Winston Wächter is pleased to announce an exhibition of two artists from the Pacific Northwest: Ann Gardner and Julie Speidel. Both Gardner and Speidel create 3-dimensional work that examines issues of scale, function, and interior organization. Visually and physically engaging, these sculptures allow viewers to reconsider distinctions between art and object, function and form.

Working in glass mosaic, Ann Gardner creates forms that seem to be inspired equally by architecture and nature. Arcs, discs, and waves are covered entirely in squares of colored glass. While there is an element of playfulness to Gardner's work, it is impossible to ignore the dedicated, meditative practice of carefully placing each tiny piece of glass on the surface of these forms. Naturally, light becomes an essential material in these sculptures, which reflect and refract at every angle. This interplay between light, color and form allows the work to be fluid and ever changing, creating a dynamic relationship between art and viewer.

Julie Speidel, exhibiting a series of stone and bronze benches, explains, "The line between sculptural and functional is arbitrary." She instead believes that a natural urge exists to connect physically with forms and surfaces. The benches, then, create a logical relationship between art and viewer, welcoming human contact by providing a place to sit. Inspired by her numerous and extraordinary travel experiences, Speidel's sculptures evoke the visual and cultural complexity of ancient architectural ruins from Asia and Eastern Europe. She says of this influence, "I choose to work in materials that are linked to the earth in elemental ways and that are part of the unbroken legacy of human effort to manipulate them." .

For further information, please contact Amanda Snyder at 212-255-2718.