MUSEUMS AND ART CENTERS

BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

301 Bellevue Square, 425-454-3322.

FIRST DESCENT: ART AND ARTIFACTS FROM

SNOWBOARD CULTURE

Subculture comes to the mall, this time as art. This exhibition examines the snowboard aesthetic beyond the baggy-pants thing. Through April 22.

CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART

65 Cedar St, 728-1980.

NORTHWEST ANNUAL 2000

This year's juror, New York artist Mike Bidlo, produced a healthy and not altogether unsurprising list of winners for CoCA's yearly who's who. The show is heavy on photography and work that leans toward the conceptual, and painting is sort of underrepresented-although there is the marvelous, creepy, white-trash, Dejeuner-sur-L'Herbe-type painting from Marion Peck. But however you classify the work, there's a lot to like, such as Judy Allen's Dialogue: a work as mysterious as a question posed by a surrealist. This year's show also features work from last year's winners, Patrick Holderfield and Yvette Franz. Through March 11.

FRYE ART MUSEUM

704 Terry Ave, 622-9250.

DONALD BARTON: AN AMERICAN ABROAD

It's a vanished event, or at least a changed one-the Grand Tour, a young man's Wanderjahr around Europe before settling down. These days it's likely to be undertaken with a backpack and a Eurorail pass, a somewhat less-romantic undertaking. Donald Barton was a painter, and the snapshots of his 1928 trip have the added allure of his good eye. Barton focused his attention to architecture, and later turned those photographs into paintings. Through April 9.

RIFT

Ravaged, bleak, and inhospitable landscapes inspired from Norwegian artist Patrick Huse's years in Iceland. Contrast this with the Hudson River school, below; what a difference a century and a half can make. Through March 5.

THIS TRANQUIL LAND: HUDSON RIVER PAINTINGS FROM THE HERSEN COLLECTION

In the mid 1800s, a loosely formed group of artists concentrated their talents on representing the transcendentalist's Nature with a capital "N." It's a kind of romanticism we wouldn't be able to get away with these days; the wink-and-nod would be implicit. Also, those guys could make a canvas glow. Through April 16.

HENRY ART GALLERY

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

BANKS IN PINK AND BLUE

Genetics, aesthetics, and ethics-it's a frequent theme in work shown in alternative galleries, and now it's at the Henry, in an installation by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle. Here, mixed media is an understatement: Manglano-Ovalle uses sperm banks, a liquid nitrogen tank, and abstract DNA portrait photographs, as well as the more prosaic video and audio, to ask his unanswerable questions. This is the second of three in the series Future Forward: Projects in New Media. Through April 16.

*INSIDE OUT: NEW CHINESE ART

A group exhibit exploring the avant-garde in China from the mid '80s to the present. Showing artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as Chinese artists living abroad, Inside Out is a study in the contrasts of cultural identity-traditional and modern, public and political, national and individual. The show is so extensive that it takes two galleries to hold it all; the other is at the Tacoma Art Museum (1123 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, 253-272-4258). Through March 5.

SHIFTING GROUND: TRANSFORMED VIEWS OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

It's such a ubiquitous subject, and so often maligned. Here's a show that makes a gallant effort to show how landscape portrayal has changed over time, and by implication, how our attitude toward the land has been altered in the process. Certainly an exhibition that encompasses both Albert Bierstadt's Manifest Destiny--like paintings and Robert Smithson's earthworks can make visible such a jump in perspective. Through Aug 20. Reviewed this issue.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100.

*HEREABOUTS: NORTHWEST PICTURES BY SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHERS

A group of our finest local photographers show documentary images of less-familiar parts of Washington: Erika Langley goes backstage and on stage with the strippers of the Lusty Lady, Robert Lyons visits rodeos, and a whole lot more. It's all very, very good. Through March 12.

SEATTLE COLLECTS LICHTENSTEIN

Seattle's most established art institution gives over space to one of the artists who, along with Warhol, most challenged the idea of originality and what is acceptable as real art. Now he's dead and an icon, and the works shown here are largely drawn from local collections. Through May 14.

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM

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

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.

TACOMA ART MUSEUM

1123 Pacific Ave, 253-272-4258.

INSIDE/OUT

The celebrated touring show of contemporary Chinese art from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese artists living elsewhere in the world is too big for any one venue, which is why TAM shares it with the Henry. Through March 5.

WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE

407 Dexter Ave N, 264-8200.

*THE WRIGHT COLLECTION

Virginia and Bagley Wright have rehung their foundation's exhibit space, devoting one gallery entirely to their great collection of '60s and '70s color field paintings, and introducing a large David Salle oil and the John Baldessari piece Two Onlookers and Tragedy to the mix. Other highlights of their collection include a Robert Longo, Eric Fischl, a huge Warhol Rorschach, and Jules Olitski's Thigh Smoke. Open-ended run.

OPENINGS

APPROACH NEW ART

As deluged as we are with bad news from the art world-galleries closing, artists studio-less-the opening of a new gallery is a major event. Well, this may or may not qualify as an event (the press release was so vague as to be virtually useless), but Matthew Lennon (one of the featured artists) is a tireless arts activist and a lot of fun to talk to, so go anyway. Other featured artists are Karen Kosoglad and Deborah Walker. Opening reception March 2, 6-8 pm. Mary Vitold Gallery, 110 S Washington St, 624-9336. Through April 1.

DEBORAH ASCHHEIM

Not surprisingly, given its location in an architecture firm, Suyama Space tends to devote its exhibitions to work that investigates space itself, whether through surface (as with Victoria Haven's recent rubber-band drawings) or through sound (like the Trimpin installation last summer). Next up is a site-specific work from New York-artist Aschheim. She'll fill the gallery with the kind of objects she's known for: light-reflective, ethereal, biological items clustering on the floor and ceiling. This is the kind of show that changes a space. Opening reception Fri March 3, 5-7 pm. Suyama Space, 2324 Second Ave, 256-0809. Through May 7.

MARGARETHA BOOTHSMA

You-are-there landscapes combining photography and paint with sand, branches, and leaves. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Linda Hodges Gallery, 410 Occidental Ave S, 624-3034. Through April 1.

*TATIANA GARMENDIA

Compelling and dark, Garmendia's drawings of x-rays ask new questions about surface, illusion, and depth in figurative work. Here, the artist as well as the machine has "invaded" the body; illustration of disease takes the place of character study. A mind-bending concept on paper. Opening reception Fri March 3, 6-9 pm. Phinney Center Gallery, 6532 Phinney Ave N, 783-2244. Through March 31.

*GEOFF GARZA

Garza has organized his show around the idea of wabi-sabi (or, as he puts it, WABI-SABI!), which, loosely explained, celebrates the beauty and symbolic virtue of the ordinary and imperfect. This may be modesty, or it may be strategic understatement; Garza's paintings are exuberant color abstractions, with paint burnished into paper and panel. Opening reception Wed March 8, 5-7 pm. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through April 4.

ANDREW HARE

Hare's paintings zero in on small urban architectural details-a window ledge, a weathered door-so that in the end, they document a disappearing aesthetic in the slickening city. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Kimzey Miller Gallery, 1225 Second Ave, 682-2339. Through March 31.

*KEN KELLY

Four large-scale paintings from the much-awarded Kelly. His work is somehow formal and organic at the same time; Kelly uses mirror-image stencils to create shapes that are large and monumental on the one hand, but serpentine and movement-implying on the other. If that weren't enough, the surfaces of the paintings are amazingly worked. Opening reception Sat March 4, 6-8 pm. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through April 1.

TODD KEPHART

In this exhibition entitled Glass Children (after the precocious family created by J. D. Salinger), Kephart stages tableaux of events usually lost by the march of time- fleeting moments of insecurity, angst, and the simple mundane. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-9 pm. FotoCircle Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 624-2645. Through April 1.

KÄTHE KOLLWITZ

No one equaled Kollwitz (who died in 1945) for emotionally turbulent images; given the period the German-born artist lived through, it's hardly surprising that her work is shot through with suffering. This exhibition of prints is a fine introduction to Kollwitz's world. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave S, 624-6700. Through April 29.

*STEPHEN LYONS

Desire, disease, decay-these are the essential elements of Lyons' vocabulary. This show consists of gorgeous chromogenic prints of the artist's assemblages, which use obscure and enigmatic objects floated in a deep amber resin. These are artifacts which don't give up their meaning on first glance. Opening reception Sat March 4, 6-10 pm. Pound Gallery, 1216 10th , 323-0557. Through March 31.

