ARTWALK

The child and I created our own art walk over the past few days. We visited galleries and installations in various neighborhoods of Tacoma.

CONVENTION CENTER/CENTRAL DOWNTOWN

Our second stop was at Hotel Murano to view the glass installations on floors 24 and 25. These are the two floors that we had missed on previous visits. We also visited some of our favorite pieces in the main lobby, as well as a couple of new works.


I'll think of you away from there, kilnformed, etched glass, 2007 by April Surgent.



Clockwise from upper left:
*Floor 24—Peter Bremers
*Floor 25—William Morris
*Lobby—April Surgent
*Lobby, lower floor—Steffan Dam


Viking Boats: Boat of the Gods by Vibeke Skov.

I found the two pieces by April Surgent to be rather enchanting. The five glass panels of the one piece and the three panels of the other appeared to be photographs from a distance. It was only as I drew closer to them that the details of the glass and its "manipulations" could be detected. I found the empty spaces depicted haunting. The rolling hills of the first and the wind turbines of the second told me that these are desolate, liminal places. I want to go to both and stay.

I also especially like Steffan Dam's Specimen Block. The sixteen figures "trapped" in the glass could be specimens of animal, vegetable, or mineral. Their lack of distinction is intriguing.

The glass ice form of Peter Bremers is one of my favorite pieces on the various floors of the hotel. It looks like the arctic ice that Bremers visited for inspiration. It sings of its originating "spark." It is truly something that has to be viewed in person because the subtle blue lines in the transparent glass do not photograph well.

The child was intrigued by the three Viking boats of Vibeke Skov, as was I. They hover over the lobby's lower level as though its stairwell is the river that propels them through the building. Many of the sketches and paintings that were fully realized on the the boats are framed and hanging in the lobby and restrooms.

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[Artwalk 1 - Theater District]
[Artwalk 3 - University of Washington, Tacoma]
[Artwalk 4 - Museum District]
[Artwalk 5 - Antique Row & Hilltop]
[Hotel Murano 1]
[Hotel Murano 2]
[Hotel Murano 3]