Vashon Beachcomber

Arts Center Launches New ‘Notables’ Art Collection

The collection will feature local artists and augment monthly gallery shows.

The art of Vashon Center for the Arts’ new Notable Collection will be unveiled for the first gallery show of 2021, opening Jan. 8, at the art center. The work of seven Vashon artists will be in the gallery for the month of January and will then be listed exclusively online through VCA’s new virtual gallery, also launching in January.

The gallery exhibition in January is a way for visitors to see the art in person and also marks the launch of this new initiative.

“I’m excited about our Notable Collection,” said VCA Gallery Director Lynann Politte. “Representing a group of artists in this way gives the VCA Gallery a way to promote Vashon artists over an extended period of time and to reach a wider audience beyond the shores of Vashon.”

The Notable Collection complements the monthly gallery shows and is a natural progression in VCA’s visual art representation and sales. Through social media, digital marketing and the virtual gallery, the Notable Collection will have a consistent online presence which will offer the opportunity for collectors to get to know these artists on a more personal level, through stories of their development as artists, their work, their techniques, their vision. Additional artists will be added over time. The new virtual gallery is sponsored by Beth de Groen.

The collection, which augments VCA's regular monthly gallery shows, includes work by artist Victoria Adams, Morgan Brig, Brian Fisher, Britt Freda, Pam Ingalls, Kristen Reitz-Green and Erin Shulz. All these artists have shown at VCA, as well as regional galleries, museums, and private collections.

Victoria Adams is known for her contemporary luminist landscapes, and Pam Ingalls for vivid oil paintings of everyday objects, quiet interiors and portraits. Brian Fisher's art, whether print, oil, or three-dimensional, is informed and inspired by the printmaking process. The focus of Britt Freda's art is on endangered species, and she is currently completing the mural of endangered birds at VCA's Heron Meadow.  Kristen Reitz-Green began her career as a professional musician but has found a new place in work she calls “abstraction through reality.” Her work incorporates reflection of light and color in big bright paintings. Erin Schulz’s work is rooted in classical realism as she continues to explore a more contemporary realism in subject matter and technique. Three-dimensional artist Morgan Brig is well-known for her whimsical mixed media art.

The exhibition opens with extended gallery hours from 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 8. Regular gallery hours are 12 p.m to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. VCA observes strict protocols for safe gathering in very small numbers.