EDISON — If you love Northwest art, don’t miss the new exhibition opening Saturday at the Smith & Vallee Gallery in Skagit County.
Pieces by world-renowned Northwest master sculptor Philip McCracken and works by Skagit painter and printmaker Kris Ekstrand are to be shown through May 27 at the gallery in Edison.
It’s a lovely drive. Get off the freeway at Conway, and travel northwest on Fir Island Road, which turns into Best Road, which becomes Farm-to-Market Road and lands you in the burg of Edison.
The artist talk session begins at 3:30 p.m. May 5, followed by the artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. that evening.
Well-known sculptor Tony Angell of Lake Forest Park is set to speak on behalf of McCracken, who Angell has long studied and admired. McCracken is fast approaching 90, and for health reasons may not be able to attend the opening. McCracken’s wife Anne, as well as Ekstrand will be on hand, however.
Ekstrand said McCracken’s iconic sculptures and her new work represent their shared inspiration drawn from Skagit County.
Her monotypes, paintings and large-scale drawings are of bird nests, landscapes at the intersection of agricultural farmland and estuarine tidelands and more.
McCracken, who studied in the 1950s with famed British sculptor Henry Moore, has work exhibited in many museums nationally and abroad. He is perhaps best known for his bird and animal sculptures, though pieces from most of his work periods are represented in the show.
A story about the artists is scheduled to run in the Sunday Good Life Section of the Daily Herald.
If you go
Works by Philip McCracken and Kris Ekstrand are exhibited through May 27 at Smith & Vallee Gallery, 5742 Gilkey Ave, Edison. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. More at www.smithandvalleegallery.com, or call 360-766-6230.
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