Great Opening at Smith and Vallee for September

I visited the opening of Pacific Inc., the exhibition of Pieter Vanzanden's sculptures in collaboration with Mandy Jene Turner's paintings and wood block prints of Pieter's creations on Saturday September 3rd. First of all, if you've never been to the Smith and Vallee Gallery in Edison, it is worth the visit. It is a wonderful vintage school house converted into a spectacular exhibition space. Smith and Vallee seem to have two divisions: the gallery, and a state of the art, top level woodworking, cabinet making and furniture facility. You can only imagine how well the gallery is built out with the skill and expertise that they possess.

Here is a link to their website.

The exhibition highlights one and a half years of Pieter's work. The pieces all have a marine life theme and are constructed from a variety of materials and techniques.

A salmon created from nails, wood and wire, The backbone articulates so the salmon can be repositioned.

One of Mandy Jene Turner's wood block prints.

Here is the corresponding piece.

An articulated kelp crab created mostly from brass keys.

Squid created from galvanized metal and plastic.

Another articulated salmon. Shadows are an important aspect of many of the pieces.

The head of Pieter's full sized orca.

The center section with a panel removed.

The tail section. this gives you an idea of the gallery space.

Finally some carved mussels.

I'm still trying to figure out how such an impressive gallery found itself in Edison. If you're on your way to Mt Vernon, LaConner, Bellingham or Canada it is worth the stop. We made the trek from Renton to see this show and it was worth every minute.