SYLWIA TUR

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STATEMENT

In my creative process I tend to avoid that which already has a solid representation in the world. Instead I focus on ideas and mechanisms, extrapolating them into the objects I make. They come in forms of gestures and fragments of seemingly disjoined processes, and I task myself with finding their patterns and rules.

Language, as an agreed upon system of conventions, may often seem arbitrary, but it is in fact governed by rules and processes which are regular, structured, and intuitive. Through years of unconscious statistical observations and computations in our minds, we know what is allowed in the language and what is not, what belongs there and what is an outlier.

The awareness of patterns is intuitive, even if we cannot name them.

We only notice them when an irregularity or divergence arises. It is only when looked at closely these patterns emerge into a coherent set, a linguistic system, a language.

Even though I am drawn to architecture, I see it as a system of processes and treat its organized and multi-dependent nature as a canvas for my work, a starting point. It is on that canvas that I build my linguistic systems, primarily in the syntactic and phonological space. While syntax deals with the entire sentence level structure, phonology goes to the smallest units of sounds and principles that govern them. However, both are forms of grammar and both draw their conclusions from an interaction of segments, be it words or phonemes.

It is the processes that govern language that I apply to my sculptural work. I use my understanding of language principles and through my own arsenal of shapes and objects create dependencies and interactions.

My work begins in one of two ways: either with a specific linguistic process in mind which I want to explore or with a mental representation of shapes and their relationships, which end up connecting to a linguistic node.

What I am essentially creating is my own language of objects, my linguistic system in the visual and mental space, not unlike that of I-Language, an individual or internal language, thought to be a mental object (in Chomsky's transformational grammar).

By applying principles of science I strive for the elegant solution, which tends to be the simplest one.

V

LANGUAGE BUILDS 2007

porcelain, glaze, vinyl tubing / 15' x 17' x 3'

Photos: Richard Nicol

Language Builds, a site-specific installation at the Bellevue Arts Museum, explores the idea of building blocks of language, which are all connected forming a cohesive set. Every aspect of language: logical form, syntax with its underlying and surface forms, as well as phonology, all come together as part of one entity to form a complete structure of language. The different viewing angles of the piece suggest forms of memory trace, connecting one component to the next, even when only part of the installation is visible. The nearly identical cubes represent that which is common among languages, while the altered ones are a metaphor for the individuality that our own form of language takes.

A total of 33 cubes created three planes of orientation in the form of a triangle: one set of cubes at the top wall, the second on the adjacent wall, and third on the back space of the wall. Each of the cubes was connected to two other pieces: one from each of the two other wall planes, via transparent vinyl tubing, thus reinforcing the triangle even further and creating a system of interconnectivity. Installation could not be seen in its entirety from any one angle - the viewer had to move around the wall to grasp its full composition. Each angle presented a new viewing point that contributed to one's perception of the entire piece.

TEMPLATES 2012-2013

porcelain, glaze / installation size: 8' x 12' x 15"

RUNGS 2010

porcelain, fishing wire / 120' feet long

INTERACTIVE CANVASES 2011

porcelain, steel wire / installation size: 40' length

111 ATTENTION CUPS 2015

porcelain, glaze / installation spread over 5km, each piece 7" x 3" x 3"

ARSENAL 2015

porcelain, glaze, PVC pipes, paint / installation size: 8' x 9' x 11"

Arsenal is composed of groupings of porcelain shapes, presented in a shelving system resembling a grid. Each tube contains one specific type of a shape, similar to how different types of products are displayed in a store, especially a clothing store, where often clothes are neatly folded by type and color in stacking modular cubes.

The artwork is a repertoire of possibilities, a language of objects. It has a feeling of a very unusual store display or a laboratory, full of neatly organized tools displayed in tubular shelving units. The pieces shown represent my own arsenal of shapes, it is a glimpse into the language I work with.

Arsenal is a temporary public installation in the Amazon Headquarters building in Seattle, WA. The project is in part supported by Storefronts, a core program of Shunpike.

PORCELAIN PLANTATIONS 2014

porcelain / installation size: 500 sq.feet

INSTALLATIONS

PHONOLOGY 2006

porcelain, plaster, pigment / 10.5' x 54" x 13'

DEPENDENCIES 2006

porcelain, fiber / 107" x 60" x 48"

RAW 2008

porcelain, paint, rubber tubing / 12.5' x 10' x 24"

COARTICULATION 2006

porcelain, glaze, fiber / 65" x 120" x 4"

SCULPTURES

WHEN WORKING ON MY SCULPTURES, I AM USING ANALOGIES SIMILAR TO THE PROCESSES

THAT COME TOGETHER  TO FORM LANGUAGE.

