Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1179842
10 WAC Magazine | wac.net first take grand staircase gallery Everything in layers Enter the world of Lakshmi Muirhead in the newest Grand Staircase Gallery exhibit C O U R T E S Y L A K S H M I M U I R H E A D A N D J . R I N E H A R T G A L L E R Y e deceivingly simple forms and subtle color fields of Seattle-based artist Lakshmi Muirhead's work come to life through her unique layering technique. By laboriously applying panels and canvases with plaster, adhesives, oil stick, graphite, acrylic, ink, and paper, Muirhead cras a richly shiing texture. Reminiscent of the volatility of memory and perception, the subtle interplay and sheer scale of Muirhead's layers impart a feeling of infinity and uncertainty. With no beginning moment or defin- itive end to a piece of Muirhead's work, viewers can dri into a contemplative state while allowing their eyes to wander across deconstructed pyramids of silver leaf, swaths of blue, and lines of beguil- ingly obscured writing. e result is a dreamlike state punctuated by tension, mood, and self-reflection. Muirhead points to her evolving experience as a mixed-race woman from the Midwest as the inspiration behind her work. "e intricacies and anomalies that occur with persistent layering are deeply compelling," she says. "I love how the viewing is affected by the light, one's mood, and interpretations of the text. I am interested in the tension, in life and in art, between change and permanence, and why we reject or internalize particu- lar beliefs." As a recipient of the 2018 Neddy at Cornish artist award, Muirhead received one of the most prestigious artist awards in the Pacific Northwest. Come discover your own interpretations of her work, on display in the Grand Staircase Gallery through January. —Mae Jacobson "Revelation" "Fire" "Flesh"