John Cole: A Historical Perspective

March 22 - June 15, 2014

John Cole: A Historical Perspective

Exhibition Date: March 22 - June 15, 2014
Reception Date: Saturday, March 22, 2014 - 2pm

Recognized as one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading landscape artists, John Cole (1936 - 2007) painted in the region for almost four decades. Favoring abstraction over literal description, Cole’s distinctive, muscular style, which evolved from his European roots and American modernist influences, sublimely expresses the quintessential features of the majestic Northwest landscape—water, mountains, and trees. This historical survey includes not just iconic landscapes, but important figurative and still life works that are less known, and traces the major influences on the artist as reflected in his oils, prints, and drawings.

Various bottles, containers of paint supplies, and paint palettes are painted in a messy collection.

John Cole, Studio No. 11, 1974, Oil on canvas

A wide river reflects a cloudy sky, bisecting an autumnal forest. Tall purples mountains rise into the sky.

John Cole, Eagle’s Walk - Nooksack, 2006, Oil on canvas

This exhibition is co-curated by Lisa Harris and Sarah Harvey of Lisa Harris Gallery with support from Lucille Cole, the John D. Cole Estate, Patty Stonesifer and Michael Kinsley. 

Three red madrona trees cut through a landscape. The sky and foreground are painted in yellow, and a blue mountain creates a dark contrast in the background.

John Cole, Madronas - Late Summer, 2006, Oil on linen