The artwork of Auburn’s Greg Bartol, Mirka Hokkanen and Joseph Larkin will be on display at the City Hall Gallery through Dec. 3.

Three artists in three very different media depict animals in their artwork, all using their own unique creative eye. Mirka Hokkanen’s prints inspired by Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, Joseph Larkin’s mixed media drawings, which imagine Victorian hybrid animal variations. Greg Bartol’s metal sculptures combine to create an exhibition which explores humans relationships with animals.

Bartol’s welded steel and copper animals command attention with their vibrant torch-created colors and detailed texture. All life-size, these sculptures have you looking and relooking at otherwise common animals that we encounter in our environment.

Hokkanen’s linocut, intaglio and etchings are whimsical and imaginative work that feature the secret life of animals and explores what they might be really thinking. Many of the prints, only inches in size, encourage a close-up study of this talented artists’ technique.

Larkin paints acrylic on board depicting a multitude of animals in a traditional portrait pose wearing Victorian garb. The frames themselves reflect this Victorian sentiment appearing ornate and gilded, but upon closer look is crocheted plastic and yarn. The painting, frames, the salon style installation as well as the clever titles all cohesively speak to an aesthetic that is unique, imaginative, and lighthearted.

The Auburn City Hall Gallery is presented by the City of Auburn and Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation. For a gallery brochure or for information on other cultural arts programs, go to www.auburnwa.gov/arts or call 253-931-3043.

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Art exhibit

• WHAT: Display for Greg Bartol, Mirka Hokkanen and Joseph Larkin

• WHEN: Nov. 3-Dec. 3, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Opening reception: 5:30 p.m., Nov. 19.

• WHERE: Auburn City Hall, 25 W. Main St. Admission is free.