Submitted by University of Puget Sound
Puget Sound art department alumna Katy Cowan returns to transform the Large Gallery into an installation of new work designed to respond to the architectural particularities of Kittredge Gallery. BRICKED will combine cement, ceramic, rope, and exaggerated pedestals to create an environment that explores the internal structure of the space. The exhibition will allow viewers to physically interact with and respond to the installation in a variety of ways by following pathways into, out of, and around the artwork. Cowan aims to raise questions about artistic process and materials in order to call upon habits that surround art making and viewing.
For this exhibition Cowan created two dominant forms of sculptural and hanging work: a series of cast concrete bricks arranged in lines and raised on plinths, named Bricklines, and several wall-bound rope works that combine slip-cast ceramic pieces and cast concrete bricks, named Variations. The Brickline pieces will dominate the floor space and interrupt gallery visitors’ paths, while the ropes will suspend material from the walls and pillars. Cowan noted: “Working in concert with the gallery details, the works I have chosen display the more structural aspects of my practice – —bricks, exaggerated pedestals, and ropes—that hold together suspended bits of subject matter.” She combines found objects, studio scraps, and cast-offs into her work in various ways to allow viewers to question material categories and the “practical” usage of an art object, as well as the definitions of unfinished and finished artwork.
Cowan will be assembling her installation during a weeklong residency at Puget Sound, Sept. 22–25. Art department students will be assisting her with creating parts of the exhibition.
Cowan received her B.F.A. in painting from Puget Sound in 2004, and her M.F.A. from Otis College of Art and Design in 2014. She has had solo exhibitions of her work in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Milwaukee, and has been included in group shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, and London. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles and in Milwaukee, Wis., where she teaches part time at Mount Mary University and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
An opening reception for the exhibition will be held Friday, Sept. 25, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound. The artist will be present and offer a short program of remarks on the exhibition at 5 p.m.
Kittredge Gallery serves as a teaching tool for the art and art history department, and a cultural resource for both the university and the community at large, exhibiting work by noted regional and national artists. Exhibits and talks are free and open to the public.
Opening Reception:
Sept. 25, 5 to 7 p.m., Kittredge Gallery
Gallery Location: University of Puget Sound, N. 15th St. at N. Lawrence St., Tacoma, WA
Directions and Map: pugetsound.edu/directions
Regular Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Mon.–Fri.; noon–5 p.m., Saturday
Website: pugetsound.edu/kittredge
Facebook: facebook.com/KittredgeGallery
