Collage Works Offer Color, Texture, Rhythm

As the founder of Belltown emporium Wall of Sound, Mark Sullo has spent years mixing vibes and visuals. From its signage to its in-store happenings, the record store has always included visual arts in its package. Now, Mark Sullo is showing art of his own: at another Belltown institution, the Two Bells Tavern.

This exhibition, "Tape Transfer Collage," is made up of 21 small, vibrant prints. All are custom-made laser copies of assemblages, created by lifting source imagery off found materials. Sullo does this using ordinary transparent tape, a process that is both delicate and fastidious.

He describes the works he produces as "conversations and puzzles"; almost all are rich in color and all are heavily textural. Some pieces display a witty, cartoon aesthetic; others, like exotic fabrics, focus on sheer pattern. Still others, such as the pieces "Pitch" and "Dive," exude the artist's love of motion, musical tone and rhythm.

The show is a tribute to Sullo's father, Marco, who recently passed away in Massachusetts. Marco Sullo was both a photographer and a printer, one who trained his son in both these skills. Making mixed-media prints, says Mark, makes use of his lessons. "My repro process is just like photographic printing. But making every piece is more like making mosaic." Like mosaics, too, his complex prints repay some study. So pull up to the Two Bells, order a drink - and draw up a chair.

"Tape Transfer Collage," by Mark Sullo, is at the Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave., Seattle, through Feb 7. 206-441-3050; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday.