Kait Rhoads

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Bioresonance.THE SCULPTURAL WORK OF KAIT RHOADS

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Published on the on the occasion of the exhibition Kait Rhoads, Schiepers Gallery Dokter Willemsstraat 30 B-3500 Hasselt, BelgiumMay 9th – August 3rd 2019 schiepersgallery.com

Editor Mary Drach McInnes. Catalog Design by Lisa Liedgren. Copy editing by Julia Ricketts. Printed by Girlie Press, Seattle WA USA, May 2019Cover Image; detail of Alaria (glass, steel and copper) 2016. Photo by Rozarii Lynch.

©Kait Rhoads LLC 2019. Kaitrhoads.com

My work is inspired by nature and informed by memory. And, three oceans—the Caribbean, the Indian and the Pacific--delineate the imaginative boundaries of my practice.

I grew up on the water of the Caribbean in a ship with my family where my deep affinity for biological systems began. I lived surrounded by nature; the liquid light and aquatic life imprinted upon my senses. The sculptures I create emanate from my early experiences within and curiosity about the natural world. While exploring the waters around Bali, I experienced the extraordinary biodiversity and architecture of coral colonies there. This has been a deep influence on my sculptural forms and process of making.

The cold, deep green waters of Puget Sound are a more recent source of inspiration in my work. Since moving to the Northwest two decades ago, my fascination extended from coral colonies to kelp forests. Seaweed’s pliable forms continually inspire me—they stretch up from the depths, undulate in the shallows and lie on tidal surfaces. Aquatic life infuses my sculptures with animated forms, sparkling surfaces and faceted exoskeletons.

My method of construction mirrors how my life has formed me, with individual elements woven together to create a strong whole. I consider the individual units, conical hexagonal forms known as hollow murrine, as architectural elements that fit together to create a fluid or floating object. The concept of the work develops slowly and the production of a complicated piece can take months to years to complete.

I desire my work to be emotionally affective—that it evokes for audiences a similar sense of wonder in our blue planet that continues to inspire me. And even, perhaps, to instill a desire to conserve our fragile aquatic ecosystems.

“My love of living things was encouraged, so that from the very beginning I was able to develop that sense of wonder, of awe, that can lead to spiritual awareness.” Jane Goodall.

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ALARIA, 2016. Glass, steel and copper. Dimension 37”x 48”x 10”.

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TRIGONAL CRYSTAL, 2016. Bronze plaided steel, glass and copper. Dimension 44” x 39” x 31”.

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TYPHON, 2015. Glass, steel and copper. Dimension 42” x 25” x 7.5”.

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TYPHON, 2015. Glass, steel and copper. Dimension 42” x 25” x 7.5”.

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BLUE CORAL, 2005 Glass, copper and steel. Dimension: 23” x 21” x 8”.

Living on the water as a child gave me an unusual perspective; I always imagined my family suspended midpoint between the sky above and the oceans below. Underwater diving furthered my deep connection to the sea; I could investigate in all directions off our boat, swim at will to my heart’s content, and emerge at no fixed point out of the waves. The Caribbean remains embedded in my memory. My later sojourn to Venice with its famed canals brought back this longing for the water. I took up diving again and explored seas both close to my home in the Pacific Northwest and also abroad in Indonesia. All of these experiences inform my work.

On Place.

CASCADE, 2013 Glass, stainless steel and copper. Dimension 29” x 21” x 12”.

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KELP (DICTYONEUROPSIS), 2015 Glass, steel and copper. Dimension 62” x 17” x 14”.

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BLOOM (detail), 2018. Glass, silicon bronze and copper. Dimension 7’ x 4’ x 24’.

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Blown, cut and assembled on stainless steel armature. This work was commissioned by Metro Parks Tacoma for the Pacific Seas Aquarium, Tacoma WA in 2018. Dimension: Jelly No 1. 55” x 85” x 27” (page 21, bottom right).

Jelly No 2. 63” x 87” x 20” (page 21 top right). Jelly No 3. 77” x 64” x 24” (page 20 left).

Marine advocacy.

I am committed to marine conservation; this passion has developed over time and across many ecosystems. Volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium for the past five years has been illuminating in terms of ocean ecology. I made a commitment to focus my energies in this area through public artworks that foster an appreciation of our seas and oceans. My vision is to create immersive environments that convey the expansiveness of ocean life and to bring its wonder to a wider public.

As part of this effort, I donate to ocean conservation groups and give my time promoting ocean ecology at the Seattle Aquarium. With my Salish Nettles commission from Metro Parks Tacoma, WA, I used my platform as an artist to talk about ocean ecology and to involve the public in the making of the artwork. I strove to foster a connection between the local community and the artwork, the physical location of the Pacific Seas Aquarium and the mandate of the aquarium to educate its visitors to protect the ocean.

SALISH NETTLES, 2018 Installation view Pacific Seas Aquarium,

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

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The Hilltop Artists Program in Tacoma engages young people in making glass from middle school up to 20 years of age. Students at Jason Lee Middle School and other locations get a creative outlet and experience working with a team, as well as ongoing support after graduation. It’s a great community program and I am proud to be a regular donor. When I started making the components for the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium project, I knew I wanted to involve Hilltop Artists’ youth.

