Ken Bortolazzo
Space Disk, 2016
160400
OPENING RECEPTION: 1ST THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017, FROM 5 - 8PM
Sullivan Goss is proud to announce its seventh solo exhibition for kinetic sculptor, Ken Bortolazzo. This new exhibition contains both the newest evolutionary developments in the form and function of his sculpture as well as prototypes – sculptures that will generate new ideas over the coming decades.
From 1986 to 1998, Ken Bortolazzo served as studio assistant and fabricator to George Rickey (1907-2002) – one of the world’s most famous kinetic sculptors in stainless steel. A year after Rickey died, Ken put together enough work for his first exhibition of kinetic sculpture called OPTIKINETIC. Using the optical effects created by moving perforated stainless steel screens, Ken’s work ventured into new territory.
Since then, his career has seen an impressive rise as his kinetic work has seduced curators at museums as well as serious collectors. He has expanded beyond the Op Art experiments that characterized his foray into kinetic work, embracing more lyrical shapes that have, on occasion, directly referenced nature.
This is how artists arrive at their mature work. They experiment with new things. They expand on what works. They return to old ideas with a fresh take. They make prototypes and they make changes. Ken Bortolazzo’s newest exhibition offers an interesting window into the evolution of the themes and forms of what the gallery perceives as the artist’s mature work.
Born in Santa Barbara, California, Ken was trained at Santa Barbara City College and apprenticed to Kenneth Noland and Julio Agostini. He worked as the West Coast studio assistant to George Rickey for a dozen years and is currently the principal conservator for Rickey’s work. Bortolazzo is associated with Kinetic Sculpture, Minimalism, and the Light and Space Movement. His work is held by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA; the Museum of Outdoor Art, Denver, CO; and the Microsoft Corporation Headquarters, Seattle, WA. He currently lives and works in Santa Barbara.
