JANE SAUER GALLERY

SYSTEMA NATURAE, an exhibition of glass art based on marine life by Kevin Gordon will open at Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe on March 13, 2009.  The Australian artist will be present or the opening reception which takes place from 5 to 7 p.m.  The exhibition continues through April 10.

To prepare for  this series of work, Gordon studied the vast natural science collections in the Western Australian Museum, Department of Aquatic Zoology. Examining and photographing select specimens Gordon captured the intricate physical characteristics of the marine specimens. These studies were transformed into the works in this series. The title Systema Naturae, is Latin for System of Nature.  Systema Naturae is a book written by a Swedish Doctor, Carolus Linnaeus, in 1735, and is one of the first attempts to comprehensively classify the natural world.

Born in Norway, currently living in Perth, Western Australia, internationally recognized glass artist Kevin Gordon, will be present for the opening of his show, Systema Naturae at Jane Sauer Gallery. Gordon has created a magnificent body of work based on marine life, capturing the detailed surfaces, and mathematical forms of invertebrates such as sea urchins, coral, and shells. Gordon’s work is poetic, sophisticated, and technically perfect.  

A number of pieces such as Galaxea Coral, Acanthastrea Coral, and Green Coral capture the unique repetition and  mathematical forms  of  various kinds of coral. These pieces are startlingly intricate and pull the viewer in for closer examination.  It is difficult to resist enjoying the tactile quality of the surface, just as one cannot resist picking up a perfectly formed piece of coral found in the sand. Gordon states: “It is my nature to understand the designs of nature and to look for the mathematical formulas and variations that guide its evolution. As life was first formed in the oceans it is here that we find the basic structures and designs that still resonate in so much of our lives. I also have a fascination with the mathematical formulas in computer assisted design and have studied the idea of fractals and Mandelbrot theory. In this theory, designs are produced by the repetition of a few basic variations in pattern. In my work, I emphasize this with the use of lens.”

Agaricidae, a pair of organic forms, have surfaces that have been engraved and sandblasted to reveal the underneath change of color, resulting in a luminescent jewel like surface  that seems to glow from within. Tall Sea Urchin is another example of double overlay of color to create rich textures amplified by use of color and by incising the outer surface. The viewer immediately feels that this work could only have succeeded if made in glass. It is simultaneously delicate, muscular and organic. The intricate mathematical qualities are always present.

As Gordon has observed, “in effect these works are made up from what they represent.” He is recreating the patterns and cycles found in marine life using silica sand, the primary ingredient in glass, which evolved over time from the same life forms he is illustrating.

Gordon has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, Europe, USA and Asia. His work is held in private and public collections in Australia and internationally including the Sir Elton John Glass Collection, London; The Mobile Museum, Mobile, Alabama; Australian National Art Gallery Collection, Canberra, Australia; and Australian National Glass Collection Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. He has been a finalist for the prized Ranamok Glass Awards for 11 consecutive years, has won three People’s Choice awards, and has won many other national prizes, including the People’s Choice award in the City of Hobart Art Prize.

In 2008 Kevin Gordon was awarded the Tom Malone Glass Prize by the Art Gallery of Western Australia for a Sea Urchin, similar to a piece in the Sauer Gallery exhibit.

Jane Sauer states “I am very pleased to be able to present Kevin Gordon’s work to a Santa Fe audience as his first solo show in the United States.  In this body of work, Gordon distills the complex structures he finds in nature, creating his own mathematical repetitions and organic variations. The complexity of each piece demonstrates Gordon’s rare talent to push the capabilities of glass, working skillfully with it both hot and cold, and continuously opening up new thinking and approaches in glass.”