GESTURES 2014

porcelain / variable, e.g. 7" x 12" x 15"

FRAGMENTS 2014 - 2016

porcelain / variable, e.g. 24" x 12" x 6" /p>

SCALE 2012 - 2013

porcelain / 70" x 56" x 3"

QUARTER TURNS 2012

porcelain / 12' x 8" x 8"

90 DEGREES 2012

porcelain / 20" x 20" x 2"

OSCILLATIONS 2011 - 2014

porcelain, powder coated aluminum or metal and tool dip / 12' x 30" x 20"

FORMANTS 2011

porcelain, rubber tubing / 30" x 48" 20"

MANY-TO-ONE 2010

porcelain, glaze / 17" x 25" x 7"

CONGLOMERATION 2010

porcelain / 30" x 25" x 10"

CANVASES 2009 - 2010

porcelain / variable, e.g. 17" x 12" x 6"

TOOLS 2009

porcelain / 18" x 11" x 16"

EDUCATION

EXHIBITS

2024

language forms (...) - solo exhibit, Das Schaufenster, Seattle, WA

(forthcoming) Geometric variants, vatican microgallery at studio e - invitational, Seattle, WA

2023

Seattle City of the Future, immersive art experience, Third Place Technologies, Teal Building - juried, Seattle, WA

BREW, J. Reinhart Gallery - invitational, Seattle, WA

2022

Form Follows Language - solo exhibit, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

Object Permanence - two-person exhibit with Timea Tihanyi, curated by Lane Eagles, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA

2021

Presence / Absence / Trace, Seattle Storefronts, a program of Shunpike, Amazon Headquarters. Seattle, WA

40th Anniversary Show, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

2020

Art in Isolation, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND

2019

Impressions - solo exhibit, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

December Show of gallery artists, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

2018

Group show of gallery artists, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

You Got the Look, CoCA, Seattle, WA

Everyone's Floored, Alice Gallery, Seattle, WA

Creativity Persists, CoCA, Seattle, WA

2017

Everyone's 50, Alice Gallery, Seattle, WA

Microsoft Collection Art Exhibition, Redmond, WA

2016 - 2017

Oscillations - Featured Objects solo installation, curated by Jennifer Navva Milliken, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA

2016

angles, lines, solids - solo exhibit, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

Out of Sight, concurrent with Seattle Art Fair, King Street Station, Seattle, WA

In Sight, concurrent with Seattle Art Fair, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

The Bureau of Arts & Culture: Give Gallery, King Street Station, Seattle, WA

Everyone's in 3D, Alice Gallery, Seattle, WA

Microsoft Collection Art Exhibition, Redmond, WA

2015

Arsenal - site specific installation, Seattle Storefronts, a program of Shunpike, Amazon Headquarters - juried, Seattle, WA

NEPO 5k Don't Run - 111 Attention Cups - juried, Seattle, WA

2014

Making and Breaking, Linda Hodges Gallery - invitational, Seattle, WA

Accreted Terrane, Museum of Northwest Art, curated by David Francis - juried, La Conner, WA

NEPO 5k Don't Run - Porcelain Plantations - juried, Seattle, WA

Real Abstract, Linda Hodges Gallery - invitational, Seattle, WA

Artist Trust, 27th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction - juried, Seattle, WA

2013

Templates - site specific installation, Seattle Storefronts, a program of Shunpike, Amazon Headquarters - juried, Seattle, WA

Terra Linear-the ceramic line, two installations: Scale and Templates, curated by  Lisa Conway - invitational, Vancouver, WA

2012

Abstract Affinities, Francine Seders Gallery, curated by Anne Hirondelle; in conjunction with 46th NCECA conference - invitational, Seattle, WA

The Potter and the Urn, Lundgren Monuments, curated by Greg Lundgren; in conjunction with 46th NCECA conference - invitational, Seattle, WA

Clay Lives Here! Seattle Design Center, curated by Wally Bivins; in conjunction with  46th NCECA conference - invitational, Seattle, WA

Artist Trust, 25th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction - invitational, Seattle, WA

2011

Heaven and Earth 3, COCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Point Shilshole Beach &  Carkeek Park Outdoor Exhibit; site specific installation Interactive Canvases, Seattle, WA

SOIL 2011 Invitational Art Auction, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA

Seattle Weekly's Artopia, Seattle, WA

2010

Outsider/Insider, COCA (Center on Contemporary Art) - invitational, Seattle, WA

Heaven and Earth 2, COCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Carkeek Park Outdoor  Exhibit; site specific installation Rungs, Seattle, WA

Meet Greet Rinse Repeat, Monarch Contemporary - invitational, collaboration with Troy Gua, Seattle, WA

Resident Alien, COCA (Center on Contemporary Art) - invitational, Seattle, WA

Mapping - solo exhibit, Monarch Contemporary, Seattle, WA

MadArt Redux, Foster/White Gallery; curated by Phen Huang & Bryan Ohno - invitational, Seattle, WA

