Jean Nagai's <em>Islands</em>—his immersive paintings are <u>always</u> worth seeing in person.
Jean Nagai's Islands—his immersive paintings are always worth seeing in person. Koplin Del Rio

Those who have spent time in the Pacific Northwest know how bright grayness can be. Though we often don't see a lick of blue sky for days at a time, the sun's rays get filtered through dense cloud layers, casting everything in an illuminated gray. Georgetown gallery Koplin Del Rio's latest offering, heavy light, seems to give name to this concept. The show is a group exhibition of artists "connected to or influenced by the Pacific Northwest" in all its gray, mossy, moody, brilliant splendor. Most notably among those showing is Olympia-raised, LA-based artist Jean Nagai, whose immersive, hypnotic paintings rendered in white correctional fluid and blue acrylic transport viewers into shimmering starscapes. Another artist in the show, sculptor Jodi Rockwell, contorts her serenely smooth ceramic vases into unexpected compositions, like "Mother and Child" (below), her affecting take on the PietĂ . Other exhibiting artists in heavy light include illustrator Stacey Rozich; photographers Graham Shutt and Ellen Garvens; collage artist Serrah Russell; and painters Raven Juarez, Krisna Nidorf, Kat Larson, and Coco Aramaki.

Koplin Del Rio's heavy light is up until April 23. Find more events suggested by The Stranger here.

Jodi Rockwells Mother and Child.
Jodi Rockwell's "Mother and Child." Koplin Del Rio