HOLD Studios Conspires with Valise

In a multi-media exhibit entitled Land/Structure/Impact(LSI), artists Heather Joy and Matthew Olds (aka HOLD studios) explore the relationship between humans and the land from a micro and macro level.

Heather uses photography to document human-made ecotones (ecology + tension), representations of human attempts to control natural systems. Examples include the sharp lines between farmland and watershed, farm and city, port and wetland, among others. The images are from a series of Heather's aerial photographs, taken over the past five years. She shoots while traveling on commercial flights, and some of her images are obscured by jet fuel, smog, cloud cover, frosty or cracked airplane windows, uncontrolled lighting and weather conditions.

Matthew uses painting to document the rise and fall of structures in the landscape. He has long been fascinated with buildings and bridges in various states of deterioration, from use, neglect, or both. To better understand the dynamics of the built environment, Matthew has erected several structures of his own and installed them in the landscape. He uses these structures as source material for his paintings and will install a related structure in the gallery space.

An additional component of the show is an ongoing collaborative project titled Land-Grab, which was inspired by the recent economic collapse, as well as the historical U.S. land rush of the late 1800's. Heather and Matthew selected hundreds of Heather's aerial photographs and created an installation of them in a "parcel-like" grid. Each photograph will be available for "on-the-spot" purchase and will leave the gallery with the buyer. Throughout the show, Heather and Matthew will document the evolution of this interactive project, as each element of the installation is sold, leaving a void where there once was land/art. By the end of the Land-Grab project, they hope that only the abandoned infrastructure that was supporting the pieces will remain.

This July exhibition is the third iteration of the Land/Structure/Impact project. The first was installed in the fall of 2007 at the Tacoma Contemporary Woolworth Windows. The second was installed at Seattle's Fetherston Gallery May 15 - June 13, 2009, which included the addition of the Land-Grab project. At this third stop Heather and Matthew will install Land-Grabat the Valise Gallery as it was at the end of the Fetherston show. Future Land-Grab locations to be announced.

The gallery has extended its hours to Fridays 6 to 8 pm and Saturdays 12 to 5 pm.