Grab a pen and something to write on. October 9 is the date of the Second Thursday Gallery Walk in Kirkland, and the Howard/Mandville Gallery will be opening a show of new works by four Northwest artists, painters Kent Lovelace and Jhenna Quinn Lewis, and sculptors Tim Cherry and Cathryn Jenkins.
Asked to assess the common denominator in the work of the featured artists, Howard/Mandville director Linda McCrystal thinks for a moment and answers, "Elegance. I think that the elegance of all four artists comes through, even with their different approaches to style and technique. They just draw you in."
That's the kind of thing gallery directors are supposed to say, but McCrystal isn't exaggerating. This is a compelling collection of talent and work is well worth seeing.
Landscape painter Kent Lovelace creates beautiful, visually soothing (but not cheesy) pastoral landscapes using oil paint on copper plate. The metallic canvas allows Lovelace to subtly incorporate gradations of warm, luminescent copper tones into his palette-a technique he employs to great effect.
His canvas may be "unconventional," but Lovelace paints beautiful landscapes of the French countryside-ancient villages, vineyards, rolling hills and orchards-in the style of a 19th century Impressionist. However, despite the stylistic comparison, Lovelace's work maintains a strong identity of its own, a fact that becomes increasingly clear when you see his paintings not just as individual pieces, but as a body of work.
Lovelace moved to Washington state from the Bay Area in 1970 and has had a diverse and distinguished career in the Northwest art community for more than three decades. A superb landscape painter, Lovelace also founded Stone Press Editions, a publishing company and print workshop established nearly 25 years ago. For more than a dozen years now, Lovelace also has been the principal lithographer for artists Robert Bateman, Jacob Lawrence and Dale Chihuly. He has given lectures and presentations in venues as diverse as the Seattle Art Museum, CNN, KCTS Public Television, Cornish School of Fine Arts, the Pilchuck Glass Center and numerous other regional universities, schools and galleries.
Oregon-based painter Jhenna Quinn Lewis brings a unique perspective to still-life painting. "Her pieces are very quiet and serene," says McCrystal. "There's a calming, peaceful, almost Zen-like feeling to her work." Lewis captures extraordinary nuances of light and color in her paintings, often conveying a season, a place or a time of day with the simplest subjects (a handful of plums on a table top, for example). Her gift for detail and accuracy and her ability to capture subtle variations of light are reminiscent of a Dutch master. Yet Lewis introduces some very un-still lifeforms into the still-life genre, juxtaposing birds and butterflies with more traditional still-life subjects such as fruit, cups, bowls and table clothes. You could say she literally puts the "life" into still-life. The effect of seeing something like a wren next to a teacup on the table is sometimes surreal, despite the remarkable realism of the work. Lewis' quiet, beautiful works are subtle but arresting.
"From the luminescence of Lovelace's painting on copper to the Zen feeling of Jhenna Quinn Lewis' work, these are just very different paintings from most paintings that you see," enthuses gallery director McCrystal (who wished to mention that she is only one of the directors at Howard/Mandville). "And the two wildlife sculptors, Tim Cherry and Cathryn Jenkins do wonderful work. They're forms are so simplified and yet they show the elegance of these animals. You can't keep your hands off of these sculptures. You want to stroke them." That's okay with the two sculptors, who both consider their work to be tactile, not just visual, experiences.
Canadian sculptor Tim Cherry was born in Calgary, and grew up in the mountains of British Columbia. He spent years as a professional guide in the remote northern wildernesses of Canada, and his experiences there left a lasting impression on him as an artist. Cherry works in stone and bronze, rendering striking, graceful wildlife sculptures. His creations reflect an artist who is preoccupied not only with the form of his animal subjects, but with conveying a powerful impression of their movements-a charging grizzly, a bounding arctic hare, a great blue heron in full flight are among his subjects.
Not surprisingly, Cherry talks about his work in kinetic terms. "My sculptural approach involves the use of simplified shapes and lines to produce curvilinear forms," he says. "I enjoy orchestrating these elements into sculpture that is rhythmic, flowing and inviting to the touch. Capturing the grace and elegance of my subjects is a primary goal."
British Columbian wildlife sculptor Cathryn Jenkins is the daughter of prominent sculptor Fran Jenkins. She learned and perfected her craft in her mother's studio. Over the years she developed her own stylized representational approach to sculpting wildlife, influenced by her mother's work and Inuit sculpture. Jenkins works in marble, alabaster, serpentine and soapstone, and she and her mother actually quarry their own stone for their sculptures.
Like Cherry, Jenkins wants to bring her subjects (and even the stone itself) to life with her approach to sculpting. "I love stone and I love animals," Jenkins has said of her work. "I am not interested in detail unless it has something to express about the animals." In fact, Jenkins says, "I often take out detail after using it to get the proportions right."
But Jenkins' lack of interest in detail never compromises the representational accuracy of her subjects, all of which convey powerful impressions of the movement and character of her diverse animal subjects. Jenkins seems to consider the stone itself to be an animate object that informs the work. "You have to be aware of what the stone is saying and know how to respond to it," she says.
Whether you prefer painting or sculpture as an artistic medium, or appreciate both art forms, the Howard/Mandville's October 9 show features a diverse and beautiful collection of contemporary work from four gifted artists.
The Howard/Mandville Gallery is located in Kirkland at 120 Park Lane, Suite D. Hours are Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is open until 9 p.m. during each month's Artwalk. For more information call 889-8212, or go to www. howardmandville.com.
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