Rik Allen

Traver Gallery-Tacoma is pleased to feature Rik Allen's newest mixed media sculptures inspired by a life-long fascination with science fiction. More than twelve new spacecraft conjure a retro-futuristic vision that taps the thrill, fear, and exhilaration associated with space travel. Transience reflects the artist's interest in the passage of time and stirs a sense of nostalgia, adventure and possibility.
 
An aura of timelessness consistent with the influences that started Allen drawing spacecraft as a child -  science fiction stories, space launches and futuristic films - are realized in these aerodynamic fusions of glass and fabricated metal. The corroded metallic finishes and distressed surfaces of Allen's sculptures also highlight the beauty of use. Are they from the future or the past? Allen leaves us to wonder - his rocket ships appear like unearthed relics unable to escape the effects of time. They manage to glitter with futuristic élan and simultaneously be tinged with decay.

Transience marks a point in which Allen's work begins a greater exploration of imaginative narrative. Ladders lead to rusted portholes left slightly ajar, tiny chairs sit perched within glass domes and Allen wills us to envision what might be - or perhaps what was. Is the story over, the journey long since completed? Or might one scale the ladder of Providence, a 29" blown glass, steel and silver rocket, and take off into the unknown? This new fleet of "futuristic antiquities" affirms that Allen's rockets will launch new voyages for some time to come.

Rik Allen received a BA in Anthropology from Franklin Pierce College and worked with legendary glass artist William Morris for 12 years. Allen's work has been shown in solo and group shows throughout the country, including a solo exhibition at the Science Fiction Museum in 2007. Along with his wife Shelley Muzylowski-Allen, Rik maintains a glass and sculpture studio in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. Together, they have taught in Japan, the U.K. and domestically.