Manzanita hosts art trio

The February show at Manzanita’s Hoffman Center for the Arts will feature works by Connie Dillon, Russell Strand and J.D. Perkin.

An artists’ reception will be held at 2 pm this Saturday, Feb. 3, during which the artists will speak about their work and answer questions.

Dillon lives in Astoria, where she operates a small gallery, ARTstoria. After moving there from Billings, Montana, in May 2020, her focus and energy have shifted to reflect the area, primarily forests, surrounding her. Seldom without a camera, she frequently walks through the woods. The enriching beauty, pristine air and the small features of the life they support provide a rejuvenating, reassuring and communicative practice that prompts any number of creative ideas to gel. She transforms her photographs into small shapes, each its own distinct module of color. On the canvas, these tiny blocks of light, color and shadow become a unique representation of space. Standing close to the painting the viewer will see shapes, but from across a room its details cohere like a photograph.

Strand is a visual artist living in Bay City. He paints directly from what he sees, seeking to share the wonder he experiences as light and shadow play upon rarely celebrated scenery. He seeks out landscape subject sites that show a balance between natural and human influence.

Perkin, from Portland, shows his dynamic ceramic work. He thinks of these ceramic figures as on a stage, frozen in the middle of some undisclosed theatrical production. Together they appear not as individuals but as an abstract shape, an ensemble.

The show runs through Feb. 24 in the Hoffman Gallery, located at 594 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita and open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information go to hoffmanarts.org or call 503-368-3846.