ultra

Erik Whittemore, Revitalization Effort, 2009, kilncast glass, 7″ x 8″ x 4.5″

From the group show currently winding down at Bullseye Gallery, Erik Whittemore’s work stands out. Glass can be showy with a seeming hierarchy of technique over aesthetic over idea, which is why it often doesn’t send me. There have been, though, a number of works at Bullseye recently that have made me eat my words/thoughts.

In the case of Whittemore’s pieces, I was seduced by the sublime, milky, opacity of some of the forms, the gravity-provoked tension (the perilously leaning forms are glass, after all), and metaphor that can be read—in spite of its seeming simplicity—in multiple ways. The titles and arrangements say architecture, but the relationships among the forms can alternatively be read as those among humans. Well played, Whittemore. Can’t wait to see more of this Portland-based glass artist’s work.

Erik Whittemore, Location, 2009, kilncast glass, 7.5″ x 4.75″ x 3.375″