Masters of sculpture, photos paired

The exhibit that opens Thursday at the Arts Council of Snohomish County in Everett is titled “Two Northwest Masters: Georgia Gerber and Art Wolfe.”

That’s no exaggeration.

Gerber’s bronze sculptures of people and animals, located in parks, libraries and other locations throughout the Pacific Northwest, are for many the very definition of public art.

Wolfe is a world-renowned photographer whose images of the natural world, published in dozens of books that have sold thousands of copies, are unsurpassed for their beauty and technical achievement.

“These artists are Northwest treasures,” said Carie Collver, director of the Arts Council Gallery, which is hosting the show. “They have a bond with nature, and they have taken that bond into their own different mediums. Putting them together seemed like a natural.”

The bronze sculptures of animals and people created by Gerber are a familiar part of the Northwest landscape. These are user-friendly sculptures that invite the public to touch and explore.

Thousands of people have rubbed the shiny back of Rachel, the bronze pig located under the big clock at Seattle’s Pike Place Market where, for the past two decades, it has come to be the market’s mascot.

There are Gerber’s bronzes of animals and people located in parks in Edmonds, Langley and Everett, at libraries in Mukilteo, Everett, on Whidbey Island and in Mountlake Terrace and at numerous other locations around the Pacific Northwest and across the country.

Putting animals and people together is one of the hallmarks of Gerber’s bronzes, which are made by the artist and her team in a foundry located in Clinton.

The bronze work titled “Chapter 5, A Promise Kept” at the Mukilteo Library is a large, open book leaning against a stack of similarly scaled books. A bear cub stands on the pile, helping a rabbit emerging from the book. A squirrel is also struggling to emerge. On steps leading down from the stack two rabbits, holding hands, scurry toward an otter, bear and young girl who are holding hands and dancing.

“Locals,” located at Olympic Beach Park in Edmonds, is a group of five sea lions being watched by a father with one child sitting on his shoulders and another clutching his legs.

Art Wolfe is a world-class nature photographer whose indelible photos of the natural world are recognized for their artistry and as a visual record of the world’s fast-disappearing wildlife, landscapes and native cultures.

Over the course of his 30-year career, the Seattle photographer has worked and in hundreds of locations on every continent, published more than 50 books and won numerous national awards. These days he spends nearly nine months of every year traveling and taking photographs, shooting more than 2,000 rolls of film annually.

“Two Masters,” which opens Thursday with a reception and continues through Oct. 28, will feature about 40 of Gerber’s smaller sculptures, mostly of animals, Collver said.

Wolfe will be showing a variety of landscape photographs, including some from his newest book, “Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky.”

The public can meet the artists at Thursday’s reception, which runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Arts Council Gallery and includes a multimedia slide presentation by Gerber.

Additional meet-the-artists events are scheduled in September.

Georgia Gerber with her bear and cubs sculpture.

Photographer Art Wolfe captures wildlife from across the globe.

“Two Masters: Georgia Gerber and Art Wolf”

An exhibit of bronze sculpture by Georgia Gerber and photographs by Art Wolf is presented by the Arts Council of Snohomish County and open Thursday through Oct. 28 at the Arts Council Gallery, 1507 Wall St., Everett.

It opens with a meet-the-artists reception 5-8 p.m. Thursday, an event that includes a slide presentation starting at 7:30 p.m. by Gerber in which she will explain the process of creating her work in bronze.

Wolfe will give a multimedia presentation based on his new book, “Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky,” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave. The photographer will share his experiences and adventures taking photos around the world and will be available afterward to sign books. This event is co-sponsored by Cascade Crags in Everett and there is a $5 suggested donation at the door.

Gerber will open her studio in Clinton for a public view from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 25. There is limited space available, call 425-257-8380.

The Arts Council gallery is open Monday through Saturday. 425-257-8380, www.artscouncilofsnoco.org.

“Two Masters: Georgia Gerber and Art Wolfe”

An exhibit of bronze sculpture by Georgia Gerber and photographs by Art Wolfe is presented by the Arts Council of Snohomish County and open Thursday through Oct. 28 at the Arts Council Gallery, 1507 Wall St., Everett.

It opens with a meet-the-artists reception 5-8 p.m. Thursday, an event that includes a slide presentation starting at 7:30 p.m. by Gerber in which she will explain the process of creating her work in bronze.

Wolfe will give a multimedia presentation based on his new book, “Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky,” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave. The photographer will share his experiences and adventures taking photos around the world and will be available afterward to sign books. This event is co-sponsored by Cascade Crags in Everett and there is a $5 suggested donation at the door.

Gerber will open her studio in Clinton for a public view from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 25. There is limited space available, call 425-257-8380.

The Arts Council gallery is open Monday through Saturday. 425-257-8380, www.artscouncilofsnoco.org.