by Meg Shiffler

MUSEUMS AND ART CENTERS

BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

301 Bellevue Square, Bellevue Mall, 425-454-3322.

*The Self, Absorbed

Curated by BAM director Brian Wallace, a simple-self portrait show this is not, as artists from across the country examine themselves with entirely new concepts in mind like cloning, medical imaging, and cosmetic surgery. Simple and captivating works like photographs and paintings incorporating DNA codes are contrasted with a video tape of an artist who drinks tequila until she passes out, while another artist documents in detail her many plastic surgeries. Way to shake up those Eastsiders, Brian. A few of the artists included are Chuck Close, Harriet Casdin-Silver, Denise Marika, and Do-Hoh Suh. Through Nov 9.

COCA

(Center on Contemporary Art), 65 Cedar St, 728-1980.

*Boy

A ten-year-old boy named Gregory Smart is at the center of a new collaborative installation created specifically for CoCA by the artist team of Harrell Fletcher and Jon Rubin. The fictitious Smart comes to life through video taken by a real little boy who wore a video-helmet as he went about his daily routine. The installation includes the video as well as items from the boy's life, like balls and a small-scale soccer field. Through Nov 9.

HENRY ART GALLERY

15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280.

Archigram

The Henry scores the fun show of the summer by bringing in Archigram: Experimental Architecture 1961-1974, a touring retrospective organized by Thread Waxing Space in New York. Founded by a sextet of London artist/architects, Archigram did everything but build actual buildings, using drawings, models, collages, and installations to develop utopian ideas with a pop-art look. Their nomadic city of stilt-walking buildings is a dream worthy of the finest science fiction. Through Oct 10.

Hillary Leone and Jennifer Macdonald

New York artists Leone and Macdonald have created works dealing with tough social and political issues including the AIDS pandemic, censorship, and racial biases. The five installations and over 40 objects and 2D pieces chosen examine more than a decade of collaboration. The work is refined and delicate, incorporating mixed media with a wide variety of materials such as bronze, paper, silver, needlework, and sand. Through Oct 3.

Jennifer Steinkamp

An installation entitled Phase=Time was created as the first commissioned new work in the series Future Forward, which features artists working with new technologies. Rhythmically pulsating light patterns flow across a scrim, creating a large-scale abstract environment for viewers to become engulfed and slightly nauseous in. Through Oct 3.

Nordic Heritage Museum

3014 NW 67th, 789-5707.

Vebjorn Sand

This traveling exhibition of works by a prominent Norwegian contemporary artist includes paintings and renderings from major installations, a 16 foot steel replica of Leonardo da Vinci's Golden Horn Bridge, and a series of extraordinarily rich paintings. Through Nov 16.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100.

Anselm Kiefer and Germanic Tradition

Paintings, works on paper, and sculpture bring contemporary German works into focus. Kiefer, born at the end of WWII, balances visually powerful imagery with intellectual critical analysis in highly dramatic paintings. Works by Max Beckmann, Rosemarie Trockel, and others. Through Dec 5.

*Roy McMakin

In an installation dividing the gallery into the layout of a house -- bedroom, bathroom, living room, and dining room -- Seattle artist, furniture maker, and architect McMakin uses stacks upon stacks of generic, store-bought household items, including refrigerators, toilets, tables, and mattresses. Each item stands in for others: a line of toilets becomes a couch, several refrigerators on their backs become a bed. This unconventional stuffing of a traditional living situation creates an environment of carefully calculated manic obsession. Through Oct 31.

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM

1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100.

Modern Masters of Kyoto

Works by late 19th and early 20th century artists from Kyoto round out the programming for SAAM's"Year of Japan." This collection is owned by Northwest residents Griffith and Patricia Way and contains more than 80 examples of Kyoto-school nihonga -- modern Japanese paintings executed in traditional media formats. Through Feb 13.

Worlds of Fantasy: Chinese Shadow Puppets

Volunteer Park hosts more than 70 puppets from the 19th century. The majority of the exhibited works come from the collection of Theodore Bodde, who purchased the extraordinary objects while in Beijing in the 1930s. Chinese textiles with related themes will accompany. Through April 2, 2000.

TACOMA ART MUSEUM

1123 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, 253-272-4258.

*New Religion

A perfect show in anticipation of the end of the millennium. A look at works with religious allegory at their foundation, including everything from Donald Roller Wilson's hysterically irreverent, yet technically remarkable costumed animal paintings to the tattoo-style renderings of Don Ed Hardy. Other artists include Melissa Weinman, Kathleen Jesse, Kathleen Fruge-Brown, Jon Swihart, Mark Ryden, Tom Uttech, and more. Through Nov 7.

