Online art show, ‘Earth: An Abstract,’ opens Saturday

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will launch its first online virtual art show at 5 p.m. Saturday.

“Earth: An Abstract” will honor the 50th annual observance of Earth Day. Viewers can compare their imaginations with artists’ views of Earth on pafac.org, Facebook and YouTube.

The show will be available through June 29.

“Abstract art invites us to think imaginatively, and I think that’s helpful when we try to make sense of something as vast and complex as the Earth,” said Sarah Jane, gallery and program director, in a press release.

“From scientific study to the wonders of natural beauty, to the realms of poetry and the sacred, the works in this exhibit highlight many different ways to think about the natural environment.”

The online “Earth: An Abstract” show will feature 50 pieces chosen to provide a brief overview of the vast spectrum of today’s environmentally-focused art, and includes an informal talk by Jane.

“Earth: An Abstract” features works by these artists:

• Terry Grasteit, Susan Gansert Shaw (Sequim).

• Jan Dove, Monica Gutierrez-Quarto, Ellie Polk (Port Angeles).

• Chuck Gumpert, Christopher Mathie (Port Orchard).

• Scott Burnett (Seattle).

• Gail Kelly (Key Center).

• Annie Robinson (Powell River, B.C.).

• Diane Walker (Bainbridge Island).

• Kate Vikstrom (Bremerton).

• Randena Walsh (Kingston).

Find links at pafac.org, as well as an online store where artworks in the exhibit can be purchased.

More at PAFAC

For in-person viewing of art, check out the Webster Woods Sculpture Park, which remains open to the public during daylight hours with attendees observing social distancing.

In addition, the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center offers “Prompts: Think Like an Artist” at pafac.org. This virtual tour of some of the favorite sculptures in Webster Woods offers flexible, open-ended questions for viewers for either one or a series of sculptures.

“Responses can take any form, from writing or a quiet personal meditation to creating your own visual art — anything from a quick sketch to something as elaborate as the works of art that inspired them,” PAFAC representatives note.

“These exercises invite the kind of thinking that we, and our Earth, need right now — the ability to sit with tough questions, explore ambiguous possibilities and dare to envision really creative and unexpected solutions.”