Wrapture

Co-curated with Lisa Favero. Consolidated Works, Seattle. May - June 2003

Artists: Jacey Dunaway (Seattle), Stacey Greene (New York), Euan Macdonald (Los Angeles), Jennifer McNeely (Seattle), Jason Moer (Seattle), David Reed (New York), Susan Robb (Seattle), Beverly Semmes (New York), Jennifer West (Los Angeles)

Co-curators Meg Shiffler, ConWorks Director of Visual Art, and independent curator Lisa Favero present Wrapture, an exhibition exploring the erotic and sensual encounter that emerges when two surfaces meet. In these moments, the surfaces respond to each other, entwining, undulating, and losing distinction, achieving a rapture where external distractions and consequences hold no sway. The works in the exhibition reflect these encounters, and in some cases, invite the viewer to participate, extending the experience beyond the visual into the physical and perceptual realm.

Internationally exhibited artists Beverly Semmes and David Reed anchor the exhibition. Both use the fold as a metaphor for intimate encounter: Semmes’s flowing dress sculptures flood the gallery with cascading fabric that absorbs the viewer’s space, while Reed’s illusionistic folds unfurl across the picture plane, creating a subtle exchange that is both intimate and expansive. Beyond their shared focus on folds, these artists explore the limitless and immersive potential of sensual experience through an excess of surface material, inviting viewers to confront both intimacy and spatial engagement.

Supporting this dialogue are several Pacific Northwest artists who have long engaged with erotic themes and continue to expand upon them. New or newly commissioned works include a video installation by Jennifer West, a sound sculpture by Susan Robb, and a large-scale sculpture by Jennifer McNeely. Rounding out the exhibition is a series of 20 lipstick photographs by emerging New York artist Stacy Greene. Together, these works create a layered exploration of touch, form, and the entanglement of surfaces that defines Wrapture.