“Elements” art exhibit opens Jan. 9 at Confluence Gallery

Confluence Gallery& Art Center presents “Elements,” an exhibition of artwork that embraces the elemental in art and nature: of earth and wood, landscape and human emotion. The exhibit opens Saturday, Jan. 9.

Curator Caryl Campbell has paired Winthrop photographer Dennis Kirkland and Bellingham painter Trish Harding with the work of four wood turners in a thoughtful look at the dialogue between maker and material; an examination of the inspired, yet sometimes tragic relationship between the elemental forces of nature and the human spirit

Rich, saturated colors, contrasting textures, and an unusual perspective mark Dennis Kirkland’s distinctive style of photography. Well known for his unusual photographic techniques, such as multiple exposures and the utilization of reflection, Kirkland’s new body of work examines the rich colors, patterns and abstract nature of rocks and minerals. Elemental in form and content, these images are imbued with wonder and hover on the edge of abstraction.

“Using a macro lens is one way to see things up close and capture the beauty of something that your wouldn’t normally notice or look at very carefully,” Kirkland said.

Bellingham artist Trish Harding’s body of work are powerful studies in capturing the multi-sensory liquid light of the Northwest, an examination of the “other-worldliness” that she said sitting on a mountaintop brings. Powerful and yet transitory, Harding’s work “chases the moment,” seeking the interplay between the human spirit and nature.

For her newest body of work, “Altitude,” Harding takes as her subject matter the life and death of her beloved son, Ryan Triplett, who was killed in a climbing accident in the North Cascades in 2008. The compositions are carefully constructed to give a sensation of vertigo, while her brushstrokes create a feeling of motion, completeness, and connection –adjectives that she said have been used to describe her son. Harding’s work poignantly examines the elemental role nature and risk play in the human imagination and spirit, at the same time celebrating Ryan’s exuberant life.

These musings on the elemental forces of nature are complemented by the work of four wood turners: Don McIvor’s organic celebrations of functionality, the petroglyph-inspired work of Molly Winton, Michael Hampel’s fluid, sinuous investigations, and the inspired craftsmanship of Dick Roberts. Each artist’s work uncovers the essential core hidden within a rough, raw material, elemental in both process and form.

“Elements” opens Saturday, Jan. 9 with an opening reception from 4 to 8 pm., and runs through Feb. 20. Confluence Gallery & Art Center is located at 104 Glover St., Twisp. Call 997-2787 for more information.