Art exhibit opening night event: ‘As We Are: Fracture, Form & The Myth of Perfection’
Published 1:30 am Friday, August 1, 2025
Submitted by the Orcas Island Winery/Must Gallery.
Must Gallery — the modern and contemporary pop-up gallery at Orcas Island Winery — and HALO are proud to present “As We Are: Fracture, Form & The Myth of Perfection,” a new exhibition featuring the never-before-seen, evocative works of local artists, Christian Carlson and Ayame Bullock. The exhibit opens with a free, public event on Friday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. Food from The Kitchen, wine and artwork will be available for purchase. Music provided by Pedro Lopez DeVictoria.
Carpooling encouraged. Families welcome. Orcas Island Winery: 2371 Crow Valley Road.
“As We Are” unites the abstract paintings of Carlson and the contemplative sculptures of Bullock in a meditation on longing, not for possession, but for connection and balance. In a culture obsessed with polish, their works offer a quiet rebellion: a return to fracture, asymmetry and imperfection. Together, they dismantle the myth of human exceptionalism, revealing perfection as a modern delusion. What emerges is a tactile, open-ended dialogue with nature and form — an embrace of beauty that is vulnerable, raw and real. Beauty that exists most truthfully in tension, in polarity.
Carlson’s paintings reveal a deep engagement with memory, texture and mark-making. Layered and architectural, his works echo the Pacific Northwest’s physical landscapes and internal ones, too — meditative, grounded and elemental. This is the artist’s first time exhibiting fine art on Orcas.
Bullock’s sculptural works explore the tensions between opposites: masculine/feminine, stillness/movement, bold/soft, fragile/strong. They exhibit a richly layered vulnerability that requires deep thoughtfulness and practiced application. This is her first time exhibiting fine art on Orcas.
For Tera Andaya, Must is her heartspace.
As she puts it, “Working with and alongside artists has been and will continue to be my life’s calling. Must is a space where I can continue to channel what I’ve studied, practiced and put tremendous passion into for over twenty years. It’s where I can share how I see the beauty in others and the world around us – and hopefully inspire, bring people together and bring beauty to a world so hungry for it. Now, more than ever, is the time for the artist.”
Must is a conceptual pop-up gallery on Orcas Island curated by founder Andaya. HALO (Hub for Arts & Literature on Orcas) is a nonprofit whose mission is to raise the visibility of fine artists on Orcas Island and inspire the next generation. “As We Are” is their third collaboration. The exhibition runs through Sept. 30.
