VISUAL ART
BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM
301 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, 425-454-3322.
2000 PACIFIC NORTHWEST ANNUAL
The list of artists for this year's Annual reads like an impeccable pedigree of Young Seattle Artists, including Leo Saul Berk, Susan Dory, Thess Fenner, Jeff Miller, and Nicola Vruwink. Wisely pared down from last year's laundry list, this year's show concentrates on more work by fewer artists, a happier result overall. Throughout the exhibition's run, the museum will host a series of artist residencies; the first (through July 7) features Doug Keyes, whose multiple-exposure photographs of open books are a kind of time-elapsed reading experience. Through Sept 3.
CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART
65 Cedar St, 728-1980.
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING: ART, IMAGES, AND LITERATURE FROM THE WTO PROTESTS
One of the happier results of the protests last fall is this ongoing dialogue in various arts about the event and about the idea of protest in general. Some very good artists have contributed to this show, including Friese Undine, Deborah Lawrence, and Cause B. (a graffiti writer featured earlier this year at Consolidated Works). Through July 1. Reviewed this issue.
CONSOLIDATED WORKS
410 Terry Ave N, 860-5245.
*SHEILA KLEIN
Sculptor Sheila Klein works in a wide range of media and scale, from enormous public art commissions to small conceptual pieces (including proposals to ornament city skylines with jewelry), but it all bears her trademark humor and excellent eye. This show of recent sculpture includes interactive hanging tents (viewers are invited to climb in) and a fortress made of... giant Spandex pants. Through June 30.
FRYE ART MUSEUM
701 Terry Ave, 622-9250.
GRAHAM NICKSON
The British-born Nickson, well known for his figurative painting, has been painting bathers for the last 20 years. This subject certainly has deep roots in the history of art (CĂ©zanne, Degas), and Nickson makes his mark with vivid, just-this-side-of-natural colors. Through July 16.
DAVID ROSENTHAL
Large oil paintings of Antarctica landscapes--realistic, with an otherworldly feel. Through Aug 9.
HENRY ART GALLERY
15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280.
TONY OURSLER
Oursler's video works are characteristically creepy--for example, projections of facial features that give a weird, transparent life to inanimate objects. His installation at the Henry is called The Empty Cabinet, but knowing Oursler, "empty" is a relative term. Through July 30.
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 such a jump in perspective visible. Through Aug 20.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
100 University St, 654-3158.
2000 1/2: GOING FORWARD LOOKING BACK
SAM is still insisting that this is the first year of the new century, and has mounted this exhibition from its permanent collection (and some loans) to mark its midpoint. The idea is to think about received notions of the future, which in art terms translates into thinking about experimentation and non-mainstream ways of working and how these kinds of art have become part of the visual vernacular. Among the included artists are Gary Hill, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Vanessa Beecroft, and Sherrie Levine. In addition, two small traveling exhibitions have been incorporated under this conceptual umbrella: a series of photographs by the Chinese Canadian artist C. D. Hoy, and an installation by Whitfield Lovell. Through July 16.
SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM
1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100.
THE ART OF PROTEST
Social and political issues addressed through a variety of media, including the photography of Walker Evans and the mordant commentary of Jenny Holzer. Fang Lijun's enormous woodcut, No. 19, dominates the exhibition. Through Jan 21, 2001.
WING LUKE ASIAN MUSEUM
407 Seventh Ave S, 623-5124.
THROUGH OUR EYES
An extensive exhibition of Asian American photography of the Northwest, from journalism to fine art. It includes the photography of Frank Matsura--who emigrated from Japan at the turn of the century (the last one) and documented the Okanogan frontier--through the contemporary work of Dean Wong and Jessica Kim. Through April 8, 2001.
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 include a Robert Longo, Eric Fischl, a huge Warhol Rorschach, and Jules Olitski's Thigh Smoke. Open-ended run.
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
*HOME ALIVE
A juried show, the proceeds from which benefit Home Alive, an organization committed to violence prevention. Opening reception Sat July 1, 6-10 pm. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through July 30.
BRIAN KENNEDY
Irish artist Kennedy has created a site-specific installation using salt and silver and gold. Opening reception Sat July 1, 6-10 pm. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 12th and Pike, 264-8061. Through July 30.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
ABSTRACTION FROM NATURE
Nine artists twisting the natural world--in the best of ways. In the front window is an installation by Eva Isaksen and Gail Grinnell that uses stockings and onions to compare things natural and artificial. Seattle Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery, 1134 First Ave, 654-3240. Through July 8.
