Opening Reception: Thursday, June 28, at a reception from 6-8 p.m., 51 Main St., North Adams

Kent Mikalsen is a multi-faceted artist and individual. His work spans several forms of media from the high-tech to beautifully simple wood carvings. Mikalsen will be exhibiting his most recent body of work which includes drawing, painting and sculpture. His large-scale, black and white drawings are sculptural in nature and seem to burst out of the paper. His carved wooden sculptures are the physical embodiment of the fantastical forms created in his drawings. His
recent paintings; a colorful mix of abstraction and narration, explore images from his inner life..

I have many questions regarding the nature of both physical and non-physical reality. My drawings, paintings and sculpture are visual manifestations of such inquiries. The forms and qualities that I observe in local rivers and streams influence much of my art. I am attracted to moving water; its sound, texture, light-play and sinuous response to gravity. I am fascinated by the way solid objects such as earth and rock will shape water as it moves and by how different the same segment of a stream will appear from moment to moment. When capturing water on video, I break down and observe the difference between two adjacent still frames, only 1/48th of a second apart. Seeing these seemingly unrelated frames together in sequence I can begin to discern the shape, movement and temperament of water. I am curious about what other information exists unobserved in each frame of a moving stream, and similarly, what information existing in my life will go unobserved without making the effort to slow it down and become aware of the passing moments. My drawings, paintings and sculpture are attempts to capture a moment, a moment that is part of rapidly changing fluid environment that is life. Using water as a metaphor, my work is a means to clearly observe the depth, beauty and complexity of existence.

The exhibition will be on display through July 22. MCLA Gallery 51 is at 51 Main St., North Adams. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day. For more information, 413-664-8718, or go to www.mcla.edu/Gallery51.