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Things to Do in Seattle: Sculptor Debra Baxter’s New Show ‘All I Ever Wanted’
Seattle sculptor Debra Baxter conveys the pull of gravity with a light touch
By Seattle Mag April 7, 2014
This article originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
!–paging_filter–pDebra Baxter is renowned for creating work that contrasts spiky crystals against smooth stone, stunning beauty against repulsive physical reality. Her new show,em All I Ever Wanted/em, features alabaster, crystal and mineral sculptures, as well as cast metal pieces, including a twisted human neck made of aluminum and a female pelvis in bronze. But the centerpiece is “Soft Landing (or crashing and burning),” five life-size alabaster pillows meticulously carved and arranged as a 3-D replica of Albrecht Dürer’s 1493 drawing “Six Studies of Pillows.” Baxter came upon the drawing while researching Dürer for an art history class she was teaching, and it brought to mind a pillow she had carved in 2009, and previous sculptural works, such as her textile clouds. “The pillows reach back to these earlier metaphorical explorations of lightness and weight,” she explains. “The pillows in Dürer’s drawing seem to wrestle with their own physicality. Contorting and stretching in impossible ways, they anthropomorphize a human struggle.” While Dürer’s drawing has six pillows, Baxter created five—but not because she grew tired of the punishing process. “So much of my work is about what is missing,” she says. “I wanted there to be an absence.” 3/27–4/22. emTimes vary. Free. Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave. S; 206.323.2808; a href=”http://www.platformgallery.com” target=”_blank”platformgallery.com/anbsp; /em/p
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Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing
Seattle resident Joshua Gidding examines his own white privilege
In his book, Old White Man Writing, Seattle resident Joshua Gidding attempts to come to terms with his privilege. Gidding grapples with the rapidly changing cultural norms in 21st-century America while examining his own racial biases and prejudices. As Manhattan Book Review notes: “Old White Man Writing is an introspective deep dive into an eventful life…
Glacial Expressions
Local scientist and painter Jill Pelto spotlights climate change in a multi-artist show at Slip Gallery
The divide between the arts and sciences is long-fostered and well-documented. From elementary school onward, children are often singled out for their penchant for math or artistic ability and guided toward classes — and later careers — that align with their right or left brain tendencies. For Jill Pelto — a local climate scientist, painter,…
How Taproot Theatre Survived A Financial Crisis
Theatre is planning for its 50th birthday next year
Karen Lund vividly remembers that sinking feeling she had in the fall of 2023. That was when Lund, producing artistic director of Taproot Theatre Co., first realized that the financially strapped, midsized professional theatre in the Greenwood neighborhood might not survive. The theatre had already weathered the worst of the pandemic, but costs were mounting….
Humanities Washington Fights ‘Midnight’ Cuts
Nonprofit loses previously approved federal grants with little warning
The letter came without warning, like a slap in the face from an invisible hand. Humanities Washington CEO and Executive Director Julie Ziegler had already been talking with peers in other states, and she readied herself for the blow. The National Endowment for the Humanities (think DOGE) had terminated her nonprofit’s previously awarded federal grant…