Northwest College of Art (NCA) will kick off its 2002 senior exhibition on April 4 at its gorgeous and mysterious Main’s Manor Estate campus. The opening promises the most dynamic contrast of art presented by NCA to date.

The air will be charged with intellectual and artistic ions and icons on the night Ed Matlock, Al Mulkey and Rhett Murray display their work inside the opulent walls.

Matlock creates cutting contemporary commentary using large-scale comics. His fully painted huge comics communicate a range of emotions and ideals primarily drawn from an anti-establishment perspective. Matlock adds energy to the show by using his art as a catalyst for change and progress.

Mulkey is not content to be confined to any theme or mode of expression. His work shows a range of aesthetic projection, realism, cubism, and raw emotional abstraction. Mulkey will display works that are serious and inquisitive and others that show his tendency toward absurdist humor.

Murray paints classical, fantasy and religious themes in oil. His pre-Raphealite style transforms the words of Tennyson and Shakespeare into images. His work emphasizes religious icons from the perspective of a believer. It is fresh again to see these images celebrated in art after an artistic era rife with religious criticisms.

Opening night is April 4 from 6-9 p.m. Northwest College of Art is located at 16464 State Highway 305 near Poulsbo. Skip dinner because the artists will supply tasty refreshments. For more information, call (360) 779-9993.