2009 - 2010

ART 2010, Viridian Artists and Friends, Viridian Artists Gallery - invitational, New York City, NY

2009

Sculpture Burial Map, site specific outdoors installation (ongoing), Washington State

Collision, 1020 Group Show, Ouch My Eye Gallery, Seattle, WA

Heaven and Earth, COCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Carkeek Park Outdoor Exhibit; site specific installation Language within Landscape, Seattle, WA

Ship It II, Ouch My Eye Gallery, Seattle, WA

Room for Eleven, NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts), Juror:  John Balistreri, Phoenix, AZ

MINI MINI: A 4 x 4 Mini Art Show, Conspire Art Gallery, Phoenix, AZ

Artist Trust, 22nd Invitational Art Auction, Seattle, WA

2008

Raw - solo exhibit, Pottery Northwest Gallery, Seattle, WA

Connected by Clay, Sea-Tac Airport Exhibit, Seattle, WA

PONCHO Invitational Art Auction, Seattle, WA

Clay? II, Kirkland Arts Center, Jurors: Doug Jeck, Akio Takamori, Jamie Walker, Kirkland, WA

2007 - 2008

Language Builds - Featured Objects solo installation, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA

2007

PNW Resident Show, Pottery Northwest Gallery, Seattle, WA

The Big Bang Birthday Bash, auction at the Henry Art Museum, Seattle, WA

Artist Trust, 20th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction, Seattle, WA

Sample Points - solo exhibit, Pottery Northwest Gallery, Seattle, WA

2006

PNW Resident Show, Pottery Northwest Gallery, Seattle, WA

SOIL 2006 Invitational Art Auction, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

Architecture of Language - solo exhibit, Ceramics Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Ceramics Biennial Exhibition 2006, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH

19th National Juried Art Exhibit, South Cobb Arts Alliance, Mable House, Mableton, GA

Show and Tell, Ceramics Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Regional Juried Exhibition NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts), Jurors: Nan Smith & Sam Chung, Portland, OR

School of Art OPEN, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Juror: Esther Lutthikuizen

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2024

3 must-visit Ballard museums and galleries, Rachel Gallaher, Seattle Times, March 28

2023

For Seattle & Art: The Future is Now! Artists offer their visions of what may come to be, Marty Griswold, Public Display Art, June-August

2023

With restaurant plans off the table, Capitol Hill's old R Place starts new life as The Teal Building arts space with Seattle: City of the Future exhibition, Kali Herbst Minino, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, June 5

2023

Seattle City of the Future Exhibit Takes Over RPlace Building for June, Michael Strangeways, Seattle Gay Scene, May 27

2022

Permanent questions, temporary realities, Katherine Luck, Real Change, February 9

2022

New exhibition opens at BAM, Emily Molina, 425 Magazine, January 28

2019

Postcards from a trip through Pioneer Square's galleries and graffiti, Brendan Kiley, Seattle Times, January

2019

15 Best Things To Do in Seattle in January 2019, Cavin Borchert, Seattle Magazine, December

2016

Pioneer Square and Downtown Seattle Gallery Guide September 2016, T.s. Flock, Vanguard Seattle, August 25

2016

10 THINGS TO NOT MISS OUT AT OUT OF SIGHT 2016, T.s. Flock, Vanguard Seattle, August 25

2016

Pioneer Square Gallery Guide (and Giant Steps!), T.s. Flock, Vanguard Seattle, March

2014

Accreted Terrane, Museum of Northwest Art; exhibition catalog

2014

The Monster Art Show with the soft underbelly: what happened at NEPO 5k on Saturday, The Stranger Blog,  September 10

2011

Culture Dose: (Interactive) Canvases, Josh Potter, Seattleite Magazine, August 2

2010

Heaven and Earth 2, Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition at Carkeek Park, Center on Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue http://www.cocaseattle.org/bookstore

2010

Does Art Belong in Nature?, Rachel M, REI Blog, August issue

2010

Lines between nature and artifice blurred in outdoor exhibit, Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times, July 1

2010

'Heaven and Earth' exhibit reopening at Carkeek Park Saturday', Humberto Martinez, Seattle PI blog, June 22

2010

Resident Alien, Local Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Center on Contemporary Art exhibition

catalogue, ISBN: 978-0-9842388-6-6

2010

Fantasy, attire, language, Marian Liu, Seattle Times, March 4

2010

Sylwia Tur: Mapping, Monarch Contemporary exhibition catalogue

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1186222

2009

Heaven and Earth, Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition at Carkeek Park, Center on Contemporary Art exhibition

catalogue, ISBN: 978-0-9842388-1-1 http://www.cocaseattle.org/bookstore

CONTACT

 To schedule a studio visit in Seattle WA please contact   +1 (206) 850-6640 sylwia@sylwiatur.com

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