JIM BLANCHARD
A show called Earaches in Ink featuring Jim Blanchard's album covers, posters, and flyers from the last 15 years. And it's all for sale. Fallout Records, 1506 E Olive Way, 323-2662. Through July 31.
*CRIS BRUCH
Bruch's intricately pieced sculpture at Consolidated Works earlier this year was absolutely mind-bending--about a thousand paper triangles fitted together somehow to make a large hollow multifaceted form. His new and similarly unfathomable installation, Duty Cycle, fills the atrium with paper and metal wheel-like forms invoking labor, repetition, and the passage of time. Suyama Space, 2324 Second Ave, 256-0809. Through Aug 18.
*CHARLES BURNS
You'll recognize the blank-eyed characters, the noir-ish atmosphere, the precise, hard-edged drawing style. Grotesque and innocent, narrative and subconscious, appalling and compelling--this is comics art at its best. Comics artists come and go, but Burns (like Crumb, like Spiegelman) endures. Roq la Rue Gallery, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through June 30.
KEITH CARTER, LARRY CALKINS
Two artists exhibiting utterly personal work, in two entirely different media. Carter's photographs of his adopted home (East Texas) reflect the popular culture of that odd place; Calkins fashions relic-like objects from wood, cloth, metal, dirt, and clay. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson St, Suite 200, 587-5751. Through July 1.
LAURIE CINOTTO
Cinotto is adept at balancing kitsch and nostalgia, the arched eyebrow with the pangs of real memory. In this installation, entitled Bird Lore, she uses all manner of objects--crocheted doilies, Styrofoam birds, sequins, and feathers--to poke at the embedded past. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Through June 30.
MARK DANIELSON
Mid-century suburbia: safe haven or claustrophobic death trap? Danielson's paintings offer just enough to make the question clear. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through July 1.
HELEN GAMBLE
A new take on life jackets by this accomplished sculptor. Artemis Gallery, 1400 31st Ave S, 323-0562. Through July 30.
PAUL GREEN
Very detailed, very precise paintings, rife with sexual symbolism and a kind of moral ambivalence about eroticism. Also at Davidson is the Northwest Print Invitational, this month featuring Washington artists. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave, 624-7684. Through July 1.
*RICHARD HUTTER
Hutter seems to draw inspiration from two rather opposing camps: a purity of shape and color associated with minimalism, and the catchall aesthetic of collage. His panels speak to each tradition, but are hardly exercises in conflict; rather, they're as calm and intriguing as Buddhist koans. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315. Through June 30.
NAN JOHNSON
Recent work inspired by travels in the Mediterranean. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike Street, 322-9440. Through July 8.
JUDITH KINDLER, SANDY SAMPSON
This opening marks the first show in Atelier 31's new space. Kindler's paintings use layers of acrylic, which give a glazed feeling to nearly photorealistic figurative images combined with simple line drawings. Sampson too combines real and abstract, and gives it a layer of wax for good measure. Atelier 31, 122 Central Way, Kirkland, 425-576-1477. Through July 11.
RICHARD KRAFT, JOSEPH BIEL
These Portland artists collaborate on mixed-media installations that include photographs, sculpture, painting, and found objects. Things are intriguingly placed, suggesting symbolism and connection. But the connections between objects aren't given; the idea is to inspire them in the mind of the viewer. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through July 29.
MACROCOSM/MICROCOSM
Nature enlarged beyond recognition and pressed right into the canvas, from artists Carolyn Watts and Eva Isaksen. Cornish College of the Arts, Fisher Gallery, 710 E Roy St, 726-5011. Through Aug 31.
*ENRIQUE MARTĂŤNEZ CELAYA
Los Angeles artist MartĂnez Celaya gives watercolor a good name. His delicate, involved work uses repeating images, such as birds or flowers or human heads, to examine the interior meanderings of the mind. Far from being precious, his work is disturbing and sort of obsessive in the best of ways. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through July 1.
*MIRROR'S EDGE
Get yourself up to Canada to see this touring show--Vancouver is as close as it's coming to Seattle--featuring work by international artists rarely shown in the U.S. Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC, 604-662-4700. Through Aug 13.
NEDDY ARTIST FELLOWSHIP EXHIBITION
The winners were recently announced: Claudia Fitch in sculpture and Mary Ann Peters in painting. You can see work by the winners and the other six nominees for this annual award, given by the Behnke Foundation: George Chacona, Deborah Mersky, and Liza von Rosenstiel (all in painting); and Lita Batho, Patrick Holderfield, and Helen Lessick (in sculpture). Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, Third Floor, 585-3200. Through July 7.