DEBORAH MERSKY, SHIRLEY SCHEIER

There's a homey feel at Esther Claypool this month. Mersky shows patterned block prints inspired by 18th- and 19th-century textiles; Scheier's drawings incorporate ink, gouache, and collage in their investigation of everyday items. Neither artist is afraid of patterning and decoration. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through April 1.

ROSY

All about the color pink, in all its myriad associations, from girlishness to kitsch. This exhibition, curated by Laurie Cinotto and Stephanie Carlson, includes work by Nicola Vruwink, Yvette Franz, Mariam Stephan, and the curators. Opening reception Sat March 4, 6-10 pm. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 1205 Pike, 264-8061. Through April 2.

ITALO SCANGA

There's almost nothing Scanga doesn't do-painting, sculpture, ceramics, prints, glass-and he really gets around. This month, the prolific Italian artist has a painting retrospective; next month, who knows? Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main, 667-9572. Through March 31.

SELF/DEVELOPED

Five artists exhibiting for the first time in Seattle show works which incorporate photographs of themselves. The results are as wide-ranging as the mandate is specific. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through April 1.

MICHAEL SPAFFORD

The starting point for some of Spafford's new paintings is the Greek myth about Uranus and Cronus. It's a tabloid-quality story-castration, cannibalism, sex-and the work is appropriately vivid and vigorous. Other works reference the Romulus and Remus story, the one where the wolf nurses the twin boys. Who says the classics are boring? Opening reception Sun March 5, 2-4 pm. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through March 26.

MARK TAYLOR

Nudes and landscapes in acrylic on masonite and china board. Opening reception Mon March 6, 6-10 pm. Trapeze Gallery, 1130 34th Ave, 329-3363. Through April 1.

*FRIESE UNDINE

Undine's paintings resemble nothing so much as propaganda posters, but whereas propaganda overtly announces its meaning, these paintings are as cryptic as they are-weirdly-beautiful. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. William Traver Gallery, 110 Union St, Second Floor, 587-6502. Through April 2.

*ALICE WHEELER, JOHN BUCK

Most of us know Wheeler for her grunge photographs; her images of Kurt Cobain and other musicians were among the first to emerge as the scene defined itself. Her current show moves away from personalities and toward landscape, but she brings the same grittiness to them. Beauty is an option, but not the only one; Wheeler turns her sharp eye to urban landscapes as well. Buck exhibits folk-arty sculptures of wood and copper, as well as woodblock rubbings. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through April 1.

JUNKO YAMAMOTO

The exhibition is entitled Shunyata, which is a Buddhist term for emptiness. Yamamoto's paintings reflect this concept through empty thought-balloons in fields of saturated color and heavily worked surfaces. The implication is thought over speech, a refreshing idea these days. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. King County Arts Commission, 506 Second, Room 200, 296-7580. Through March 31.

AMIR ZAKI

Zaki favors empty spaces in Los Angeles at night, and the resulting photographs are dark and eerily quiet, relieved only sporadically by artificial light. There's a beauty to such un-crowded work; the parking lots and apartment houses seem almost like stages, awaiting even the smallest burst of activity. Opening reception Thurs March 2, 6-8 pm. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through April 2.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

CAROL ADELMAN

Figurative work that is pleasantly painterly. At her best, Adelman seems to sculpt with the paint. Trapeze Gallery, 1130 34th Ave, 329-3363. Through March 3.

DICK AVERNS

Averns is a British artist living in British Columbia, and his current installation at 911 uses a mixture of neon and backlit texts to explore the relationship between language and visual communication. 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through March 19.

*KRISTIN CAMMERMEYER

This exhibition of landscapes and glowing houses packs a sucker punch. You admire the skill and painterly touch of Cammermeyer's Wyeth-like paintings of her native Virginia, until you realize that most of the images are of tract housing and lifeless suburban houses. Her angle is the change wrought in the landscape of her home town, and the works' titles leave no doubt as to her perspective: Collonade Terrace, Brought to You by Oakhill Properties; Future Site of Wolftrap Meadows; Innovation Avenue. Jeffrey Moose Gallery, 1333 Fifth Ave, 467-6951. Through March 25.

