When artist Io Palmer was an art student, What resonated most with me was that art can and should say something. She remembers being encouraged by her instructor to think about the ideas she wanted to convey to the world through her art.
“That was always very interesting to me, and that’s where I remain today,” says Palmer, a professor at Washington State University who now asks similar questions to his students. I urge you to do so. “I always stay where I am, no matter what the job looks like. about something. ”
For example, Palmer’s current exhibition with former WSU faculty member Anne Christenson at the Kolba Sullivan Gallery in downtown Spokane, which explores everything from flower arrangements, window boxes, and interior design to “Borders and Borders.” Numerous concepts are explored simultaneously, ranging from ‘lines and fences’.
“But it’s not about flower boxes,” Palmer says. [while] Others are pushed out of something, confined to a certain space, and my work has always been about recognizing racial structures, class structures. ”
Palmer’s ceramic structures on display in the exhibition entitled “Entangle” (on display until September 30th, open by appointment) are visually captivating despite dealing with ugly issues. Yes, and even fun. She says that’s intentional.
“I’m starting to get tired of always thinking about myself and other people of color in relation to white America,” Palmer says. “I started to really realize that it was treating people as kind of ‘other,’ and I started thinking about abundance, it’s about tapestry, it’s about beauty, and it’s about literal space. I wanted to focus on creating the struggles of our communities that have been historically ignored.”
growing up with parents of different ethnic backgrounds It gave Palmer a front row seat to that struggle.
“It’s the ’60s in America,” Palmer said, explaining that her parents came to Hydra, Greece, where Palmer (her first name, Io, pronounced “ee-o”) was born. “As you can imagine, white women [and] Black men weren’t seen as great,” she continues.
Palmer said the interracial couple wasn’t allowed to rent an apartment, so they went first to Paris and then to Greece. Her mother was interested in batik and printmaking, and her father was a sculptor.
When Palmer was seven years old, his parents moved back to the United States, where he lived with his mother through high school and then lived with his father in Washington, D.C., where he nurtured dreams of attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She had hoped to study with interdisciplinary artist Hannah Wilke.
Palmer, who attended Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture, said other inspirations include painters Julie Meretu and Mark Bradford, and performance artist Nick Cave.
Palmer initially studied painting in college, but it didn’t resonate with her as much as ceramics did.
“I still have this image of one of my students making this simple jar and putting a lid on it,” Palmer recalls. “I remember him taking off his top and putting it back on, and I thought that was the most magical thing ever.”
After graduation, Palmer traveled across the continent and fell in love with the Southwest, eventually earning a master’s degree in ceramics and mixed media art from the University of Arizona.
Palmer recently returned to the Southwest to complete one of the many competitive artist residencies he has applied for and been accepted to throughout his nearly 25 years as an artist and educator.
Entangle: Io Palmer and Anne Christenson
Open upon request. Free until September 30th
Kolba Sullivan Gallery, 115 S. Adams St.
For viewings please contact Jim Kolva at 509-458-5517
“The most important thing about a residency is having uninterrupted time to focus on creating your work,” Palmer said, adding that artist residencies vary widely.
In some cases, artists pay for the experience, she said, but in others, it’s free or close to free, including equipment, studio space, and even living space.
Palmer is keen to address the economic realities of working as an artist, which inspired her to create something called Concept Clay several years ago.
“My vision was to create murals in various locations throughout Washington State, so I was looking to become more of a ‘public artist’ and involve students in artist-driven mural work.” Palmer says. “It was also like an umbrella to connect with other potters.”
In addition to teaching, Palmer, who is in his 10th year at WSU, has several large projects in the works, including an installation at the Seattle Center through 2024. The project, titled “Medicinal: A Public Art Offering,” is related to a mural of Palmer and her students recently installed for the Elson S. Floyd School of Medicine in her WSU Health Sciences building in Spokane. doing.
Palmer also continues to think about his work and its relationship to the world at large.
“It’s not compatible to go on a show and then come back and do a job that’s been sitting in your basement for 30 years,” she says. “This is just me, but it’s something I’ve been struggling with lately, but it’s a good fight, and I’m grateful for that fight.” ♦