Narrative Statement:
Gavin Tougher received his BFA from the School of Art and Design at Alfred University where he focused on Sculpture and Dimensional Studies. In 2014, Gavin graduated with honors and was awarded the Chancellor Award for Student Excellence. A year after Alfred, he received a fellowship in Paris, France at the Cite International des Arts for three months. In Paris, he was able to experiment with an independent studio practice, separate from the institutionalized academic world. This proved to be a freeing and productive period. Following his time in Paris, he was inspired to engage with the land, the world of farming and construction. Gavin worked and learned basic carpentry for two years while also living and working on a high altitude Permaculture farm in Southwest Colorado. This is where he was introduced to off-the-grid living and received his Permaculture Design Certificate. During this time, Gavin was also making and selling reclaimed wood art at the local farmers market. This experience fueled his love for working with the land and led him to Vermont where he worked on a six acre organic vegetable operation. In the summer of 2018, he worked on a similar operation on the coast of Maine. Gavin was motived in having these enhanced connection with the natural world to strengthen the legitimacy of his art, through experience and education. As his time working on the land eventually spanned three years, these experiences shaped a new understanding for the world around him, motivating him to start making art in the service of environmentalism. In the summer of 2018, he was a resident at the Byrdcliffe Artist Residency in Woodstock, New York. Here he was able to root himself back into a more formal artistic practice. In November 2018, he relocated to Corvallis, Oregon. Here he began an art studio under the name “Pith to Bark,” where he began to create objects rooted in the service of environmentalism, material reuse and ecological phenomena. His main focus during this endeavor have been sculptural nesting boxes for Mason Bee’s, birds at risk and interior wall work, holding a balance between activism, function and aesthetics. Through starts and stops during the COVID-19 pandemic, finally in 2022 Gavin was able to push his aspirations as a full time artist further while attending notable arts events in Oregon and Washington including the Wilds Arts Festival, Urban Craft Uprising, Corvallis Fall Festival, Sunriver Arts Faire and more. In 2023, Gavin continues to stay busy doing a mix of in-person events, commission work and online sales.