Opening January 9, 2016, April Surgent's exhibition at the Museum of Northwest Art entitled "Observations of Life on Ice" employs the age-old practice of cameo glass engraving to comment on and investigate very contemporary issues of our environment in flux. The La Conner, Washington, museum's mission is to connect "people with the art, diverse cultures and environments of the Northwest." The Seattle-based artist's newest work is based on her eight-week residency in the Antarctic during 2013, when she was admitted to the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artist and Writers Program. (Disclosure: GLASS Quarterly editor Andrew Page moderated a discussion at the 2015 SOFA Expo in Chicago in which Surgent was a panelist.)
In her aritst's statement, Surgent writes of what drew her to the opportunity to voyage to this distant and forbidding environment.
"I found myself at the bottom of the world. In an age when we think of the world as being ‘conquered,’ quietly settled away to the South, Antarctica remains a place wholly unknown and misunderstood by most," Surgent writes. "Yet, the Antarctic has potential to generate significant impacts on humanity and the rest of the world; from the advanced scientific research happening there, to the changing climate that is affecting the world’s ecosystems.
Surgent returned from her eight-week stint with tousands of photos, including eerie pinhole camera images that capture the ethereal light of this otherworldly environment. Using her cameo glass techniques, Surgent made low-relief carvings based on the photographs she took.
With environmental concerns growing, and increasing attention on how it is effecting even the coldest place on earth, Surgent's work has special relevance. As she puts it: "As the pace of life speeds up and as we become witness to major changes in the geological timescale, I believe it is especially important to record and document life through visual art so it can be learned from and not forgotten in the rush of the 21st century."
IF YOU GO:
January 9 – March 17, 2016 (Opening reception: Jan 9, 2016; 2 PM) "April Surgent: Observations of Life on Ice"Museum of Northwest Art La Conner, Washington Website