Museum to Feature Seattle Duo’s Works in Glass, Wood

PULLMAN, Wash. — As part of a series focusing on the works of Pacific Northwest artists, the Washington State University Museum of Art will present the exhibit “Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace” from Feb. 22-April 3. 

A special opening reception and lecture by the two artists will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 in the museum’s gallery and Fine Arts Center auditorium. 

Kirkpatrick and Mace are best known for large-scale still life arrangements of realistic glass fruit and vegetables, as well as wood and glass figurative sculptures. They have pioneered some of their own techniques and continue to produce wood and glass works some would think impossible to create. The majority of their works in the exhibit at WSU will include glass fruits and vegetables, bird drawings on glass and figurative wood sculptures.

The pair began collaborating in 1979 after meeting at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood.  There, they studied under Dale Chihuly, whom most would consider the founding father of modern glass sculpture. Currently, the two work in a studio alongside the Ballard Ship Canal in Seattle, where they’ve been full-time residents since 1985.

According to Keith Wells, curator of the Museum of Art/WSU, Kirkpatrick and Mace feel their ideas emerge jointly, but by mere necessity are explored individually. Kirkpatrick defines the concept of the work and draws it up, while Mace focuses primarily on the complex technical issues related to creating the physical object, Wells said.

 “We work together on most things, but it is ultimately Flora who designs and builds the one-of-a-kind tools used for some of the processes,” Kirkpatrick said. “The ideas come from both of us. We see ways to improve through trial and error and then Flora builds whatever will make that happen.”

Chris Bruce, the director of the Museum of Art/WSU said, “Among the great pleasures for us at the Museum of Art is introducing work of national and international excellence by artists based in the Pacific Northwest. Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace have forged one of the most distinguished careers in the world of art glass and now sculpture in various media.  Their work is the essence of true art: they take an extremely difficult technical process and make it look easy; they take simple forms and create objects of wonder and beauty.”

The two have lectured and taught extensively throughout the world.  Kirkpatrick currently serves as a trustee at the Pilchuck Glass School. Their work is included in collections and museums around the world including the Corning Museum of Glass in New York; The Detroit Institute of Art; Hokkaido Museum, Japan; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Seattle Art Museum.

“To see these two artists in action is to know the true meaning of harmony,” Wells said. “From the timing they share within the physical demands of this process, to the way they finish each other’s sentences, it is difficult to discern where one of them ends and the other begins. Their work reflects this unity. The end result is always a stunning work of art that will leave you wondering how they trapped a painting in glass, bent wood as easily as drawing with pencil or made an oversized piece of fruit out of glass.”

Funding for this exhibit and programs is provided by the Samuel H. and Patricia W. Smith Arts Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Museum of Art/WSU. Visit the WSU Museum of Art Web site at www.wsu.edu/artmuse.