BELLEVUE, WA.- Bellevue Arts Museum is pleased to present the exhibition Disintegration, Sculpture Through Landscape by up-and-coming Seattle-based sculptor John Grade, on view August 26 through November 30, 2008. A traveler by nature, Grade’s recent work investigates the effects of nature on man-made objects. Drawn from recent meditations on the coastlines and mountains of Washington State and the deserts and slot canyons of the Southwest, this solo exhibition features both sculptural objects and rich photographic documentation of 6 - 8 projects in various stages of development -- rudimentary, encrusted, engulfed and collapsed.

Disintegration, Sculpture Through Landscape marks a shift in Grade’s work from the controlled and objectdriven to the un-controlled and process-driven. By placing his sculptural works into the natural environment, Grade encourages an interplay between art and nature that informs, alters and brings new possibilities to light.

This show is part of Bellevue Arts Museum’s ongoing exhibition series Material Evidence. Debuting in 2008, Material Evidence features contemporary Northwest artists who are transcending the boundaries of traditional art forms through an intensely transparent dialogue with their materials, making process both evident and necessary to the meaning of their work. This year, featured artists in the series include: Mandy Greer, John Grade and Etsuko Ichikawa.

John Grade received his BFA from the Pratt Institute, NY in 1992, and has traveled extensively following his graduation, gaining critical exposure to the cultures and environments that have come to shape his artistic vision. Over the past decade, Grade has earned numerous grants and awards, including two 4Culture Special Projects Grants, three Artists Trust Foundation GAP grants, a Washington State Arts Commission and Artist Trust Foundation fellowship, an Andy Warhol Foundation Award, a Tiffany Foundation Award and residencies throughout the US and abroad. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums nationwide and his work has been featured in Art in America, Sculpture, The Boston Globe, and on NPR’s All Things Considered and Studio 360.