A beloved Whidbey artist will soon display his work in his own exhibit at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner.

The paintings and sculptures of retired art teacher Richard Nash will be on display at the museum from this Saturday, Oct. 22, through Feb. 5, 2023. The artist’s first museum survey is titled “Consonance.”

Nash said his exhibit, which will take up most of the museum’s main floor, will feature his work from 1994 through the present day. The museum will display eight sculptures, including one that stands 12 feet tall, and around 45 paintings.

The museum’s former executive director, Joanna Sikes, was the first to suggest that the museum host a survey of Nash’s work. When Sikes transitioned to another role with the museum, the new director, Stefano Catalini, assumed the effort, Nash said.

Having the museum approach him about his own exhibit was an incredible honor, Nash said.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful opportunity and a total surprise, because there’s a lot of very good artists in the region,” he said. “It’s just kind of fortunate for me that I was asked.”

Nash’s work is nonrepresentational abstract, meaning he deals with lines, patterns, shapes and textures as opposed to representations of people or objects.

“You’re not going to be able to tie it to an actual thing,” he said of his style.

Nash taught art at secondary schools in the Oak Harbor School District for 30 years. He said that after his retirement from teaching in 2002, he had more time to devote to expanding his own body of work.

His art credentials include Bachelors of Fine Arts and Education and a Master of Fine Arts, all from Washington State University, as well as sabbaticals in Japan and Europe.

Paintings and sculptures by Nash have been displayed and can be found in galleries and stores across the region, including Penn Cove Gallery in Coupeville and the Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park on Camano Island. His sculptures honoring four former Oak Harbor educators and three of the city’s earliest settlers stand in Windjammer Park.

“Segmented Prism #2” is the focal point of Richard Nash’s exhibit at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, which will be open to the public Oct. 22 through Feb. 5.