Agriculture exhibit opens at New Visions Gallery

New Visions Gallery invites visitors to experience cultural stories of the agricultural landscape of this beautiful country as told through the eyes of artists at the 27th annual Culture & Agriculture exhibit, opening Sunday.

Artists throughout the United States offer unique and thoughtful interpretations of this rural theme and help us remember the rich culture and diversity that surrounds agricultural life. More than 90 works of art will be on display in New Visions Gallery from July 7 to Aug. 30.An opening reception is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and will feature live music, refreshments and an opportunity to meet represented artists. The event is free and open to the public.

Every Culture & Agriculture exhibit brings a new collection of work by a variety of artists, each of whom brings a fresh interpretation of technique, media, process and subject matter on agricultural themes. Participating artists hail from Idaho to North Carolina and other points throughout the United States, including Wisconsin. Artists offer everything from traditional paintings, fiber creations, classic renderings, breathtaking photography, mixed media sculpture and more. Artwork in the exhibit is selected by a jury.

Participating Marshfield artists include R. Christian Egger — photography and ceramics; Kenneth Flanagan — oil; and Rita M. Hollingsworth — fiber.“Each year, it is so inspiring to see the various interpretations on the agricultural theme,” said Betsy Tanenbaum, New Visions Gallery director, “Every artist’s story is different and, collectively, they comprise the cultural story of this place and time. …These stories will be a glimpse for our children and our children’s children into the agricultural life of 2013.”

The opening reception will include an artist meet and oil painting reproduction, the toe tapping sounds of Brady Perl and the Kinfolk Choir and delicious food and refreshments that celebrate the edible bounty this great state has to offer. The opening reception is free and open for the public to attend — all are invited.

Culture and Agriculture may be viewed from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. New Visions Gallery is in the main lobby of Marshfield Clinic. Admission is free thanks to donations from Art Partners. Exhibit space and other support is donated by Marshfield Clinic.

On Wednesday afternoon Clark County art educator Rebecca Anstine and Washougal art commissioner Janice Ferguson unwrapped and hung a selection of artwork in preparation for the opening of the Clark County: Living the Good Life art exhibit.The 6th Floor Gallery exhibit, which opens Friday, July 5, features the work of three Clark County residents: painter Marilyn Hocking, silkscreen artist Jon Brittingham and textile artist Sally Sellers. Through three different mediums, the artists have interpreted various aspects of life in southwest Washington, from the urban architecture to the rural nature and waterways.

On a quick glance, it might be easy to mistake Marilyn Hocking's paintings for photographs. In fact, she admitted when she does a show she often has to put up a sign to clearly label her works as pastel art.Hocking's pieces are reflective of her hometown, Ridgefield, as well as her southern roots in Louisiana. Stunningly realistic landscape pastels and oil paintings capture snippets of the county's quiet rural lifestyle, summer swims on the Lewis River and the Ridgefield Fourth of July parade.

"I like to do nostalgic pieces that are a nod back to the old city roots of Clark County," Hocking said. "Like the Lewis River swimming people where kids have been going for decades. If that's not Clark County culture then I don't know what is."

She describes her style as realistic yet idealistic. Though photos and memory are typically the basis for her artwork, she likes to take the real and make it into something better and more beautiful. In her depiction of Clark County pastoral life, for example, "there are no power lines, there are no weeds and there are no mole hills."

"Someone once told me that Norman Rockwell used the same idealism technique to make his works balanced and finished," Hocking said. "He never had an ideal life so he painted an ideal life."

It was an event in Hocking's life that pushed her to seriously pursue her passion for painting. A teacher, a mother and a wife, Hocking always planned to explore herinterest in art someday. But when she was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, she realized she shouldn't delay her passion any longer.

"Fighting that battle with breast cancer woke me up real fast," Hocking said. "It made me realize not to put things off to someday, because nobody ever knows what their someday might be. Since then I've been painting and painting and painting and I haven't looked back."

Click on their website www.artsunlight.com.