The End

Artists were challenged to create a portrait of the century as we look toward the new millennium, and the 94 selected works range from apocalyptic visions to depictions of cute newborn animals. The show was juried by New York-based sculptor, political activist, and installation artist Fred Wilson, who was also recently awarded the MacArthur Fellowship. Wilson is best known for his museum "interventions" including Mining the Museum, a celebrated and unusual collaboration between Wilson and the Maryland Historical Society. Through Oct 31.

WING LUKE ASIAN MUSEUM

407 Seventh Ave S, 623-5124.

A Different Battle

An exhibit that explores the stories of Asian Pacific American (APA) veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Grenada Invasion, and the Persian Gulf War. The stories are conveyed through written text, audio, and video components that are divided into two sections -- how the military and combat shaped the lives of these veterans, and how it has affected the lives of individuals, families, and communities of future generations. Through April 9, 2000.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS

1999 NORTHWEST FINE ARTS COMPETITION

And the winners are Emily Barronian, Barbara Britts, Suzzanne Fokine-Thomas, Timothy Foss, Susan Gans, Geoff Garza, Paul Johnson, Maggie Mackin, Doris Mosler, Dale Reiger, Julia Ricketts, Nina Seven, and Kristin Tollefson. Phinney Center Gallery, 6532 Phinney Ave N, 783-2244. Through Sept 30.

BRUCE BARNBAUM/PAVEL BANKA

Southwest landscapes by resident gallery artist Barnbaum alongside surreal domestic scenes by Czech photographer Banka. Benham Photography Gallery, 1216 First Ave, 622-2480. Through Oct 16.

DEBRA BAXTER

Energetic, abstract paintings with deeply worked surfaces and a slightly whimsical feel. Madrona Automatic, 1435 34th Ave, 329-7869. Through Sept 26.

*GRETCHEN BENNETT

Bennett is one of the brightest young artists to watch in Seattle, and her new body of abstract works on paper and canvas combine paint, mixed media, stitching, and printmaking. Whatever her medium, Bennett's work is always consistent, smart, and remarkably unpretentious. Zeitgeist, 161 S Jackson. Through Oct 6.

BRIAN BURKE

A new body of delicate figurative paintings entitled Bedlam, continued. LEAD Gallery, 1022 First Ave, 623-6240. Through Oct 1.

MARSHA BURNS

New photos by one of the Northwest's most celebrated photographers from her recent travels through Europe, Africa, and Asia. Curated by Margery Aronson. The Norton Building, 801 Second Ave. Through Oct 16.

MARK CALDERON

In the recent past Calderon created a series of yummy, pastel-toned, light and airy kiln-cast glass sculpture -- charming. His recent work is an obvious departure as he is utilizing modified cast cement to create serious and stately mid-sized sculptures. The surfaces of the simple forms are patinated with acids, and of all things -- urine. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Oct 6.

FANDRA CHANG

Chang, a Los Angeles-based artist, creates large, mesmerizing, acid-colored paintings on canvases that look as if they were computer generated, but are meticulously hand worked. Presented alongside many of the paintings are positive and negative films mounted to Plexiglas and anodized aluminum. This play with what is original and what is real gives the abstract work a strong conceptual backbone. Jim Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through Oct 2.

LINDA CONNOR

Although Connor travels the globe, her photographs don't read as travel documentary. The black and white photographs carry images of sacred places and indigenous people and are lush, precise, and hauntingly spiritual without being over-stated. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Sept 28.

JULIE CUSTER/TERESA REDDEN

Two ambitious young sculptors working in metal and fabric. When they team up there is always a fine combination of strength and tenderness. Emerging artists to watch. Robbie Mildred Gallery, 307 E Pike St, 903-1246. Through Oct 14.

MALCOLM EDWARDS

Beauty After Fifty is a show of studio portrait photographs of remarkable women. Nude studies of three women ages 50, 58, and 73 clearly exhibiting that beauty truly exists at any age. The Underground Gallery, 214 First Ave, The Grand Central Arcade, Studio B-1, 340-9395. Through Oct 15.

ANN GARDNER

Glass mosaic sculptural pieces and intricate drawings layering simple geometric shapes make up a new solo exhibition entitled Continuum. William Traver Gallery, 110 Union St, Second Floor, 587-6501. Through Oct 3.

