A new exhibit will offer fresh perspectives on the surroundings that define the Olympic Peninsula. 

“Wet: Reflections on Water” is now open to the public at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery.

The exhibit offers images of water with photographs selected from the work of 30 artists across the West.

“It’s going to be a strong show,” said juror Christopher Rauschenberg, a photographer and gallerist based in Portland, Oregon.

Rauschenberg will come to Port Townsend on April 15 to give a public talk on the exhibition. 

Winnowing the pictures down to fit into the Best Gallery was no easy feat, he said. The juror chose 49 images from hundreds of submissions sent by 82 photographers in color and black-and-white. 

They depict marine creatures, crashing waves, birds, people, storms, ice, pools, and other water bodies.

“It’s a mixture of beautiful and thought-provoking pictures on the most important subject on Earth,” Rauschenberg said.

Photographers from Port Townsend, Quilcene, Seattle, and further flung northwestern locales have their work in the show. 

While Rauschenberg and Northwind Art choose the recipients of the Juror’s Choice and Merit Awards, all visitors to the gallery are invited to take part in the People’s Choice voting. That prize will be awarded next month at the end of the show. 

“There’s a great variety in the work, with a lot of different sensibilities,” said Northwind Art exhibitions director Michael Vince Snyder DuBose. 

“One thing that strikes me is that [Rauschenberg] has kind of a surrealist eye,” he added. “There’s a dreamy quality to the whole ensemble.” 

“Wet” is open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays through April 30.