In March, Smith & Vallee Gallery in Edison, Washington exhibits the work of three artists: Nicki Lang, Brian O’Neill, and Tia Matthies. The gallery often pairs artists together in their large gallery, and this month-long exhibit displays Lang and O’Neill’s work side by side. Matthies’ encaustics are installed in The Flex Gallery, a smaller, more intimate room in the back of the gallery. The styles are as varied as the materials used by each artist, but all draw attention to the surface of the object or picture plane in their work. Smith & Vallee Gallery focuses primarily on artists based in the Northwest with a connection to the landscape and natural environment, and this thesis holds true this March.

Nicki Lang paints her landscapes primarily with a palette knife, and this body of work captures images ranging from the Oregon coast to British Columbia mountains. Lang states that she paints what she sees; these aren’t imagined landscapes but are scenes depicting real places. The paintings feel immediate, almost as if they were intuitive reactions to the artist experiencing these places in real time. Because she paints with a palette knife, the paint accumulates with every movement and creates an enticing texture, almost mimicking a frosted cake of landscapes. In Bull Kelp, the paint deposits from the palette knife start to mold a surface that comes out of the picture plane toward the viewer as if the kelp itself was emerging. The nuances of color are reminiscent of the changing tones of the Puget Sound as water moves and overlaps with marine vegetation. This movement creates a dynamic image as the colors and textures swirl around the landscape, created by layers of paint and color to build both depth and tactile texture.

It seems very fitting that Lang’s dimensional and layered paintings are paired with Brian O’Neill’s ceramics, which are described by the gallery as “monumental at any scale and ancient, as if unearthed from the sea.” The forms of O’Neill’s work are so appealing and balanced, yet they also feel very organic and fluid. The patterns swirl along the surface to create more dynamic movement and recall certain elements of mid-century design. O’Neill is part of a long history of ceramicists in the Northwest, each with their own way of bringing art, design, and the natural world together in their work. One favorite in this body of work is Black/White Crater Egg Sphere. The object is small, measuring 8 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, and appears as if the bottom half was charred by fire. These objects tell a story in their own way through the narrative interpretations of the marks on the surface.

The Flex Gallery at Smith & Vallee is a small space that allows the gallery some flexibility in their programming. Sometimes the room has a rotating selection of artwork in the gallery’s inventory, and during other months an artist is selected to display their work. In March, the space features the work of Seattle-based artist Tia Matthies. The show focuses on Matthies’ reflections on the Pacific Madrone trees on Orcas Island, and that artist writes in her statement that the trees “have a flesh-like quality that sends my imagination to a place where I start to see them as beings that express in shape and form and also have a particular way of relating to each other in their tree world.” The artist creates these images using encaustic on panel, and the luminous quality of the material combined with the intertwined branches of the Pacific Madrone trees create an image that glows and moves from within.

All three artists featured in the current shows at Smith & Vallee Gallery take direct inspiration from the natural world. Lang’s visual interpretation is direct, while O’Neill and Matthies use their chosen material to bring an element of conceptual interpretation to their subjects. Lang and O’Neill consider the texture and artist’s physical intervention in the work. In contrast, Matthies attributes human emotion and relationships to her Pacific Madrone trees in such a way as to personify them for the viewer. All three seek to make a stronger connection between the viewer, the artwork, and the environment that surrounds and inspires them.

Chloé Dye Sherpe

Chloé Dye Sherpe is an art professional and curator based in Washington state.

Artworks by Nicki Lang, Brian O’Neill, and Tia Matthies are on view through March 30 at Smith & Vallee Gallery, located at 5742 Gilkey Avenue in Edison, Washington. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m, to 5 p.m. and by appointment. On Saturday, March 1, 3 to 5 p.m. hosts a reception for the artists. For more information, visit www.smithandvalleegallery.com.