ARTIST STATEMENT

Through my artistic work, I aim to attain a balance between the physical and visual beauty of Formalism with the ideologies of Modernism. Thus, the art becomes inherently exploratative by grappling with the complexity of recognizing a linear historical legacy rooted in aesthetics as well as the reductive and exclusionary nature of that legacy. As a painter, filmmaker, and carpenter, artistic exploration and physical craft propel and influence the various mediums I produce in.
In painting, which I have frequently explored as a sculptural tool, the physical nature of the paint is exposed through an alchemic combination of materials. Using oil paint and washes, polyurethanes, resins, acrylics and enamels, I am driven by the desire to express my work in unified layers, marrying architectural structure and color to create a restive balance of form. I have pushed traditional painting to its limits and developed new and innovative methods of working within the medium, adding depth and dimension. Narratives exist within these layers; it is the exploration of the physical interplay of these materials that allows me to convey the depth of human concerns, including spirituality and impermanence.
As in other mediums, my abstract body of work in film strives towards constant experimentation and exploration. My most recent work has focused on creating meditations on human motion in relation to the natural environment. This theme has been explored in a combination of recent stand-alone videos as well as works designed specifically to augment my sculptures and paintings.
My most recent exploration has been in the realm of public art, which has been a combination of experimenting with physical space and experimenting with accessing beauty in the ordinary. The medium itself posed a host of new experiences, including learning the technical possibilities and limitations of the exposed environment. Furthermore, this medium provided an avenue to explore new spaces and how they work on and with my art, which seeks to document and express emotional states through abstract forms and structures. Ultimately, my understanding of public art is driven by an attempt to create utopic architecture, which explores the impact of art in public spaces and strives to access universal expression through conscious and unconscious interaction.
Regardless of medium, I experiment with and expand the materials’ possibilities. For instance, my public art combines my interests in film and sculpture by utilizing original video to illuminate the translucent towers I construct, creating motion in a stationary object. I find inspiration in the act of making art itself, driven by the belief that constant creation and exploration is necessary to sustain meaningful work. Incredibly hardworking and dedicated to the production of beautiful and moving art, my perpetual goal is a continuation of enhancing myself and enriching my work through exploration.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1964, Alan Goodson Fulle grew up and currently lives in Seattle, Washington. Whether the medium is painting, photography, printmaking, video, or carpentry, Alan’s work explores qualities of nature and architecture. Strongly influenced by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, his art emphasizes rich colors, strong organic compositions, natural earth forms, and a lexicon of harder edged shapes reminiscent of geometric architecture within a human made expression.
In pursuit of his first passion, Alan received a BFA in painting from the University of Washington in 1989. There he also explored sculpture, printmaking, including lithography, silk screening, mono-printing, and photography.  In 1994, he completed a certification program in Film and Video at the University of Washington.  He is both a certified camera operator and licensed journeyman carpenter, skills that directly inform his art-making.
Alan began showing his artwork in Seattle in 1989 at Azart Gallery and other local venues.  Exhibit highlights include the Bellevue Arts Museum’s 1994 Pacific Northwest Annual exhibit, and a Tower installation in the Great Hall of the Museum of Glass in Tacoma in 2013.  In 2001, Alan’s painting, Horn O’ Plenty, was featured and received rave reviews at the Center on Contemporary Art’s Northwest Annual.  After years of photographing figures and creating abstract videos, his first shot film, “Veronika,” premiered at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) in 2014.
Alan has been an active and dedicated member of the local arts community for many years.  In 2001, he curated an exhibition at the Kirkland Arts Center with 35 Seattle abstract artists.  He has participated in the Center on Contemporary Arts’ (CoCA) Members Shows; Bumbershoot Arts Festival; Smoke Farm LoFi Arts Festival; 10x10x10 Tieton Juried Art Exhibition; and CoCa’s Heaven and Earth in Seattle’s Carkeek Park, where he created climbable sculptures.  He has donated his work to charity events for organizations including: Artist Trust, Bellevue Arts Museum, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, MoveOn.org, and many others.
Alan’s work has received national and international recognition.  In 2004, he had a solo show at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, and has exhibited at the Painting Center and 4E Gallery (New York, NY), the Northern California Arts’ Annual (Sacramento, CA), Freisen Gallery (Sun Valley, ID) and with his group Material Artists of the American Pacific (MAAP) in Drenthe, Netherlands.  He was represented previously by the Elliott Louis Gallery in Vancouver, B.C., and showed work at Art Toronto, the Toronto’s International Art Fair. 
Alan is currently represented by the Traver Gallery (Seattle, WA), the Sandra Ainsley Gallery (Toronto, Canada), and Gallery 903 (Portland, OR).  He has received a 4Culture Individual Artist Projects Award and a PONCHO Artistic Merit Award.
Upcoming events include the creation of a new Tower for the Bellweather, an outdoor sculpture exhibit in Bellevue, WA; a solo show at the Traver Gallery in Summer 2014; and a residency in 2015 at the Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA).

RESUME

EDUCATION
2018 Boot Camp: Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle WA
1997 Journeyman Carpenter License, Seattle Union, Seattle WA
1994 Certificate in Film and Video, University of Washington, Seattle WA
1989 BFA in Painting, University of Washington, Seattle WA

AWARDS
2018 4Culture Individual Projects Grant Glass Morphology Video and Glass Lens Sculpture, Seattle WA
2013 4Culture Individual Artist Projects Award for Spiritual Play House, Seattle WA
1988 Scholarship, Arts Department, University of Washington, Seattle WA

RESIDENCIES
2014 Center on Contemporary Art, Film Residence, Seattle WA

PUBLIC ART
2018 Glass Morphology Glass and Video Sculpture, Shoreline City Hall, Shoreline WA
2018 Black Tower, Shoreline City Hall, Shoreline WA
2016 Cosmic Video Phone, Giant Steps: King Street Station, Seattle WA
2015 Danger Tower, Tashiro Kaplan Seattle City Party, Seattle WA
2015 Roosevelt Flying Tower, Sound Transit Construction Wall 66 and Roosevelt Light Rail Station, Seattle WA
2015 Cityscape, Tashiro Kaplan: Street Fair, Seattle WA
2014 Tower of Power, Bellwether Outdoor Sculpture Show, Bellevue WA
2013 Heaven & Earth: Peace Tower, Carkeek Park, Seattle WA
2013 Heaven & Earth 5: Acclimatized, CoCA, Seattle WA
2012 Heaven & Earth 4: Rootbound, CoCA, Seattle WA
2012 Telepathy Consortium, 20th Annual CoCA Marathon and Auction, Seattle WA
2012 Heaven and Earth: Four Noble Truths Tower, CoCA, Seattle WA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014 Blocks and Stripes, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2013 Evolution of the Stripe, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2012 Illuminated Village, Elliot Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada
2011 Beacon, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2011 Stripes and Dots, Elliot Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada
2011 Cosmos, Gallery 903, Portland OR
2010 Kimono Gem Boxes, Beppu Wiarda Gallery, Portland OR
2009 Northwest Boy, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2008 Giant Gem Box, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2007 Diverse Passions, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2006 Quest, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2006 Jewel Capsules, The Painting Center, New York NY
2005 Glow, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2005 Pattern Light Dots, Traver Gallery, Tacoma WA
2004 Light Dots-Depth of Field, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2004 Light Dots, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles CA
2003 New Vision, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2002 Cave Wall Series, Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), Seattle WA
2002 Vertical Thoughts, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
1990 The Ring Series, Azart Gallery, Seattle WA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 Group Show, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2017 Multiple Group Shows, Gallery 903, Portland OR
2015 Church Tower, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue WA
2014 Accreted Terrane, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner WA
2014 10th Anniversary Celebration, Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts, Seattle WA
2014 Bellwether 2014 Sculpture Exhibition/Art Walk: Connect, Bellevue WA
2014 FILTERED: What Does Love Look Like?, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley ID
2013 Great Entry Hall exhibit, Museum of Glass, Tacoma WA
2013 Collision, Juried CoCA Member Exhibition, Seattle WA
2013 Heaven & Earth 5: Acclimatized, CoCA, Seattle, WA
2012 Heaven & Earth 4: Rootbound, CoCA, Seattle WA
2012 Telepathy Consortium, 20th Annual CoCA Marathon and Auction, Seattle WA
2012 Elvistravaganza, Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, Seattle WA
2011 10 x 10 x 10, Tieton Juried Art Exhibition, Tieton WA
2011 Materials Artists of the American Pacific Painters, Art Garden, Drenthe Netherlands
2011 Not to Scale, Smoke Farm Lo-Fi Arts Festival, Arlington WA
2010 Representations, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada
2010 Tower of Hope and Giant Gem, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2008 Materials Artists of the American Pacific Painters, Art Garden, Drenthe Netherlands
2006 Columbia City Gallery, Seattle WA
2006 Enumclaw Basecamp Exhibition, Michael Sweeney: Curator, Enumclaw WA
2005 Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Seattle WA
2005 Hurricane Rita Benefit, Seattle Art Dealers Association, Seattle WA
2005 They Shoot Painters Don’t They?, CoCA, Seattle WA
2004 Fresh Paint, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2004 Fresh Assortments, George Billis Gallery, New York NY
2004 They Shoot Painters Don’t They?, CoCA, Seattle WA
2004 Medium Rare, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley ID
2003 They Shoot Painters Don’t They?, CoCA, Seattle WA
2002 They Shoot Painters Don’t They?, CoCA, Seattle WA
2002 48th Bold Expression, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael CA
2002 New Artists, New Work, Traver Gallery, Seattle WA
2001 47th Bold Expressions, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael CA
2001 Northwest Annual, CoCA, Seattle WA
2000 Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Seattle WA
1996 Routed Woodcut Series, 4E Gallery, New York NY
1994 Anthropomorphic Series, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland WA
1994 Bellevue Arts Museum Annual, Bellevue WA

