commercial galleries in the West. Representing artists both local and international, owner Jane Beebe exhibits artwork that is both intellectually and visually satisfying. Our newest space is in a revitalized quonset hut and part of a Skylab project to develop a creative community on the edge of industrial northwest Portland.