Galleries gear up for First Friday art walk

Mercer Island’s downtown galleries will have interesting art, paired with wine and food, at their First Friday art walk from 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 6.

Clarke and Clarke Art and Artifacts at 7605 SE 27th St. will be “celebrating new discoveries” and “honoring the well known.” It will premiere an exhibit of original metal artwork by Sammamish resident Jason Rhinevault.

Rhinevault has worked in large scale wall sculptures for nearly two decades and has evolved his craft to the creation of free-standing sculpture. He is in the process of completing the piece weighing 7,000 pounds.

“The subjects are purely abstract,” according to a press release. “Steel is the common denominator in most of his work. Shapes are sometimes ribbon-like, often purely sculptural, and always strikingly contemporary.”

Clarke and Clarke will also have an installation consisting of five well known and collectible artists’ works, including Russel Frost, Angie Dixon, Mark Molinas, Ian McLeod and Jennifer Goldberger.

Suzanne Zahr’s SZ Gallery at 2441 76th Ave. SE will again feature “Migrations” by Juliana Kang Robinson, along with live harp music by Carla Mory. “Migrations” will be on exhibit until Oct. 31.

For more, see www.ethnoarts.com and www.suzannezahr.com.

MIVAL opens ‘Fall Rhythms’

The Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) will host a reception for its “Fall Rhythms” show from 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 5.

The show features 35 MIVAL Gallery artists, mostly locals, who have been hard at work on new paintings, ceramics and glass art, jewelry, photography, gift items, textiles and much more.

The gallery at 2836 78th Ave. SE will be filled with fun items to discover, including items created for MIVAL’s fundraising toward its annual high school art Scholarships. All art is for sale.