To get through those bundled-up winter doldrums VALISE gallery launches their March show, "Removing The Fig Leaf", an exploration of nudity and being naked, in all senses of the word. Expect a modest R-rated show, ranging from small to large paintings and some sculpture.

Gregory Burnham says, "It appears nudity is a full time occupation and we all need to try harder if we want to be successful."

Participating VALISE collective artists are Pascale Judet, Stephen Schildbach, Sharon Shaver, George Wright, Robert Passig, Rachel Lordkenaga, Manuel Alvarez, Jiji Saunders, Hita Von Mende. Lenard Yen, and Gregory Burnham.

"Removing The Fig Leaf" opens First Friday March 1st from 6-9 pm. Soft opening is from 1-6. The show runs through Saturday March 30. Gallery hours are Friday/Saturday 1-6 pm.

VCA is proud to present VIVA’s 6th annual Member Show, in which they invite their members to showcase one or two of their pieces. This year 85 Vashon artists are participating in one fo Vashon’s largest collection of solely Vashon artists’ artwork. This is the 4th year VCA has hosted the show and each year the artists, who are both our neighbors and friends, continue to amaze us. The diversity of this collection reflects the strength and breadth of the work being created on the island.

VIVA seeks to connect artists to each other and the community, to support the needs of their members personally and artistically, to empower creativity through education and exhibition, and to preserve the artistic culture fundamental to our Island community.

Come meet the artists for our First Friday Gallery Cruise opening and Artist Reception, Friday, October 6th, 5pm – 8pm.

Gallery hours Wed – Sunday, 12-5pm (closed Sunday & Monday). We are also open during evening performances in the Kay White performance hall.

In July, VALISE Gallery presents YELLO, a show dedicated to the bright, potent, and sometimes gaudy color of summer. Months ago, painters Rachel LordKenaga, Jiji Saunders, and Hita von Mende decided on the color yellow as the theme for their July show. Usually, artists chose a narrative theme, or they look for the commonality in their work to suggest a theme. These three artists wanted a visual structure for their upcoming work. “Sometimes you aren’t sure what the next step is, and there is hesitation,” says Saunders. “Yellow gave me structure. At every decision point, I chose a shade of yellow.” Hita von Mende agrees. “We all liked the yellow theme. It immediately gives you the first direction. When you have constraints in your painting, it creates greater possibilities.”

Asked what she learned from her work in yellow, Rachel LordKenaga says, “Pay attention! Yellow is hard to ignore. Even if yellow isn’t the prominent color, it’s the most important color.” She sees yellow as a symbol of hope, strength, and resilience but also caution. “It was delightful to focus on yellow, it’s a beautiful, powerful color. Using yellow is natural for me starting with a primary palette and mixing. Painting is always challenging, but I love the problem-solving of picture-making. 

LordKenaga, Saunders, and von Mende will push the limits of experimentation up to the minute the show opens and perhaps throughout the month. The three artists intend to collaborate on three large-scale paintings on canvas in the week leading up to the show. When asked what she discovered when painting in yellow, LordKenaga exclaimed, “Yellow as underpainting glows fantastically!” The canvases, which von Mende under-painted in yellow, will hang on the back wall of the gallery where the artists will work in concert. “All three of us will work on every painting,” says Saunders. The thrilling part is that we have only one limit, yellow.”

The opening celebration is First Friday, July 7, from 6 to 9 pm, and the show may be previewed on Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. VALISE Gallery is open Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 6 p.m. The show runs through Saturday, July 29. VALISE Artist Collective and Gallery is in downtown Vashon at 17633 Vashon Highway SW, Vashon Island, Washington.

VALISE stands for Vashon Artists Linked In Social Engagement. We chose these words for their humorous, ironic, and activist bent. The gallery is dedicated to presenting subjects and media that are daring and unexpected. We want to stir our audiences. We want to challenge members to initiate fresh work. We want to share the venue with the community and inspire new ideas. The goal of VALISE Gallery is to be an important and accessible art venue for the community. 

In November and December, VALISE Artist Collective and Gallery proudly presents the 9th year of the 5 x 5 Show, an island favorite! For this small works show, each artist strives to create 20 small works, and the results often approach 300 small masterpieces. Unlike most art exhibits, every piece is priced the same - $95. Each year, islanders support local artists by adding to their collections and finding one-of-a-kind art for holiday gift-giving.

The annual small works show supports VALISE Artist Collective and Gallery during some of the slow winter months and allows them to exhibit conceptual or experimental work. This year, VALISE has added two more sizes to the small works show, 3”x5” and 5”x7”. The artists exhibiting will include Gregory Burnham, Dot Cherch, Bill Jarcho, Pascale Judet, Rachel LordKenaga, Robert Passig, Jiji Saunders, Sharon Shaver, Hita von Mende, George Wright, and Lenard Yen. 

During November, VALISE Gallery will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 6 p.m. The opening celebration is First Friday, November 4 from 6 to 9 p.m., and the show may be previewed on Friday afternoon. The show runs through Saturday, December 31.