Before we started the hands-on work, I shared the artistic concepts behind the project with the students at Jason Lee. Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium biologist Chad Widmer (aka The Jelly Man) added scientific information about jellyfish and ocean ecology. It was fun to move from his talk into the hot shop to make the glass tubing for the project together. A group of enthusiastic Hilltop Artists also assisted me in additional work at the Museum of Glass. Chad Widmer of the Wounded Warrior Program joined us at MOG and he and I offered short public lectures about the new aquarium, ocean ecology and how one person can make a difference.

Involving the community in the content and making of this project fostered a sense of curiosity and engagement. I look forward to partnering with other great community programs as I complete future commissions.

My sculpture is nourished by the great respect I have for traditional glass techniques. Working in this transformative material (both liquid and solid) is not easy and it takes persistence to master it. I use traditional methods as a platform for further innovation. For me, an object or large-scale piece is a physical deconstruction of a vision. The idea comes first; then drawings and wire maquettes follow. These preliminary models help communicate my vision to the fabricators who assist me in bringing to life my ideas in bronze or steel. When the armature is done, I am ready to weave my mixture of hexagonal beads or “hollow murrine” onto the frame with copper wire.

Before I begin weaving, I work with a group of assistants in the hot shop to create glass tubing for the murrine. We apply a variety of different color applications, keep the walls thick on the bubble, and blow the glass into steel hexagonal molds. Next we heat the bubble a little and pull or draw it down into a longer tube form. These hex tubes are then annealed (cooled slowly in a kiln), cut up into smaller pieces with a diamond-edged saw, and finally heated in a kiln to melt the edges in and to create a more conical profile from the tubing sections. This tapered shape allows me to create various curvatures as the murrine is woven together with copper wire.

Skill. Craft. Labor.

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Community.

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The glass community is small, yet generous in spirit. I’ve been fortunate to study at leading institutions and renowned sites in the area of glass. I received my BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design where I studied with Bruce Chao and Michael Scheiner. I earned my MFA at Alfred University, where I worked with people both in sculpture and across the art curriculum—including light artist Fred Tschida, printmaker Jesse Shefrin and art historian Mary McInnes.

After graduate school, I ventured to Murano, Italy on a Fulbright Award from the United States Government. This fellowship allowed me to absorb traditional glass techniques and study historical glass. Living on Murano, I was surrounded by maestros; meeting the Venetian glass master Alfredo Barbini and seeing him make glass at the age of 92 was a revelation.

Returning to the states, I took advantage of opportunities wherever I could find them. Pilchuck—that extraordinary haven of glass-making north of Seattle—was one such place. In the 1990s at Pilchuck I worked for luminaries such as Lino Tagliapietra and sculptor Kiki Smith. Many Pilchuck classmates and co workers are my friends and peers today —when I work with them, I sense a deep camaraderie and feeling of family in the glass shop.

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While working on time consuming larger-scale work, I find satisfaction in completing small-scale woven pieces in a matter of days as opposed to months. The Sea Stones are designed as intimate objects that encourage touch and close examination.

A portion of the sales of this series is donated to the Sea Doc Society, which conducts and sponsors scientific research in the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest, and to the Ocean Foundation, an international organization dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world.

Small works.

VERDANT, 2019. Glass and copper. Dimension 10.5” x 10.5” x 10.5”.P 29-30: A selection of works from the Sea Stones series, (glass and copper wire), 2008 – 2018.

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WATER BEAR, 2019. Glass and copper. Dimension 44” x 39” x 31”.

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I see myself as a sculptor who loves glass.

Early in my career, I had a great romance with the Italian tradition of glass-blowing. The craft of glass continues to inform my sculpture and I have evolved new skills that allow me to work on large-scale pieces. The use of wire to create complex forms with glass color connects my work to fiber arts as well. My ‘weaving’ method allows me to scale up from intimate works to large installations. I have enjoyed working with architects and engineers on several public commissions. Today, my work embodies several craft traditions and extends across the boundaries from art to design.

It is my ambition to continue my exploration of glass, bringing aspects of nature into an architectural space. One desire is to create a totally immersive environment that conveys the expansiveness of ocean life; I imagine bringing my early memories of being underwater to an urban audience.

Identity and desire.

HONOR, 2018 Industrial glass, imitation gold leaf, steel and brass.

Dimension 40” x 40” x 6.5”. Pages 36-37 shows detail of artwork.

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LAUREL WREATH, 2014 Engraved glass and brass. Dimension 7” x 8” x 3”. With stand 8” x 8” x 8”.

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Biography.

