Mercer Island galleries to feature art, music at First Friday event

This month’s art walk will take place on May 4.

Clarke and Clarke Art and Artifacts and Suzanne Zahr’s SZ Gallery will feature multiple artists at their First Friday art walk, from 5-8 p.m. on May 4.

At SZ Gallery, attendees can enjoy inspirational art pieces along with complimentary refreshments, seasonal bites and live music. Robert Wood’s unique multimedia exhibit, “Lost Luggage of Gnome Island,” and collaborative paintings by Laura Castellanos and Juan Carlos Castellanos will be on display.

The musical accompaniment for the evening will include a performance by father-daughter duo Benoît and Carla Mory. They will be performing Bach Aria on the flute and harp, respectively, and Carla will play a harp solo of Bernard Andrès’ “Amarante.”

Clarke and Clarke is hosting an encore presentation of its “Three Fabulous Females” show, with works by Valaree Cox, Karen Dedrickson and Sharon Carr.

“We celebrate the arrival of spring and seek to satisfy the cravings for the colors it brings,” gallery co-owner Ginny Clarke said in a press release. “We can satisfy the cravings as well by bringing color and drama indoors.”

Cox’s new Encaustic series, “The Way Of Tea,” is based on a book of grass script, with stained teabags incorporated into each painting, Clarke said. Dedrickson’s Sumi-e collection “Soul of Soil,” inspired by the ancient Chinese and Japanese art form of Black Ink on Paper, is contemporary and strikingly distinctive. Carr’s oil and cold wax series, “Crazy in Love With Color,” features dramatic strokes and textures.

See www.suzannezahr.com and www.ethnoarts.com for more.