Reception Tonight at HWY90 for Coles Show

A striking ceramic sculpture installation and large graphite drawings by artist/cartographer Gretchen Lee Coles bring the technical process of mapping to life in a new way. The works will be shown at HWY 90 Gallery in September, launched by a reception at the gallery tonight, September 8.

Coles, who moved to Marfa from Chicago in 2003, has a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture and a Master of Arts degree in cartography. “I always wanted to know the mapping process and bring that into my sculpture studio,” said Coles. “Eventually I learned enough about the mapping process that I now use it intuitively in my art.”

The works to be displayed at HWY 90 Gallery are directly derived from maps and the mapping process. On maps, lines represent various linear and nonlinear bits of geographic information, such as boundaries, grids, and waterways. The sculpture installation, titled “Line Up,” comprises numerous individual linear reliefs that represent the graphic elements of maps in three-dimensional, sculptural form.

The exhibit will also include large graphite drawings on Mylar. “The drawings document my feelings about the atmosphere during my field observations in and around Marfa while mentally mapping the area in which I move,” said Coles. The drawings are the artistic equivalent of the field book of measurements, notes, and drawings kept by the leaders of survey crews. Field books often contain intimate observations about the plants, animals, waterways, land forms and atmosphere at the time the landscape is being measured.

The reception on September 8 (tonight) will be from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will be on display at the gallery through September 30. HWY 90 Gallery is located in Marfa across the street from Donald Judd’s private residence and studios (commonly called the Block). More information can be found at http://www.hwy90gallery.com/.