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.
* TRESPASSING: HOUSES X ARTISTS
Fantasy houses as built by artists, including David Reed, Jessica Stockholder, and Chris Burden. It's a big year for the architecture-as-art inquiry, and this entry looks smart, promising, and stylish. Through Jan 5.
FRYE ART MUSEUM
704 Terry Ave, 622-9250.
PIONEER WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
A showcase of four female photographers active in the early 20th century, all with links to the Northwest: Photo-Secession member Myra Albert Wiggins, Adelaide Hanscom, Ella McBride, and the pistil-gripped Imogen Cunningham. Through March 2.HENRY ART GALLERY
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St, 543-2280.
THERESA HAK KYUNG CHA
The Henry presents The Dream of the Audience, a retrospective providing a unique look at the arc of Cha's career (the Korean artist died at the age of 33) in a variety of media. Through Mar 2.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
100 University St, 654-3100.
FRIDA KAHLO, DIEGO RIVERA, AND MEXICAN MODERNISM
From the revered collection of Jacques and Natasha Gelman comes a celebration of over 20 preeminent early- to mid-century Mexican modernists; the exhibition includes several seldom-seen works by Kahlo. Through Jan 5.
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
* JASON MOUER
Ambiguous molds composed of paper (newsprint, etc.), wood, and glue, shaped and shaved in a "process-centered dialog" meant to illuminate the expenditure and preservation of resources. Foster/White Gallery, 126 Central Way, Kirkland, 425-822-2305. Through Jan 5.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
ALTER EGO
Self-absorption at the place that knows the subject best, with works by Jennifer Mills, Erin Norlin, John Abodele, and others. Vain, 2018 First Ave, 441-3441. Through Dec 29.
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.
J. R. R. BLEVINS
Conniving bunny slippers, crying robots, and razor-laden bologna sandwiches populate This Explains So Many Things, Blevins' latest laugh-out-loud, incoherent pictorial series. Evergreen Gallery, Evergreen State College, Olympia, 360-867-6228. Through Dec 19.
BILL BREWER
Picture-book narratives, in oil on wood, of primitive figures. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through Dec 21.
WELDON BUTLER
Recent photographic works. Mithun, Pier 56, 1201 Alaska Way, Suite 200, 623-3344. Through Jan 10.
MIKE CONNAWAY
A motivational speaker by day, Connaway presents his uplifting message of hope and accomplishment in visual form. Runnings Family Gallery, ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave SW, 938-0963. Through Dec 31.
* JOHN FEODOROV
Reviewed this issue. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Jan 25.
CARYN FRIEDLANDER
Friedlander's focus on locale, both physical and emotional, in cloudy oil pastel. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through Jan 5.
SUSAN GANS, ELLEN WIXTED
Gans' photo-based discussions on urban landscape, in mixed media, along with the rural landscapes of Wixted's Raw Land. Gallery 110, 110 S Washington St, 624-9336. Through Dec 28.
* 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, and Tim Gabor. 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. Artemis Gallery, 3107 S Day St, 323-0562. Through Dec 31.
* URSULA GULLOW
Conformity and submission, in the form of Gullow's Crowd Control, a series of paintings about the gestalt of the masses. Secluded Alley Works, 113 12th Ave, 839-0880. Through Dec 23.
DAVID HOCKNEY, RICHARD DIEBENKORN, ROBERT MOTHERWELL
A show featuring 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.
HOLIDAY GROUP SHOW
The holiday deluge continues: Cash or card? ACE Studios Gallery, 619 Western Ave, third floor, 623-1288.
BOOTSY HOLLER
Holler presents a photographic installation entitled Room of Roses, a further extension of her pink preoccupation (as seen in last month's Pink and Brown exhibit with Antjuan Oden). Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 706-7017. Through Dec 12.
JASON HUFF
An impossibly earnest show titled I Believe in Santa Claus, featuring simple models inspired by seasonal cartoon programming. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Suite 200, 296-7580. Through Dec 27.
CHAD JOHNSTON
Camera aimed straight into the void, Johnston explores a vision of emptiness--literally. Torrefazione Italia, 320 Occidental Ave S, 624-5847. Through Jan 2.
KUSTOM KROWN
From the illustrious Kustom line comes the latest, with lids for your melon by Antjuan Oden, Robert Hardgrave, Melissa Gill, Allison Agostinelli, Robert Adams, Dan Ayala, Doughlas Remy, and more. Kuhlman, 2419 First Ave, 441-1999. Through Jan 31.
* 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. Soil Gallery, 1317 E Pine St, 264-8061. Through Dec 29.
WES POPE
Photographs created with the use of a tiny pinhole in a light-sealed "camera." Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Dec 20.
MATTHEW PORTER
Dead Dog creator Porter and his wife, Andrea, celebrate the grand opening of their brand-new gallery and retail space. Bluebottle Art Gallery, 415 E Pine, 325-1592. Through Dec 31.
JUNIPER SHUEY
A video meditation on identity (how our physical body relates to the physical space it occupies) in the modern world. 911 Media Arts Center, display windows, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through Dec 20.
LOIS SILVER
Local painter Silver's narratives in oil. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315. Through Dec 28.
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
"If there's a slight schizophrenia about Trademark™'s objective (inspire thought? or sell stuff?), it shouldn't come as any surprise. Artists have negotiated that edge since forever, and I salute their ongoing ingenuity. I don't know how much credit to give Trademark™, and it's just as well, since criticism bounces right off it. It may be exactly what it says it is, a show of affordable work by artists--and this is to art's good, not to its detriment." (Emily Hall) Area 51, 401 E Pine St, 568-4782. Through Jan 3.
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.
WINTER GROUP SHOW: NEW WORKS AND NEW ARTISTS
Featuring the works of Gwen Davidson, John Grade, Xiaoze Zie, and many more. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave S, 624-7684. Through Dec 22.
HIRO YOKOSE
New works in graphite, oil, and beeswax. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Jan 11.
EVENTS
RUMMAGE
One day only. The value of this highbrow Christmas flea market showcasing local artists and designers is twofold: On top of providing an immediate support system for talented locals, it allows us lazy laymen more artistic bang for our proverbial buck. With featured artist Melodie Smith. Nation Gallery, 1921 Fifth Ave, 374-949 2. Sun Dec 15, noon-4 pm.
