Silent Salinity: After the Dig

Art and science meld in salt encrusted artifacts, a dystopian landscape, poetics of language and video projection. An exhibition by Mary Coss at the 950 Gallery

EXHIBIT DURATION
January 10 – February 21, 2019

OPENING RECEPTION
January 17, 5 – 9PM
(artist talk 7PM)
Event on Facebook

SATELLITE EVENT
Art + Sci Salon : Mary Coss & Roger Fuller
February 7, 6 – 8PM
at the Tacoma Art Museum

CLOSING RECEPTION
February 21, 5 – 9PM

“I use the language of metaphor to examine contemporary issues. Silent Salinity explores the relationship between water, global warming and culture. Through a two-year partnership with spatial ecologist Roger Fuller, I examined the dangerously increased salinity levels encroaching on local estuaries, and on consequently our freshwater re-sources. The work in this show is inspired by these conversations and resulted in telling the story symbolically through the medium of salt.” -Mary Coss (www.marycoss.com)

Artist Bio:

Mary Coss is an interdisciplinary sculptor and installation artist. Her artwork is metaphorical, providing commentary on the human condition, social issues, and cultural history. Coss has received Grant support from NEA, Ford Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Artist Trust, 4Culture and Seattle Office of Art and Culture. Travel has been integral to her practice, including a cultural exchange and exhibit at Candyland Arts in Stockholm, and workshops in Turkey and Guatemala. Upcoming residencies in Ireland at Cill Rialaig and Greywood Arts will further her research on the topics of water and gender. Additional residencies include Willapa Bay, Playa, San Juan Sculpture Park, James and Janie Washington Foundation, and Cornish Incubator Residency.

Coss’s exhibition history includes galleries, museums, and sculpture parks. She has won several juried awards including Special Recognition Award “Art to Change the World: Inspiring Social Justice”; from the ACLU at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her community and public art is found throughout the Northwest.

Coss is a cultural worker with years of teaching and curating. Her passion for collaboration and community is evident in several projects she has initiated including a rape crisis center that flourishes after 30 years, a public art program with SEEDarts teaching youth employable skills, a co-founder of METHOD Gallery, and inaugural Visual Arts Director of Borealis: A Festival of Light in Seattle.

See more of Mary’s work at www.marycoss.com