CANNON BEACH – White Bird Gallery will open an exhibit of works by Ken Grant, Faryn Davis, Wally Schwab and Allyn Cantor with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16. The exhibit will run through Sept. 30.

Grant’s new paintings of interiors of rooms, chairs, still lifes and figurative works are rendered in a highly refined style that resembles photorealism. Scenes hint at surrealism with the use of light and shadow as essential and strengthening elements. Grant’s pieces are contrived from a number of model and still-life studies that are composed into a romantic narrative with a Magritte-like sense of illusion. His still lifes often contain floating elements, and outside the doors and windows of his interior scenes are endless calm seas. With annual exhibitions at White Bird Gallery, Grant has evolved a singular technique and distinct style over the years to become a favorite artist on the Oregon Coast.

Davis creates deep worlds in her resin paintings, which often incorporate small found objects. Having pursued collecting natural and organic ephemera during her rural upbringing in North Carolina, Davis continues this passion in her works of art and jewelry which include objects such as leaves, bones, insects and feathers that are embedded within deep layers of resin. Davis also utilizes symbolic bird imagery, often capturing a sense of movement and freedom in a painted flock. Overall, Davis is influenced by the beauty and mystery of the natural world, as well as things found, lost, fragile and imperfect.

Schwab’s ceramic platters exhibit a unique approach to pattern and design. His recent mention in The Oregonian defined Schwab as one of “the key ceramic players who for more than 25 years” has helped define the scene. Portland-based Schwab is known for his signature fish-scale-designed clay work. He is also known for a gift for teaching the craft and having developed the ceramic program at the Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College. His work has been exhibited and collected internationally.

Cantor uses a process that is a hybrid of painting and sewing. Her fabric assemblages are created from found, recycled, hand-painted, printed and dyed fabrics that are sewn together in patterns that are both gestural and geometric. Presenting her works like stretched canvases, Cantor often collages and paints the surfaces of her works, creating multilayered pieces that resemble landscapes in balance between structure and fluid motion. Cantor studied textiles and painting in New York and currently resides in Cannon Beach. Her work has been exhibited nationally and was recently included in Fiber National at the Lancaster Museum in Pennsylvania. She was also selected by the American Craft Council as a Searchlight Artist in its 2007 Baltimore show.

White Bird Gallery is located at 251 N. Hemlock St. For more information, call (503) 436-2681 or visit www.whitebirdgallery.com

Faryn Davis likes to use symbolic bird imagery, enhanced by found objects embedded in her resin paintings. Submitted photo

Is Allyn Cantor’s fabric assemblage a landscape or a nonrepresentational geometric collage? Could be either, or both. Submitted photo