Here’s what’s happening at Vashon art spaces this Friday. Please note that VALISE Gallery will be closed in January.
Vashon Center for the Arts
VCA’s gallery is filled with new works from seven of Vashon’s preeminent artists, in a group show, “The Notable Collection,” opening First Friday, Jan. 7, at 12 p.m., with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m.
The collection showcases Vashon artists who have distinguished themselves with their singular style and vision. In addition to this exhibit, VCA represents these works online throughout the year.
Artists included in “The Notable Collection” are:
Victoria Adams: Adams has exhibited her American landscape paintings extensively in the United States, with more than 35 solo exhibitions. Her work is in private and public collections, including those of Tacoma Art Museum, the Boise Art Museum and the Paul Allen Foundation. The horizons and eventful skies surrounding her Vashon studio are the inspiration for her luminous landscapes.
Morgan Brig: Brig creates, torches and molds each little piece and talisman of her mixed media creatures. Her sculptures have been exhibited in galleries such as the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in Seattle, the Gail Servern Gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho, the Sue Greenwood Fine Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, and the Studio Fusion Gallery in London.
Brian Fisher: Fisher’s art, as he puts it, “falls within the realm of classical myth and stories that encompass how our world came to be, who we are, what happens when we die and what our purpose is.” “Angels,” his newest collection, draws inspiration from the Christian depictions of angels from the 4th to 15th centuries, culminating with Fra Angelico’s vivid Annunciation. Fisher’s work is shown across the Pacific Northwest and he has a long association with Vashon’s Quartermaster Press.
Kristen Reitz-Green: Green’s new collection, “Glassworks,” centers on nostalgia and its power to transport us back to simpler times. She calls herself “a realist painter at heart,” but practices what she calls “abstraction through reality.”
Pam Ingalls: Ingalls loves to paint light falling on ordinary people objects and scenes.Her choice of subject matter is surprising, sometimes humorous, and always full of emotion. She studied at the Accademia De Belle Arti in Florence, Italy and earned an arts degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane. Ingalls was mentored by Russian Impressionist Ron Lukas and studied with Frederick Frank, Richard Schmid and Burt Silverman.
Cathy Sarkowsky: Sarkowsky’s new work is all about painting skillfully with light and color. Whether it’s a quieter, glowing palate or a blast of fluorescent color in a landscape, Sarkowsky’s new body of work is aimed at visual delight and lifting spirits. She describes her process as “artistic emancipation” and said, “I revel in the alchemy of material, color and hand.”
Erin Schulz: Schulz’s new collection of paintings celebrates wonder as a catalyst for curiosity and exploration. She was first exposed to classical realism at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in China. She continued her studies at Gage Academy in Seattle, Grand Central Academy in New York, and Florence Academy of Art in Italy.
The exhibition will run through Jan. 30. Gallery hours are 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. All works are also available for viewing and purchasing online at gallery.vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Vy Biel Gallery at The Country Store and Farm
“Forms & Fields,” a collection of figurative sculpture and landscape photography by husband-and-wife team Mike and Adria Magrath, will have an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7.
Michael teaches a renowned sculpture program at Gage Academy of Art and his work explores themes of divinity, mythology and feminism. In this exhibit, he will present pieces in bronze and some newer never-before-shown works in clay. Adria is a biology teacher, naturalist and farmer, and will share her panoramic landscapes of the inland west, from the California Desert and Sierras to the Palouse prairie of Idaho.
