Mary Iverson

Available Works

Although Iverson continues her study of container ports, a number of things have changed. “New to my work this year is a more structured underpainting. Formerly, the base layer of paint on my canvases was either white gesso or a gestural application of burnt umber. Segments of these layers were revealed between the careful application of colorful shapes and planes. Recently I began recycling old canvases through a process of adding paint and sanding down the layers. The revealed texture resembles the weathered surface of shipping containers, and the ghosted shapes suggested aerial perspectives of a container port. The sanded backgrounds have also influenced my color choices, inspiring a more saturated palette.”

Mary Iverson has long possessed a fascination for the port of Seattle, beginning with plein air studies of its cranes and gradually evolving to her current paintings which focus more on shipping containers. Stylistically, she reduces the container terminal to a complex network of overlapping planes and construction lines in dramatic perspective. Conceptually, her work deals with issues of accumulation, industry, time and ambiguity. Iverson received an MFA in painting from the University of Washington and a BFA in Design from Cornish College of the Arts.

• Recent Exhibitions: Amass, September 2008; In Between (Group Show), July 2007; Contain, July 2006; Natural Selection (Group Show), June 2005