KELLY NEWCOMER, CHUCK DONG
Both Newcomer's oil paintings and Dong's prints have a smooth, glossy quality that suggest the impenetrability of advertising. But they're thankfully more beautiful. I-Spy/Nation, 1921 Fifth Ave, 374-9492. Through July 12.
TODD NEWMAN
Paintings that look like bright patternings; look closely, however, and the stylized graphic-style images emerge. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 781-2392. Through July 5.
PRINTWORKS 2000
Yet another show with "2000" in the title, but there's good work to be seen here and (not incidentally) it's one of the great benefits of the "one-percent-for-arts" funds. Among the City of Seattle's recent acquisitions are prints by Dirk Park, whose chemically etched work has an eerie and beautiful biological feel, and C. Blake Haygood, whose drypoint prints resemble inventions from the mind of Dr. Seuss, though slightly more sinister. Key Tower Gallery, Fifth and Cherry, Third Floor. Through July 14.
ROSTARR
See Stranger Suggests. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through July 13.
JOHN STAMETS, FORD GILBREATH
For a while, Stamets seemed to be an unlucky guy to have around new construction: He's the photographer who took those classic pictures of Husky Stadium collapsing, and was on hand to snap Hammering Man as it fell during installation. His current photographs are of museums under construction, including the strange evolution of the Experience Music Project. Gilbreath's subjects examine woodlands from animal perspectives. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through July 1.
MARIAM AZIZA STEPHAN
A series of drawings entitled Stranded by this sure-handed artist. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through Aug 1.
LINO TAGLIAPIETRA
These glass forms are lovely--shapely, organic, and shot through with mysterious color. There's a lot of hack glass out there, but Tagliapietra is a maestro, in the actual and metaphorical sense of the word. William Traver Gallery, 110 Union St, Second Floor, 587-6501. Through July 2.
*WHITING TENNIS
Tennis' work can be deceptively homely. He tends to reach back to decidedly un-hip precedents in art--quilting, still life--and then renders them sharp and new. These new paintings--classically arranged still lifes, landscapes, and portraits--have a kind of pervasive chill that keeps them an arm's length from sweet. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through July 1.
HENRY TURMON
The exploration of vessel-as-form is traditionally a feminine subject, but Turmon takes it on to fine effect. His sculpture and drawings in this new show draw on imaginative and metaphorical objects, such as the genie's lamp. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through July 1.
20th-CENTURY MASTER WORKS ON PAPER
Works by Dubuffet, Leger, Matisse, Picasso, Braques, Miro, and Le Corbusier. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Aug 10.
MARK VERCAMMEN
Black-and-white photographs in blurred close-up and vertiginous perspective. Lux Coffeebar, 2226 First Ave, 443-0962. Through June 30.
MATT WINKELMANN
Winkelmann's ceramic forms--heavy, hollow, imposing--have a bronze-like presence. Seemingly inspired by natural things, they're quite unreal. Random Modern Gallery, 1102 Court D, Tacoma, 253-209-3758. Through June 30.
BRANDON ZEBOLD
Zebold "draws" on steel using a flame-cutter. Now that's a powerful pen. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main, 667-9572. Through July 1.
EVENTS
FUTURE THOUGHTS
Presented by the Seattle chapter of the AIGA. Amy Franceschini (founding member of futurefarmers.com) and Steven Dietz (founding Director of New Media Initiatives at the Walker Art Center) will discuss the current state and future possibilities for new media. Thurs June 29 at 7 pm at the Adobe Conference Center (701 N 34th St). RSVP to info@aigaseattle.org; for more information contact Laura Zeck or Sara Trilling at 682-6005. Admission is $5 for AIGA members and $15 for non-members.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS
BETTY BOWEN AWARD COMPETITION
This is perhaps the most prestigious of local art awards, won year after year by the best of the bunch. But if you don't submit, you'll never know. Send six fully labeled slides of recent work, a resume, and SASE to Betty Bowen Memorial Award, Seattle Art Museum, P.O. Box 22000, Seattle, WA 98122. The postmark deadline is July 28.
FIRE SCULPTURE
It's too complicated to describe here, but if you're a mid- to late-career artist who uses fire as your main art-making media, inquire at CoCA about a competition for a show this October. For a complete entry form, send SASE to: NWFSC, c/o CoCA, 65 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121-1327. Deadline for entries is July 15.
FOCAL LENGTH
Zeitgeist is looking for short film and experimental video for this new series, held every six weeks at the cafe. Send VHS cassettes to: Zeitgeist, c/o Gina, 171 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104.