Walla Walla Community College Curated Collection, curated by Renee Adams, 2023

"It could be argued that most artistic endeavors utilize science and math. Whether mixing paints, firing in a kiln, or calculating proportions, there are not only underlying equations and chemical reactions hidden within the art-making practice, but approaches that involve scientific principles like observation and experimentation, precise measurement and calculation. A desire to learn more about our world and share that knowledge with others lies at the heart of both scientific and creative pursuits.

This body of work selected for the new science and math building at Walla Walla Community College brings together a handful of artists who use keen and rigorous scientific approaches in the creation of their work. From Francis Celentano, a seminal figure in the op art movement who experimented with color interaction and visual perception; to Katie Miller who creates delicate line drawings out of white glass through the chemical reaction that occurs during kiln fusing; or Naoko Morisawa who masterfully applies complex geometry to puzzle together wood shapes in her masterful intarsia works. Both Lehuauakea and Perri Lynch Howard explore navigation from a traditional and more contemporary point of view, while both Jovencio De La Paz and Timea Tihanyi use binary code and digital algorithms to produce works in collaboration with computers through their use of digital looms and 3D ceramic printers. Beyond their approaches, there is also a visual complexity and unique language that emerges between the work adding continuity, harmony, and a sense of wonder about things just beyond our reach."

–Renee Adams, curator for Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla, Southeastern Washington (March 2023). Renee Adams is an artist and curator who lives in the small town of Thorp, in Central Washington.

The Science & Technology Building provides science labs, classrooms, and study spaces for students in physics, earth science, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and math.

This collection also includes one re-sited artwork that was purchased in the past, for a different site. This artwork needed a new home and was selected by the curator based on her theme.

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