Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery is pleased to exhibit the work of Ken Bortolazzo, which evolved from his early interest in minimalist design, Op art of the 1960s, and kinetic sculpture pioneers such as Alexander Calder and George Rickey. From these influences Bortolazzo has created a sculptural vocabulary that expresses the interplay of light and shadow and form and space.

Bortolazzo’s work combines the glittering surfaces of textured stainless steel forms with their languid movements, driven to and fro by ambient currents of air. His metal surfaces range from perforations, brushed and burnished to steel mesh that interact with each other to create a phenomenon known as optical interference or moire pattern. For many years Bortolazzo produced stationary welded sculpture. He apprenticed and ultimately collaborated with other prominent sculptors such as Julio Agostini, Kenneth Noland and most importantly the acknowledged master of American kinetic art, George Rickey. Over a twelve year working relationship, Bortolazzo, progressed from Rickey’s studio assistant to an acknowledged colleague. He remains the conservator of Rickey’s artwork for the estate.

Bortolazzo’s sculptures are included in the public and corporate collections of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Museum of Outdoor Art, Denver and Microsoft Corporate head quarters, Redmond WA.