PORT TOWNSEND — The Northwind Arts Center will open two shows Friday, Sept. 4.
The Artist Showcase will feature works reflecting the theme “Fall for Peninsula” through October, and Kim Kopp and Jim Kraft will present their artwork through Sept. 27.
The Artist Showcase will highlight work by 32 artists in the gallery at 701 Water St. The art is in a variety of media — including wood, stone, paint, metal and photography — in the Northwind’s Jeanette Best Gallery.
The exhibit “In Conversation: Kim Kopp & Jim Kraft” will be an exploration of the two artists’ mutual interests in structure and commitment to the beauty of surface, organizers said.
Combining drawing, painting, and digital photography, Kopp investigates form and color gleaned from branching structures in nature and how they capture and break up light while Kraft is concerned with surface texture, organizers said.
Said Kopp: “As a child I had a desire, a patience, a skill for untangling knotted things no one else would bother with: necklaces, bits of string, a jump rope, the dog’s leash.
“With my wagon I collected plant debris, catkins and maple seeds. All these years later, I am still a gatherer of things.
“My camera replaced the wagon.”
Said Kraft: “My ceramic work has been a succession/evolution of ideas over a 30-year period. I take certain elements that ‘work’ in one series and often build the next series based on those elements. That could include the color of the clay body, the colors of the surface treatment, the texture of the surface, the form or the building technique.
“I enjoy working with the idea in mind of smaller parts making up the whole — tiles covering a wall, vessels made with coil and brick-like pieces, or cut and torn clay parts that make a vessel look basket-like.
The vessel form appeals to me on a level that I don’t understand. It is a sort of mystery. When I am out in the world and see such a form, I am immediately drawn to it. As much as I am concerned with surface texture it is ultimately the simple form of a vessel that appeals to my eye.”
Both exhibits will be on display from noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday or by appointment.
Northwind Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
For more information, see northwindarts.org.
