Vashon Center for the Arts
For October, VCA is hosting Seattle artist Casey Curran’s “Parable of Gravity,” and artist Rebecca Welti’s “Oceanic Proportions.”
“Parable of Gravity” is a kinetic exhibition filled with delicate white moving organic shapes rooted and emerging from decaying lattice wood structures. The shapes form bouquets of sorts, moving with a motorized lever system that makes the petals flutter up, down and around. It is like a time-lapse of nature’s growth and bloom, with the moving levers providing gentle sounds of forest life.
“For me, this whole exhibition is kind of about humanity’s greatest failures and successes, all wrapped into these cycles — especially viewed through the lens of civilizations and how they grow, how they die, and then what comes next,” said Curran.
Originally crafted and exhibited at MadArt Seattle, the multi-tower exhibition will take up most the floor space of the spacious atrium at VCA.
Rebecca Welti brings the shapes and importance of plankton to life in her exhibition. “Oceanic Proportions”, is a series of hand-carved wood figures in the lifesize shapes of various plankton.
“Mostly unseen and overlooked, plankton have found their outspoken friend and champion in me. Their lives and the health of their ocean habitat is my lifelong priority,” said Welti. “I utilize art and marine science to reveal the fascinating nature and personality of plankton. By creating playful public sculpture and hands-on educational materials, I hope to inspire people to love and protect the organisms that make life on earth possible.”
“Parable of Gravity” and “Oceanic Proportions” open at 12 p.m. First Friday, Oct. 1. The artist reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1.
The exhibits run Oct. 1 to 31. The VCA is open from 12 to 5 p.m Wednesday to Sunday.
VALISE Gallery
VALISE Gallery will present “Dreams and Nightmares.” This exhibit features several members of the VALISE Artist Collective, including Gregory Burnham, Dot Cherch, Bill Jarcho, Jesse Johnson, Pascale Judet, Corinne Lightweaver, Rachel Lordkenaga, Jiji Saunders, Sharon Shaver, Hita von Mende and Lenard Yen.
For some artists, this theme recalled childhood nightmares, while for others the dreams and nightmares are more recent.
In her painting “Please Don’t Eat Me,” artist Sharon Shaver revisits a nightmare that terrified her 7-year-old self, night after night.
“As fiction often tells a deeper truth than nonfiction, I altered elements of this dream which I remember vividly,” said Shaver. “Among other things I included myself as the dreamer and invented a house cat as a comforting contrast to the fierce tiger.”
The gallery’s regular hours are from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The opening reception is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1. The show runs through Saturday, Oct. 30. VALISE Artist Collective and Gallery is located at 17633 Vashon Highway SW.
Café Vino Olio
Richard Lipke and Carol Schwennesen will exhibit paintings throughout October at Café Vino Olio Gallery.
“This gallery is a hidden gem for artists and patrons alike,” said Lipke. “There is a lot of wall space, good lighting and room to view larger works.”
Café Vino Olio is located at 17607 Vashon Highway SW.
