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Memory, Myth, Motif

Eric Nelsen

Harborview Medical Center

Three unique clay assemblages draw inspiration from many sources.

Eric Nelsen. Memory, Myth, Motif: Inkstand with Spinario, A Boy Removing a Thorn from His Foot, 2009. Wood fired stoneware. Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com

A trio of highly detailed sculptures comprise Eric Nelsen’s Memory, Myth, Motif, each meticulously assembled from multiple castings: Pilgrim Flask on Wheels with Figure Riding, Vessel Merchant’s Caravan, and Inkstand with Spinario, A Boy Removing a Thorn from His Foot. Connected by themes of procession, meditation, and myth, the clay pieces subtly reference the work of Joseph Cornell and Isamu Noguchi, as well as ancient sculptural traditions.

Growing up in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Nelsen spent many hours at the original Seattle Art Museum in nearby Volunteer Park, studying the artifacts in the collection. In his early 20s, a mentorship with Noguchi led Olsen to a residency in Japan, where he trained in traditional Japanese ceramic techniques. Upon returning home to Washington, he built a traditional Japanese anagama kiln in a studio on Vashon Island, which he still operates today. Wood-fired over several days at temperatures as hot as 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the kiln produces earthy patinas on the finished ceramics as the wood ash interacts with the clay to create a rich, variegated surface. Nelsen’s anagama kiln can be seen in the Peter deLory photograph that serves as a backdrop to Memory, Myth, Motif. Like Nelsen’s sculptures, deLory’s photo is permanently installed next to the elevators off the main lobby of Harborview’s Ninth & Jefferson Building.
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Eric Nelsen. Memory, Myth, Motif: Vessel Merchant's Caravan, 2009. Wood fired stoneware. Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Eric Nelsen. Memory, Myth, Motif: Pilgrim Flask on Wheels with Figure Riding and Various Elements, 2009. Wood fired stoneware. Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Eric Nelsen. Memory, Myth, Motif: Inkstand with Spinario, A Boy Removing a Thorn from His Foot, 2009. Wood fired stoneware. Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: .joefreemanjunior.com

About the Location

Harborview Medical Center

For more than a century, Harborview Medical Center has functioned as a unique community and regional resource. It is a county hospital, a teaching and research institution, a regional trauma and burn center, and the primary health care provider for many low-income and disenfranchised people in the community. Harborview embraces its mission of treating everybody…

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