CONTOUR Gallery Exhibition

Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison WA, September 2024

Following along the high peaks, down riverways and forested foothills to the ocean shore, this body of work is an exploration into the contours of this region.  

Each part of this dynamic landscape informs the next; a place where sometimes the subject can be best understood by the forces along its edge.  Whether it’s a mountain that constricts the waterline or an industry that shapes a forest, part of the story of this place is revealed in the negative space.  

Similar to the forces influencing this landscape, the sculptures you see here are the result of heat, force, tooling and an idea; manipulating materials within the environment of my shop as I contour the terrain of an artistic practice here in the Skagit Valley. 

Collectively this exhibit pays tribute to the essential nature of this place, including the varied influences integral in shaping it.

Photography by Ken Etzel