MEL DOUGLAS
Map + Measure
May 6–29
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 and 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 Ebeltoft Museum of Glass.
In 2019 her work was the inaugural acquisition for the National Gallery of Australia’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 National Gallery of Australia, Australia.
CLICK HERE to see more works by Mel Douglas
For additional information, please contact Traver Gallery at 206.587.6501 or info@travergallery.com