GLENDA GUILMET

Photographs printed on rock surfaces, evoking cave paintings and petroglyphs. Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian Art, Daybreak Star Arts Center, Discovery Park, 285-4425. Through Oct 24.

STEPHEN HANNOCK

This New York artist creates deep, rich paintings of sweeping landscapes and nocturnes. Winston Wachter, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Oct 23.

PATRICK HOLDERFIELD

911 has resurrected its window installation program with a vengeance, working with some of the best artists in town and presenting truly provocative works. Currently Holderfield, a Northwest artist on the rise, has installed Exodus: A Fable where taxidermy forms play out a twisted little story about animal friends who invent a robot that eventually turns on them. 911 Media Arts Center (windows), 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through Sept 26.

*HORSEHEAD INTERNATIONAL 1999

Thirty-six artists from the Northwest and beyond have created site specific works on the grounds of Sand Point. At the same time, five artists, including Iole Allessandrini and Stokely Towles, were commissioned by Seattle Arts Commission to install new works there. With the map provided they are all easy to find, and the setting is hard to beat. Sand Point, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, 282-2935. Through Sept 30.

JASON HUFF

This Kirkland Art Center ceramic instructor has chosen pop icons and cartoon characters to communicate social, political, and racial issues in his new installation, Hora! Hora! Hora! RAW Gallery, at the Northwest Asian Theater, 409 Seventh Ave S, 340-1445. Through Sept 30.

*ANDREW KEATING/SCOTT FIFE

Keating's work is profoundly lonely and clinical in its presentation of architectural elements floating in space. With the absence of a human presence, these studies become abstract objects without references to environment, scale, or time. Fife has created a collection of 1950s haute couture dresses constructed from archival cardboard. The crappy and organic nature of his media of choice clashes wonderfully with the self-conscious presence of the elite nature of high fashion. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Oct 2.

VLADIMIR KUSH

Kush tags his work as "ultra-realism," a concept borrowed from a Spanish philosopher whose theory it was that decisional imagery resonates with universal thought. It is hard to determine what is real inside of paintings within paintings packed with complex iconography. Davidson Gallery, 313 Occidental Ave S, 624-4588. Through Oct. 2.

*JAMES LAVADOUR

Lavadour's landscape paintings and prints carry with them the dramatic sense of the awesome power of nature. Fire and smoke distort the mountains and the sky, leaving a fiery scene at the forefront of the composition. The intense coloration almost exudes heat in these remarkable works. Grover Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through Oct 2.

LOADED

A juried group exhibition exploring the varied definitions of the title, curated by Stranger Art Director Hank Trotter. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through Sept 26.

ANDREA MAKI

Big mixed media collages with a sharp, graphic sensibility. The work is compositionally straightforward but bold, and executed with great technical prowess. Cisco and Silver also includes a projection piece. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Oct 6.

*JAMES MARTIN

A man in a red cart, wearing knee-socks and high heels, is pulled along by a fish while a goose flies overhead with a sailor attached like a hot air balloon. This is the world of James Martin, and there is no better storyteller around. Martin, a contemporary of Morris Graves and Mark Tobey, paints his wild narratives in gouache on paper, or paper bag. His paintings are still inexpensive and well worth a trip to Kirkland to see. Foster/White Gallery-Kirkland, 126 Central Way, 425-822-2305. Through Oct 10.

RICHARD MARQUIS

A new series of vessels and sample boxes made with murrine, or mosaic glass, in the form of animal silhouettes. The 12 works in Animal Kingdom, which took Marquis two years to make, will be accompanied by pieces the artist created in 1998-99 at the famous Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland. Elliott Brown Gallery, 619 North 35th St #101A, 547-9740. Through Oct 2.

MENAGERIE

A show exploring animal imagery in art featuring Shawn Farris, Kathy Glowen, Layne Kleinart, Cynthia Krieble, Carolyn Krieg, Antjuan Oden, Andre Petterson, Cheryl dos Remedios, and Elizabeth Sandvig. SAM Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, Suite 140, 634-3240. Through Oct 16.

KENNA MOSER

One of the few artists around working with beeswax and not making a mess or using the medium to try to give dull work some vitality. Moser's work is always fresh. The tiny scale lends itself perfectly to the delicately placed collage of photographs, drawings, text, and prints. The wax turns the pieces into ephemeral time capsules. Linda Hodges Gallery, 410 Occidental Ave S, 624-3034. Through Oct. 2.

ROYAL NEBEKER

Highly expressionistic figurative paintings, created over the last five years and inspired by the music