510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, 425-519-0770.
BREAD & PUPPET THEATER
"We've been over this. Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate." Through Jan 5.CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART (CoCA)
1420 11th Ave, 728-1980.
LITTLE THINGS COUNT
The holiday hawking deluge begins with CoCA's "reasonably priced" swap meet, featuring over 30 local artists and their fancy-schmancy trinkets. Through Dec 31.
EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT
325 Fifth Ave N, 770-2700.
DISCO: A DECADE OF SATURDAY NIGHTS
A movement completely devoid of artistic relevance? Perhaps--but think of all that Danskin! Featuring one of those white Travolta suits, but (by reports) a conspicuous absence of white lines. Through May 26.
HENRY ART GALLERY OPENING EXHIBITIONS
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St, 543-2280.
THERESA HAK KYUNG CHA
Opening. A unique look at the arch of Cha's career in a variety of media, the Henry presents The Dream of the Audience, a retrospective of the Korean artist who died at the age of 33. Through Mar 2.
DEBORAH BELL
Visual meditations on the concept of focus and grounding oneself. Opening reception Thurs Dec 5, 6-8 pm. Zeitgeist, 171 S Jackson, 583-0497. Through Dec 31.
JAMES CRESPINEL
Capitalism at its finest: Crespinel exhibits his collection of Kahlo portraits in 13 Fridas, 13 Years, 13 Days. Opening reception Sat Dec 7, 7 pm-2 am. Galeria Magdalena Carmen, 2312 Second Ave, 728-6276. Through Dec 19.
* KAREN GANZ, BRIAN MURPHY
Ganz's bold use of colors, combined with thick paint and bold ink defining the figures, gives her work (figures reminiscent of cartoon characters from the 1940s) a pop quality--with a touch of grit. Murphy focuses on way-oversized, painterly, rough, blurred close-ups of his own face. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Dec 28.
GODS AND MONSTERS
Crossing the great mystic divide, Roq la Rue presents a holiday group show focused on the titular theme, with participants such as Yumiko Kayukawa, Jim Blanchard, Lisa Petrucci, Tim Gabor, and many more. Opening reception Fri Dec 6, 6-10 pm. Roq la Rue, 2316 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Jan 31.
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT
A haphazard examination of all things photographic, with works by Marian Roth, William Pop, Robin Layton, Paul Souders, and Kat Wolf, among others. Opening reception Sat Dec 7, 6-9 pm. Artemis Gallery, 3107 S Day St, 323-0562. Through Dec 31.
HOLIDAY ARTISTS SHOW
Cha-ching! Facere Jewelry Art Gallery, 1420 Fifth Ave, Suite 108, 624-6768. Through Dec 31.
* HOLIDAY ART AND GIFT SHOW
Don't forget your pocketbook. Opening reception Sat Dec 7, 6-10 pm. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through Dec 22.
HOLIDAY GROUP SHOW
Holiday deluge continues: Cash or card? Opening reception Thurs Dec 5 at 6 pm. ACE Studios Gallery, 619 Western Ave, third floor, 623-1288.
* URSULA GULLOW
Conformity and submission in the form of Gullow's Crowd Control, a series of paintings about the Gestalt of the masses. Opening reception Fri Dec 6, 7-11 pm. Secluded Alley Works, 113 12th Ave, 839-0880. Through Dec 23.
JASON HUFF
An impossibly earnest show entitled I Believe in Santa Claus, featuring simple models inspired by seasonal cartoon programming. Opening reception Thurs Dec 5, 6-8 pm. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Suite 200, 296-7580. Through Dec 27.
SHANNON KRINGEN
Cable access horror-show Kringen (The Goddess Kringen, or the "paint myself neon and wax narcissistic in the nude" hour) exhibits her unique, um, talents at the Art/Not Gallery through the holiday season. Opening reception Sat Dec 7, 7-10 pm. Art/Not Terminal Gallery, 2045 Westlake Ave, 233-0680. Through Jan 2.
* JENNIFER McNEELY
With meticulous attention paid to everyday objects and materials--nylons, zippers, the needle and thread--McNeely grounds us in this paradox: the extremely well-made and slightly dangerous useless thing. Gulassa & Co, Inc, 10 Dravus St, 283-1810. Through Jan 12.
