Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of the artist, 2021 (detail).

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2021.

Artwork copyright Mary Coss. Photo courtesy of the artist, 2021.

Surge, 2021

Mary Coss
(American)

Location: Bainbridge High School, Bainbridge Island

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist Mary Coss's Surge sculpture represents a positive forward force. It references the similarities between an unfolding fern frond and a crashing wave. The fern is engraved with words and phrases on the theme “Becoming and Learning”, the building wave speaks to “Challenge and Resilience”, and the final transformation of the crashing wave tells a story of “Creativity and Imagination”. These themes and imagery represent the students who are discovering their place in the world. Coss notes "They create ripples, churn, and ebb and flow...students surge and break from school and home as they graduate and enter the larger world." The nature-based imagery also represents the Pacific Northwest’s forests and waterways of Puget Sound, the interconnectedness of the land and the sea.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Bainbridge Island School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mary Coss is an artist known for installations that explore the human condition using sculpture, projection, and sound. She is a teacher, curator, and mentor who infuses the arts with social justice. She explores the intersection of the natural and cultural worlds by putting familiar themes into new contexts.
Born in Detroit, Coss received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, Department of Experimental Studios, a hybrid sculpture and media department in upstate New York. She traveled and lived throughout the United States and settled in Seattle, Washington. She has taken on leadership roles at many organizations, including METHOD Gallery, a public art program in Southeast Seattle to teach youth employable skills, and the Borealis Light Festival in Seattle.