PORTLAND, OR.- The sixth exhibition in the Museum’s APEX series features Tacoma artist Marc Dombrosky’s unique investigation into place.

Using found papers salvaged during street forages or given to the artist — letters, lists, directions, diagrams, and other handwritten scraps — Dombrosky provides random glimpses into the lives of strangers in his community. Each hand-drawn line on the often sun- or rain-worn paper is thoughtfully hand-embroidered with thread that matches the mark’s color and weight. The collective result is a tantalizing patchwork of transient expression and partial stories that reveal as much about language and place as human relationships and individual psychology. Dombrosky’s artwork explores the social atmosphere of an American town, constructing a poignant riddle of a communal landscape with equal parts humor and tragedy. Describing his work, Dombrosky states, “I’ve become a chronicler of narcotics transactions, a forger of school notes, and privy to the written fact that perhaps Kayla is not as popular as her friends had led her to believe....”

Unlike the prevailing social practice of contemporary artists like Harrell Fletcher, who personally interacts with distinct and chosen communities, the subjects of Dombrosky’s work remain strangers, solely engaged through his physical interplay with his chance discoveries. According to the artist, his work invites “both looking and touching, as though seeing and feeling the pathway of thread may provide insight into the writer’s intention.”

Marc Dombrosky received a BFA in painting from University of Florida, Gainesville, and a MFA from Ohio State University. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Icebox Contemporary Art, Tacoma; Solomon Fine Art, Seattle; and ACME, Columbus, Ohio. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions. Dombrosky currently resides in Tacoma. This is his first solo museum exhibition.