OFF THE PAGE: 3 DIMENSIONAL NARRATIVES
Challenged with the idea of extending their standard narratives into the third dimension, such comics luminaries as Jim Woodring, Blair Wilson, Ellen Forney, and Randy Wood present mixed-media installations. Opening reception Fri Dec 6, 7-10 pm. Soil Gallery, 1317 E Pine St, 264-8061. Through Dec 29.CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
CHESTER ARNOLD, GAYLEN HANSEN
Hansen has a way with animals, rendering them--in his big, flat, slightly wild paintings--both dignified and mysterious, as if inhabiting a fable by Aesop. With new paintings by Arnold. Linda Hodges Gallery, 316 First Ave S, 624-3034. Through Dec 28.
LUCIENE BLOCH, DAVID FOKOS
The shadow cast by Salma Hayek's upper lip lingers over our city like a specter, this time in the form of Bloch's Frida Kahlo/Diego Rivera documentary photographs. Also featuring Fokos' time-lapse photographs. Opening reception Thurs Dec 5, 6-8 pm. Benham Gallery, 1216 First Ave, 622-2480. Through Jan 4.
FRIENDLY SURROUNDINGS
Prominently featured are the works of Blake Haygood, whose dry-point monotypes are most clearly read as images of impossible machines that are also broken--imagined objects made common, and therefore artistically revelatory. Also featuring works by Shawn Beesley, Larry Bemm, Jaq Chartier, and many more. University House at Wallingford, 4400 Stone Way N, 545-8400. Through Feb 6.
HELEN GAMBLE
Gamble rarely fails to make her sculpture take up space--weighty, striking, hard to ignore. Her latest, entitled Keep off the Grass, promises a window display (visible only from the street) of no doubt conspicuous proportions. Also featuring a fluid-themed show with works by Nick Fennel, Terri Biggs, and Peter Gross, among others. Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 654-3240. Through Dec 15.
DAVID HOCKNEY, RICHARD DIEBENKORN, ROBERT MOTHERWELL
Three decades of printmaking, most notable for the presence of Hockney's rare Illustrations for Fourteen Poems from C. P. Cavafy, one of the most explicitly homoerotic collections of the artist's career. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Dec 28.
WES POPE
The elusive art of lens-less photography--photographs created with the use of a tiny pinhole in a light-sealed "camera"--is explored in the humblest of forms with Pope's Pop 66 series, a collection of photos of Route 66 made with soda cans. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Dec 20.
SMALL WONDER
"A group exhibition of an ambiguous nature," featuring works by Keith Carter, Larry Calkins, Beverly Rayner, John Dugdale, Olivia Parker, and more. G. Gibson Gallery, 514 E Pike St, 587-4033. Through Dec 28.
* TRADEMARK
See review this issue. Area 51, 401 E Pine St, 568-4782. Through Jan 3.
CRAIG TROLLI
To the right of the shelf of anal beads you'll find self-taught illustrator Trolli's images of Wonder Women, a collection of reconfigured and out-of-context reflections on the often ignored heroines of contemporary comic books. Toys in Babeland, 707 E Pike St, 328-2914. Through Jan 1.
ULTRA ART
Celebrate America's consumer obsessions with "subvertising" works by John Bain and Christopher James, along with documents of Adbusters' influential veneer, and other "Buy Nothing Day" memoirs. Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 675-2055. Through Jan 11.
EVENTS
JUDITH BACA
One night only. Part of the Seattle Art Museum's Creating Home lecture series (focusing on the concept of "home," in the expansive sense), internationally acclaimed muralist Baca discusses Making Civic Spaces in Uncivilized Places. Mon Dec 9, 7 pm. Seattle Art Museum, Plestcheeff Auditorium, 100 University St, 654-3100.
* KIYOKO LERNER
One night only. In correspondence with the Pat Graney company's upcoming dance piece based on his works, the life of elusive "outsider artist" Henry Darger as explored by his Chicago landlord, whose husband initially discovered Darger's famous work, The Story of the Vivian Girls in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal. Sat Dec 7 at 6 pm, $30. Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave, 441-5823.
ROOSEVELT ART WALK
One night only. Three blocks of artistic fulfillment. Sat Dec 7, 6-10 pm. Roosevelt Way NE (Between 63rd and 66th Streets), 369-5283.
* SOIL AUCTION
One night only. Over 100 artists have donated to this truly worthy cause, with works by Jack Daws, Claire Cowie, and Elizabeth Jameson, all up for grabs to support the continuing existence of Soil. Sat Dec 7, 7-10 pm. Noodleworks, 802 Sixth Ave, 264-8061.
*ONE NIGHT ONLY: 11 SHOWS IN 11 MONTHS
One night only. Final show! This week curator Randy Wood takes the helm for his installation entitled Black Plastic Procession, an examination of the "white cube" concept of gallery space. Thurs Dec 5, 6-10 pm. Aftermath Gallery, 928 12th Ave, 816-8416.
