How do you define art in the Northwest?

Some common themes have permeated the works of many painters and sculptors over the years — including earth tones and Asian influences — but the region’s modern artists aren’t so easily boxed into a specific style.

The Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner will highlight common Pacific Northwest art themes in its “Resonances: Contemporary Echoes Modern” show, which will open this weekend and continue through June 13.

The exhibition features the works of four mid- to late 20th century artists and four contemporary Northwest artists side by side to show the similarities.

“The resonances are there,” said Kathleen Moles, museum curator. “But also, the beauty of it is that these artists have very different experiences.”

Sarah Clark-Langager of the Western Gallery at Western Washington University, John Olbrantz of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, and Jan Seniuk of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center joined Moles in selecting the eight featured artists. The curators will discuss their selections during a panel discussion at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Along with the main gallery exhibit, the museum’s Benaroya Glass Gallery will host the “Resonances in Glass” show featuring the works of Northwest glass artists Ginny Ruffner, James Minson and Masami Koda, also through June 13.

Coupeville artist Jan Hoy, whose contemporary clay works will be paired with paintings by the late Guy Anderson, was surprised to see the shared themes that moved through her own three-dimensional sculptures and Anderson’s two-dimensional paintings.

Anderson’s piece “Rebirth” features a circular shape like a yin-yang that closely resembles Hoy’s more recent bowl-like sculpture “Cardinal Revisited.”

Although Hoy had not seen “Rebirth” before the exhibit, “Cardinal Revisited” almost looks like an intentional homage to it.

“There must be something that comes through,” Hoy said. “I never felt like I thought about a piece of his and then created a piece of mine.”

Hoy never worked directly with Anderson, but curated a show of his paintings in Port Townsend in 2004. The experience pulled the then-painter out of an artistic rut. Inspired by Anderson’s forms on canvas, Hoy shifted to clay and now works primarily in three dimensions.

Moles said while there are many similarities between the artists, the show does not present Hoy as Anderson’s modern mimic.

“It’s not like Jan’s work is a 3-D version of Guy’s work,” Moles said. “It just means Jan is on the same wavelength.”

The show will also pair Seattle printmaker Jacob Lawrence with one of his students, Whiting Tennis.

Lawrence created prints featuring hand tools and people tinkering in workshops. By comparison, Tennis’ works seem to reflect the results of a tinkerer. While Lawrence depicts men in a workshop with hammers and nails, Tennis’ sculptures show the finished model building in abstract form.

Modern painter Michael Brophy exemplifies the flipside of Darius Kinsey’s photos of the Northwest logging industry.

Brophy and Kinsey share similar forms and framing featuring logs, trees and the logging industry. But Kinsey took black-and-white photos of trees and logs to display the Northwest’s hard work, innovation and expansion. Brophy contrasts that message by showing similar piles of logs and trees with a hint that the glorified expansion could be destroying the Northwest’s natural beauty.

“While Kinsey glorified it as the final manifestation of destiny, Brophy’s is a critique of the enduring consequences of American expansion,” Moles said.

The other two artists paired for the show work in abstract forms. Charles Stokes created abstract art that resembles urban graffiti of the 1970s, pairing well with Counsel Langley’s urban and even space-like abstractions today.

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WHAT: “Resonances: Contemporary Echoes Modern,” a display of contemporary Northwest artists next to influential artists of the 20th century; and “Resonances in Glass,” an exhibit of three Northwest glass artists.

WHERE: Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St., La Conner.

WHEN: March 13 to June 13. Curators panel at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 13, followed by an opening reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Museum hours are noon to 5 p.m. Sundays and Mondays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

FEATURES: Art by Jacob Lawrence, Whiting Tennis, Charles Stokes, Counsel Langley, Guy Anderson, Jan Hoy, Michael Brophy and Darius Kinsey. Also, works by Ginny Ruffner, James Minson and Masami Koda in the Benaroya Glass Gallery.

COST: $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2 students, free for ages 12 and younger and museum members.

INFORMATION: 360-466-4446. http://www.museumofnwart.org.

• Aaron Burkhalter can be reached at 360-416-2141 or .

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