Mary Ann Peters "Pulse of Time"

January 25, 2023—April 1, 2023 | Online Exhibition January 25 to April 1, 2023

James Harris Gallery is pleased to present our ninth exhibition by Seattle artist Mary Ann Peters titled “Pulse of Time.” This online exhibition focuses on her series this trembling turf and makes connections to previous work throughout her forty-year career. Black and white have been an important element in Peters art making. For the artist, black and white is often used to tie together aspects of place or the delineation of territory without the potential sentiment of spectrum distractions. In black and white the narrative is consolidated. More recently these colors or anti-colors communicate the experiential storytelling of hidden histories.

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"this trembling turf" 2016
"this trembling turf (the waters)" 2017
"this trembling turf (surge)" 2017
"this trembling turf (the shallows)" 2018
"this trembling turf (echo)" 2018
this trembling turf (burst), 2019
this trembling turf (the shadows), 2019
this trembling turf (oasis), 2019
"this trembling turf (down deep)" 2020
"this trembling turf (the hollow)"2021

Mary Ann Peters

“I work from the premise that images are never neutral and that they sustain layered meaning from the inception of an idea to the completed piece. Historical narratives, architecture, science, personal heritage, politics and questions of perception have all played a part in my thinking over the years.  I look for seemingly disparate elements that can coalesce and redefine a topic.  I have traveled extensively, most frequently in non-Western cultures. Traveling has informed my understanding of the global roots of aesthetics. It consistently defines for me those social practices that provide outlines for cultural inquiry, including which ethical questions should be considered or supported. In the end I work to the afterimage of the viewer and the potential discourse that might ensue.  The kiss of death for any artist is the work that no one can remember.”

- Mary Ann Peters

Mary Ann Peters lives and works in Seattle, WA  She received an MFA from the University of Washington in 1978. She has received numerous awards including an Art Matters Foundaton Grant, New York that allowed her to travel to Paris and Mexico City to research the migration from the Middle East after World War II, a grant from The New Foundation, Seattle in 2014,  a MacDowell Fellowship in 2010, a Jentel residency in 2009, the Northwest Institute of Architecture & Urban Studies in Italy (NIAUSI) residency in 2003 and the Neddy Fellowship from the Behnke Foundation in 2000. Collections include Microsoft, Seattle Art Museum, 4Culture, Tacoma Art Museum, and others.