Mel Douglas - Map +Measure, May 2021 Exhibition at Traver Gallery

M A P + M E AS U R E

MEL DOUGLAS

M A P + M E AS U R E

MEL DOUGLAS T R AV E R G A L L E R Y M AY 2 0 2 1

MEL DOUGLAS

M A P + M E AS U R E

Traver Gallery is pleased to introduce this milestone exhibition, Map + Measure, by Mel Douglas. One of the most celebrated artists working in glass today, Douglas’ refined and detailed work employs a minimalist aesthetic along with considered mark-making to engage a dialog of how line and form can define and defy our understanding of space and volume. Douglas’ work explores the potential, versatility, and flexibility of glass as a material for drawing, and with it, expands our view of glass as a sculptural medium.

In her words, “objects and drawings are often thought of as two separate entities. My pieces explore and interweave the creative possibilities of this liminal space, where the form is not just a support for drawing; but a three-dimensional drawing itself. Using the unique qualities of the material and the rich potential of mark-making on and with glass, I am using line as a way to inform, define and enable three-dimensional space”.

Mel Douglas has worked as an independent studio artist since graduating from the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University, in 2000. In 2020 Douglas was awarded a Ph.D. for her practice-lead research investigating how we can understand studio glass through the aesthetics of drawing. In addition to winning the 2020 and 2014 Tom Malone Prize –a prestigious award through which a work is acquired each year into the collection of the National Gallery of Western Australia – Douglas has received several major awards, including the Ranamok Glass Prize in 2002 and the International Young Glass Award in 2007 from the Ebeltoft Museum of Glass.

In 2019 her work was the inaugural acquisition for the Australian National Gallery of Art’s Robert and Eugenie Bell Decorative Arts and Design Fund. Douglas’ work is held in the private collections and public institutions internationally, including the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY; the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; the Ebeltoft Museum of Glass, Denmark; and the National Gallery of Australia, Australia.

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ARTWORKS BY PAGE NUMBER

cover: Tonal Value (1-9), 2019 blown, cold-worked, and engraved glass 14”h x 182”w x 14”d (overall) #32163

all images © Mel Douglas

This exhibition, and the the artwork included, was created with generous support from the Australian Capital Territority Government, Art Group Creative Fellowship, and Canberra Glassworks

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Limit II, 2021 kiln-formed and coldworked glass 34.5”h x 19”w #32663

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Deviation, 2020 kiln-formed, coldworked, and engraved glass 19.75”h x 19.75”w x 2.5”d (each) #32479

18/19. Latitude, 2021

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Inclination, 2020 kiln-formed, coldworked, and engraved glass 19.75”h x 19.75”w x 2.5”d (each) #32666

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Infinite Space, 2021 kiln-formed, coldworked, and engraved glass 17.5”h x 17.5”w (each) #32662

22/23. Offset I-III, 2020

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Diagonal Division, 2021 kiln-formed and coldworked glass 17”h x 51.25”w #32664

blown, coldworked, and engraved glass 17”h x 17”w x 17”d (each) #32661

Horizontal/Vertical Division, 2021 kiln-formed and coldworked glass 17”h x 51.25”w #32665

glass drawing on paper 28”h x 28”w (each) #32480, 32481, 32482

Field Lines I - VI, 2020 glass drawing on paper 25”h x 25”w” (each) from left: #32667, 32668, 32669, 32670, 32671, 32672

10/11. Interstices II, 2021

blown, coldworked, and engraved glass 12”h x 12”w x 12”d (each) #32673

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Refracted, 2020 kiln-formed, coldworked, and engraved glass 17”h x 17”w (each) #31609

14/15. Interstices, 2020

blown, coldworked, and engraved glass 13.75”h x 15.75”w x 15.75”d (each) #32483

110 UNION STREET #200 SEATTLE, WA 98101 TRAVERGALLERY.COM

110 UNION STREET #200 SEATTLE, WA 98101 TRAVERGALLERY.COM

T R AV E R G A L L E R Y M AY 2 0 2 1