Press Release
Updated: July 15, 2008
Contact: Bryan Ohno, Bryan Ohno Gallery, 206-459-6857 or bryan@bryanohnogallery.com
Artist Paul Vexler Installs Helix Sculptures Inside EvCC’s Whitehorse Hall
EVERETT, WA – Carpenter-turned-artist Paul Vexler has completed his largest installation yet for Everett Community College as part of the campus loaned sculpture program.
The Snohomish sculptor suspended three large helix structures from the ceiling in Whitehorse Hall. The sculptures are comprised of several hundred pieces of reclaimed wood which measure from 4 inches to 10 feet in length. The work is on exhibit in the Whitehorse critique space and is open to the public.
The motorized helixes rotate about one revolution per minute; the kinetic motion is part of Vexler’s theme of “Investigation of Position in Time.”
“We were immediately attracted to Vexler’s helix proposal as it reflects the relationship between art and science and our desire to encourage synergy by locating these two academic disciplines in one building,” said Jeanne Leader, EvCC’s Dean of Library, Media, Arts and Distance Learning.
Whitehorse Hall, home to EvCC’s visual arts, physical sciences and journalism programs, opened in 2007.
“Everything falls into place in that building,” Vexler said. “I’m active in the arts, but science and mathematics are things that are very interesting to me. I read a lot about them, and my work reflects that.”
The helix project developed over six months from conception to installation. During that time, Vexler worked with three EvCC sculpture students, who helped him create the pieces.
“One thing that the guys who’ve worked with me have learned is that building sculptures can be a lot of hard work. They helped me a lot,” he said. “They got to see how the theoretical conception of a geometric shape can get translated into a sculpture and the process of making that happen.”
Vexler said he’s been interested in helixes throughout his career and began working on rotating sculptures in 2007.
“It’s a very natural shape that displays itself over and over again in nature,” he said. “It also appeals to me because ‘it’s so three dimensional.”
Vexler began his career as a high school art teacher in the 70’s. He earned his BFA in art from Penn State University. While he continued tuning his concepts of art and educational ideas for children, he founded Quantum Windows and Doors Inc in Everett, Wash. Today, it is one of the leading high-end door and window manufacturers in the country.
He is now dedicated to working full-time on his art projects at his studio in Machias.
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