Art, nature and exploration come together with grit and grace in the work of artist John Grade. His latest pieces are not only imbued with a love and respect for the natural forces that shape our landscape, but they also come into direct contact with that landscape. Collector, in its early stages, has been submerged amid the oyster beds of Willapa Bay, Washington, later, tucked into the folds of a southwest Utah slot canyon, and it has even spent time strapped to the grill of the artist’s pick-up truck as it barreled down the highway on its journey. By placing his sculptural works into the tumultuous embrace of the natural world, Grade encourages interplay – even osmosis – between art and nature.

Marking a distinct departure from his earlier work, Grade’s recent sculptural projects, constructed of elements such as wood, resin, metal, goat fur, cast cellulose and clay, are a mix of meticulous construction and spontaneous natural encounters; his art is both informed and altered by bogs, glaciers, rising tides, flash floods, forest fires, feeding birds and dying insects. With this solo exhibition, Grade presents both sculptural objects and rich photographic documentation of 5 projects in various stages of development: an ongoing, unfolding, transformative journey.

About the Artist
John Grade received his BFA from the Pratt Institute, NY in 1992, and has traveled extensively following his graduation, gaining critical exposure to the cultures and environments that have come to shape his artistic vision. Over the past decade, Grade has earned numerous grants and awards, including two 4Culture Special Projects Grants, three Artists Trust Foundation GAP grants, a Washington State Arts Commission and Artist Trust Foundation fellowship, an Andy Warhol Foundation Award, a Tiffany Foundation Award and residencies throughout the US and abroad. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums nationwide and his work has been featured in Art in America, Sculpture, The Boston Globe, and on NPR’s All Things Considered and Studio 360.

This show is a part of Bellevue Arts Museum's ongoing exhibition series Material Evidence.

John Grade: Disintegration, Sculpture through Landscape has been organized by Bellevue Arts Museum. Local viewing made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

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Meet the Artist!

Friday, September 5 • 6:30 - 7:30 pm • FREE
Free First Friday Lecture Series: John Grade
sculptor