BILLY CHILDISH

Brit artist Childish is prolific in a number of genres-in painting, in poetry, and in music (he was the front man for the punk bank Thee Headcoats)-and is also known for the grenades he lobs at the established business of each discipline. His painting, like his music and his writing, is raw and unpracticed-exactly the kind of so-called "outsider" work that's pressing in on the mainstream. Roq la Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through March 4.

SHELLY CORBETT

Women underwater, some clothed, in dreamy, otherworldly photography. Brian Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main St, 667-9572. Through March 4.

JOHN DUGDALE, HEAVEN AND EARTH

Dugdale's photographic meditations are taken with an early-20th-century camera and developed with a 19th-century process. His nudes are immediately recognizable, at once nostalgic and heroic. In the front gallery there's a group show exploring the theme of the artist's world, both natural and created, with work from Sandy Skoglund, John Divola, Jo Ann Verburg, and Richard Misrach. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson, 587-4033. Through March 18.

RON EHRLICH

Rhode Island painter Ehrlich is a study in the back-and-forth of artist material. He loads his panels with media (oil paint, crayon, shellac, wax) and works the surface until it is rich and textured. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through March 4.

*GREEN LADY

Another in a line of smart shows at Houston, one of the few galleries in Seattle to make the connection between art and general visual culture. Green Lady is comprised of designers Todd St. John and Gary Benzel, who began their artistic inquiry by making clothes, and then moved into graphics and installation. Their themes echo a number of millennial anxieties such as isolation, technology, and the appetite of corporations. Houston, 907 E Pike, 860-7820. Through March 15.

BOB HAOZOUS

Installations and portraits by the Native American artist. One installation, Separation, was first shown at the 1999 Venice Biennale. Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian Art, Discovery Park, 285-4425. Through March 26.

TIM MARSDEN, KURT GEISSEL

Two idiosyncratic artists team up for a show called Strange Apothecary. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through March 31.

JEFFRY MITCHELL

Mitchell mixes unlikely elements-humor and decorative arts-and still manages to make work that's referential and interesting (as opposed to kitschy, precious, or junky). His Delftware ceramics mix craft and concept, filtering cute things like puppies and bunnies through a kind of Jeff Koonsian sensibility. Elliott Brown Gallery, 619 N 35th St, #101A, 547-9740. Through March 11.

JENNY SABIN

Vessels and spaces in encaustic and intriguing-looking ceramics. Madrona Automatic, 1435 34th Ave, 329-7869. Through March 4.

SUBSTANCE

Sculpture by four very good local artists: Leslie Clague, Sarah Chase, Patrick Holderfield, and Jesse Paul Miller. Washington State Convention Center Atrium. Through March 26.

DONALD SULTAN

New York-artist Sultan's recent paintings and works on paper are big and bold and, well, big and bold. Take a flower, blow it up in deeply saturated colors, and it suddenly becomes something else. Winston Wächter, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through April 1.

EVENTS

YOUTH IN FOCUS AUCTION

Get your tickets now for an auction featuring work by local and national photographers, including Eva Sköld Westerlind, Spike Mafford, and Randy Hayes. The event is March 9, with a silent auction at 6 pm, and a live auction at 7 pm. Youth in Focus teaches photography skills to Seattle's urban kids-a good cause, and the photography's not bad either. Tickets are $45 in advance, $55 at the door; for information call 723-1479, or check out www.youthinfocus.org.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS

CALL FOR ARTISTS

It's time: The 2000 Pacific Northwest Annual at the Bellevue Art Museum is ready for your work. Call 425-454-3322, ext. 110 for an entry form, or e-mail miriams@bellevueart.org. Deadline for submissions is April 14. BAM is also accepting applications for their summer Artist-in-Residence program (deadline April 14) and for a film and video festival (deadline May 19). All information is available at the number listed above.

KENT ARTS COMMISSION GALLERY

The Kent Arts Commission is looking for artists who want to give solo shows in their gallery during the 2000-2001 season. For information call Kent Parks and Recreation, 253-856-5050.

ARTISTS' SLIDE SHOW

It's not a juried show, and the slides go by kind of quickly, but it is at the Seattle Art Museum. The public (which may or may not include curators, art dealers, and collectors) is invited to attend this slide show on March 30, and the first 150 artists to respond can have their work put in front of many pairs of eyes. The deadline for submission is March 23; for more information call the Pacific Northwest Arts Council (who put this event together) at 654-3119.