Born April 4, 1968 in Richmond, VA

Selected Exhibitions 2019 Solo Show, Scheipers Gallery, Hasselt, Belgium Bloom, Bainbridge Island Art Museum, Becon Gallery, Bainbridge WA

2018 Glasstastic, Belleview Art Museum, Belleview WA No GLASS Ceiling! Women working in Glass, Part 1, Palm Springs Art Museum, CA

2017 Selections from the Anne Gould Hauberg Collection, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA Into the Deep, Tacoma Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA

2016 LifeForms 2016, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA and Cedar Gallery, Corning, NY Into the Deep, Tacoma Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA

2015 Parallel Frequencies, Cohen Gallery, Alfred, NY and Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA Game Changers: Fiber Art Masters and Innovators, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

2014 Tidal, Chihuly Collections, St Petersburg, FL Shattered: Contemporary Sculpture in Glass, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, MI

2013 The Cutting Edge, Racine Art Museum, WI Fluid Reformations, Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY

2012 50 Years of Studio Glass, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY

2011 Contempory Glass, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA Pysis, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA

2010 Transformation 6: Contemporary Works in Glass, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN

2009 As Below, So Above, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

2008 Beautifully Crafted, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK Corallum, Chappell Gallery, NYC, NY

2007 Viva Vetro! Glass Alive! Venice and America, 1950-2006, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA Submerge, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA 2006 Arbor, Chappell Gallery, NYC, NY Making Sense, Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY

2005 Undulation, William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA Plumage, Chappell Gallery, NY, NY Ebb and Flow, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA

2004 Italian Influence in Contemporary Glass, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY Warp and Weft, William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA Vetri. Nel mondo. Oggi, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arte, Venice, Italy

2003 20/20 Vision, Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ The Eye of the Peacock, Chappell Gallery, NY, NY

2002 Peacock Vessels, Vetri International Glass, Seattle, WA Under 40, Scuola del Vetro Abate Zanetti, Murano, Italy

2001 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Alfred University, Alfred, NY Solo Show, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

1999 Shelter, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA Glass America 1999, Heller Gallery, NY, NY Vessels: A National Glass Invitational Exhibition, Ellen Noel Art Museum, Odessa,TX

1998 1998 Venezia Aperto, Venice, Italy 1998 Pacific Northwest Annual Exhibition, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA Skins and Shelters, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA

Awards 2018 Artists @ Work, Pilchuck, Stanwood, WA Massachusetts College of Art, Artist in Residence, Boston, MA 2016 Artist in Residence, Tacoma Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA2014 Hauberg Fellowship, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA2013 Designer’s Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, NY2011 Visiting Artist, Toledo Museum of Art, the Glass Pavillon, Toledo, OH2008 The Corning Museum of Glass, the Studio Residency, Corning, NY2008 The Creative Glass Center of America, Fellowship, Millville, NJ2002 Fulbright Scholarship for study of sculpture in Venice, Italy

Public Collections Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA Celebrity Cruises Art Collection Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY Glasmuseum, Ebeltoft, Denmark Museum of Glass,Tacoma, WA Museum of Northwest Art, LaConner, WA New Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, Hollywood, CA Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA P&O Cruises Iona Art Collection Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium/Pacific Seas Aquarium, Tacoma, WA Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA Shanghai Museum of Glass, Shanghai, China Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA Toyama Institute of Glass Museum, Toyama, Japan

Education2001 MFA in Glass, Alfred University, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred, NY1993 BFA in Glass, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

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Acknowledgements.

I am fortunate to work with great people. I hope to express my gratitude by listing their names here. Many thanks to my family: Webster & Linda Rhoads, Mary Ann Newton and Ashley Heald; Andrea Mazrim (we have worked together for twelve years now weaving), Scott Shaub, Jessica Landau, Deb Adler, Katrina Hude and Joe Grogan, Brian Pike, Jen Elek, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, David Walters, William Miller, Pilchuck Glass School, Norwood Viviano, Robin Cass, Jackie Pancari, Amie McNeel, and Rachel Moore.

Special thanks to the Salish Nettles crew especially: Lisa Liedgren, Patricia Davidson, Greg Owen, Kristin Elliott/Grit City Coldworks, Fabrication Specialties and Rebecca Solverson. The Glass Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design: James McLeod, Anjali Srinivasan, Josie Gluck, Courtney Tanner, Cameron Lipshires, Sara Mac, Shannon Floyd, Kate Buttino, Jacob Joslin, Brian Bigelow, Nikki Tsamis, Powers Hommel, Andrew Smith, Taylor Cheek, Lindsey Marshall, Trina Weintraub and Lynsey Galer; Hilltop Artists, the Museum of Glass and the hot shop team: Benjamin Cobb, Sarah Gilbert and Gabe Feenan, Seattle Aquarium volunteers; Lucia McDonald, An Tootill, Gayle McKool, Alice Bailey and locals: Eli Burnes, Andrew Burnes, Celia Garland, Kim Ladd, Linda Cannon McFail, Kathleen Moles, Chase Bryden, Donna McCord, Caroline Millet and Daughter, Jen Elek, and Pat Bako.

I’d also like to thank Jennifer Brown, Joseph Rizano, Rozarii Lynch, Lisa Geertsen, Gregory Robinson, the staff at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and Kristin Tollefson for their contributions to the Bloom project.

Photography credits: Rozarii Lynch, pages 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 16-17, 20-21, 22-23, 32-33, 35, 36, 37. Robert Vinnedge, page 14-15, 18. Mike Sidel, page 13. Erica Sciaretta, page 38-39.John Froschauer 22-23, 24-25.

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