ART FAIRS AND MUSEUMS
2015 Church Tower, Bellevue Arts Museum
2015 Church Tower and Stripe Paintings, NW Museum of Art
2014 Church Tower, Museum of Glass
2012 Representation with Elliot Louis Gallery, Art Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada
2012 Representation with Traver Gallery, Seattle Affordable Art Show, Seattle WA

FILM SCREENINGS
2014 “Veronika,” Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Seattle WA
2015 “Cat Power” Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Seattle WA

ONLINE FEATURES
“Bellwether 2014: Connect.” Bellevue Beat, Bellevue.com.
“It’s All About Art.” Interview with Ted Lederer.
Art Zone, Seattle Channel.org.

PRESS
Edwards, Miguel. “CoCA’s ‘Acclimatized: Heaven and Earth 5’ at Carkeek Park. CityArts Magazine, 2 Aug. 2013.
Frye, Ted. “Innovation in Art: Artists Explore the Frontiers of Human Culture.” Alaska Airlines Magazine, 1 Nov. 2016.
Graves, Jen. “Art-Eating Park: Dream Catchers are Not Going to Cut It.” The Stranger, 11 July 2012.
“Illuminated Village.” The Vancouver Sun, 11 Jan. 2012.
Hackett, Regina. “Lightdots.” Seattle Post Intelligencer, 16 Apr. 2003.
Hackett, Regina. Seattle Post Intelligencer, 27 Dec. 2004.
Kangas, Matthew. “Alan Fulle: Gem Box at Traver Gallery.” Art Ltd., 1 July 2008.
Kangas, Matthew. Seattle Times, 1 June 2001.
Mader, Elisa. “Creative Sparks Fly at CoCA’s ‘Collision.’” Examiner, 29 July 2013.

PUBLICATIONS
Francis, David, Ray C. Freeman III, Mike Sweeny, Mark Tracy, and William Traver. 13 Towers: Alan Fulle. 2014.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND CHARITY AUCTIONS
Artist Trust Benefit Art Auction; Art for Heart; Bellevue Arts Museum; Center on Contemporary Art; Move On.org; Northwest for Breasts Concert and Auction, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; PONCHO Invitational Fine Art Auction; Pratt Fine Arts Center Auction; Seattle Men’s/Women’s Chorus Annual Art Auction; Wing Luke Asian Art Museum