Bennett Bossert has loved residential architecture since, when he was 10, he drew plans for the renovation of his grandparents’ home on Galpin Lake in Excelsior. Today, he’s an architectural designer for the Minneapolis firm Peterssen Keller Architects (PK). He’s also an artist, and his work is currently on view in Peterssen Keller’s Uptown office in an exhibition, curated by Tim Peterson (formerly of Franklin Art Works), titled “Constructions.”
The exhibition includes work based on linear (Bossert) and/or graphic structures (the artists Elizabeth Simonson and Andrew Nordin), layered matrices (Andy DuCett), natural phenomena (Melissa Borman and Stefanie Mott), and compositions of focused sets of images. When walking up the stairs from the first-floor lobby, for instance, visitors can delight in a series of red objects on the white wall inspired by building tools and materials—a work called “WD-40” created by artist Michon Weeks.
“The wall drawing elements are all items from my garage,” Weeks says. “I used the same color that PK has on their logo and front door for the wall drawing. I thought garage items as the subject would be a good fit with an architecture firm focusing on home design.”
She also “exaggerated the shape and scale of the objects in order to blur the line between the everyday and the deeply symbolic,” she says. Her work was also, in part, “inspired by the rich motifs, color, and arrangement of the ancient petroglyphs at Tanum Sweden.”
Bossert’s drawings were also a natural fit for an exhibition in his office, he says, “as it’s a continuation of much of my architectural work. As a precursor to my freehand abstract drawings, I’ve spent 10 years developing the skill and craft of digital parametric design as an architectural designer and artist. This is a method of coding relationships between different entities whereby a variation to one entity will cause an effect on all others. Very often unexpected outcomes emerge. The results are akin to organic forms found in nature, as all of nature is governed by interconnected relationships and geometric principles.”
“I now draw intuitively with ink pen on paper rather than using digital tools to create images,” he continues. “Breaking free from the computer and working with my hands while maintaining the theoretical and aesthetic pursuit of parametric design has been extremely satisfying. Slowing the iterative loop, the process has become natural and meditative.”
Peterson’s annual exhibitions for the PK office began several years ago while the firm was designing a renovation of his former home. The idea to transform the office’s white walls into gallery space became a way to engage staff and clients in the work of local artists, while providing those artists with an opportunity to show their work in a unique setting.
The artworks lent for each year’s exhibition are available for sale. When an artwork sells, the artist receives 100 percent of the proceeds (and they are paid directly by the buyer). Typically, several works sell each year. PK has also acquired works directly from past exhibitions for their offices.
Cinch, 2016, glass beads and yarn
“PK is a beautiful space where my work will be experience by creative people for one year,” Weeks says. “I hope my paintings will find a new home in one of PK’s client’s homes.”
To request a viewing, contact Tim Peterson at tim.ll.peterson@gmail.com.
By Camille LeFevre
