In his fifth exhibition at Greg Kucera Gallery, Dan Webb decided to create something different. After completing several large-scale public projects, including an installation for Sound Transit, Webb wanted to retreat inward and focus on smaller-scale and more personal pieces. Each piece starts as a drawing, which the artist describes as very rough, but the outcome is an examination of material, depth, and juxtapositions. 

The exhibit shows the result of an artistic exercise that allowed Webb to follow multiple thought experiments. Those familiar and unfamiliar with Webb’s sculptures are sure to delight in this new body of work, which is literally bursting at the seams. The artwork contains Webb’s signature juxtaposition and contrasts, such as rough vs smooth, but this new work reflects his desire to take a step back and challenge his process. 

As Webb developed new pieces for this exhibition, he was also wrapping up a series of public art projects. These projects required a incredible amount of effort executed over several years. Artists like Webb dedicate hours and hours to a single vision that must be coordinated with engineers, fabricators, and installation crews. After finishing these projects, his interest turned to reversing this process and focusing on artwork that felt more free, more loose, compared to prior projects. If the process of creating public art involved a series of questions to be answered, Webb now wanted to create a series of pieces that leaves questions unanswered. The artwork still touches on the artist’s recurring themes—like the alphabet, humor, and the horrible—but Webb challenged himself to follow a thought to see where it leads.  

Webb describes his process for these works in his statement for the show. He started each artwork conceptually, and in his drawings, with a box or frame as a structural device to hold the carving. This concept is referenced in the title of the show, “Yespalier,” a word derived from the French “espalier,” or using a lattice to train trees to grow against a flat wall in a variety of shapes and patterns. One piece, “New Shoot,” is an excellent example to illustrate his thought process and method. In the work, a new plant shoot grows and curves inside a frame of carved fir. Most of the plant is contained within the frame, but it is starting to test the limits of the box. In the piece called “Yespalier” (carved madrone and Alaskan yellow cedar), the curly letters and forms are drooping over the carved lattice, similar to fruit trees grown with the espalier technique. 

When I first saw that Webb’s newest carvings start within a frame or border, I immediately thought of illustrated manuscripts. When creating an illustrated manuscript, a grid would first be drawn to organize the page and to separate the area for writing from the borders for the illustrations. We see fascinating examples of the illustrations and miniatures growing, becoming more elaborate, and taking attention away from the text itself. An additional connection is Webb’s “&,” composed of stained glass, LED lights, and fir artwork framing the ampersand character. It echoes the elaborate initials included in illuminated manuscripts. I discussed the connection that I saw in the work with the artist, and he shared his admiration for the Limbourg Brothers, the artists who created the beautiful decorations throughout “Les Très Riches Heures,” a defining masterpiece of early 15th-century manuscript illumination. 

The inclusion of stained glass in the show is intriguing since Webb is well-known for his wood carvings. Glass provides a stunning contrast with wood. The artist describes wood as making shadows, while glass reflects the light. Stained glass in particular has been used to magnify light and inspire spiritual experiences. For Webb, stained glass provides another reversal of his wood carving process. Just as returning to hand-held work after creating large-scale commissions creates renewal, incorporating stained glass allows Webb to play with light and themes in ways that wood carvings make challenging. 

When asked what people should know or take away from his exhibition, Webb responded that it is his job to invite the viewer to encounter the work and then let them accept or understand it on their own terms. He asks a series of questions in the show and then leaves it to the viewer to either answer those questions or explore the possibilities on their own. You can experience the work yourself from January 8 to February 21, 2026, at the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle, Washington.

Chloé Dye Sherpe

Chloé Dye Sherpe is an art professional and curator based in Washington State.

“Yespalier” is on view from Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Greg Kucera Gallery, located at 212 Third Avenue South in Seattle, Washington. An Artist Talk is being held on Saturday, January 10 at noon. First Thursday Receptions are January 8 and February 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information visit www.gregkucera.com.