VISUAL ART
CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART
65 Cedar St, 728-1980.
*EMOTIONAL RESCUE
There's been lots of buzz--rightfully so--about Linda Farris' Contemporary ArtProject, a group of collectors ponying up dough for art, chosen by Farris and rotated through members' homes every six months or so (and destined, eventually, for donation). The group's first exhibition brings Lisa Yuskavage (of the improbably busty blondes), Justine Kurland (of the idyllic girls-only tribal communities), and Inka Essenhigh (of the glossy, surrreal fabric-like paintings). Through Oct 28.
FRYE ART MUSEUM
701 Terry Ave, 622-9250.
HELEN LOGGIE
Tree drawings so intricate that each work takes the artist months to complete--a kind of obsessiveness that's hard to argue with. Through Oct 8.
HENRY ART GALLERY
15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280.
*ANDY WARHOL DRAWINGS, 1942-1987
More than 200 drawings from the '50s, when Warhol was a commercial artist raking in the dough. Then there are the more famous works on paper from his celebrity days, and a self-portrait he drew at 14, long before his self-allotted 15 minutes began to tick away. Through Oct 8.
BEYOND NOVELTY: NEW DIGITAL IMAGERY
An interesting little one-room show featuring artists who work with digitally manipulated images, some of them quite stunning--Paul Berger's composed works look like uncut sheets of surreal trading cards. This is the logical extension to the question that photography poses about truth-telling, and about trusting what you see. Through Feb 4.
*FRANK O. GEHRY: THE ARCHITECT'S STUDIO
An exhibition of drawings and maquettes of Gehry's projects, including our own dear smashed jewel, the EMP. The idea is to give us a window into the genius' process; mostly, though, it's proof that he gets to play with cool little models. Through Nov 12.
GRAPHIC DESIGN IN THE MECHANICAL AGE: SELECTIONS FROM THE MERRILL C. BERMAN COLLECTION
Posters, ads, and ephemera from between the two World Wars. See Stranger Suggests. Through Feb 18.
MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST ART
121 S First St, La Conner, 360-466-4446.
KAIT RHOADS
Rhoads, who shows at the William Traver Gallery, fashions structures out of glass, like architects' models of hives and domes and other shelters. Their shapes are undeniably sexy, another step along the continuum that connects female imagery with vessels. Through Oct 2.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
100 University St, 654-3100.
*LANGUAGE LET LOOSE
A tiny little exhibition on the incorporation of text into the visual world. The show's centerpiece is Gary Hill's video installation House of Cards; there's also work by Walker Evans, Ed Ruscha, Alice Wheeler, and a set of Robert Heinecken's Recto/Verso pieces, complete with intelligent but unrelated commentary. Through April 29.
20th-CENTURY AMERICAN ART: THE EBSWORTH COLLECTION
Over 70 works, mostly modernist, collected by Barney A. Ebsworth, who started out collecting 16th- and 17th-century Dutch paintings, but got discouraged when he realized that all "the great pictures [were] gone." There must have been some goodies left from the postwar era; Ebsworth acquired a nifty set of works--no real masterpieces, though--by (among others) de Kooning, Sheeler, and Hockney. Through Nov 12.
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.
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1123 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, 253-272-4258.
UNDER THE INFLUENCE: NORTHWEST JEWELRY AND ETHNOGRAPHIC OBJECTS
This show, presented in conjunction with Metal-Urge, Tacoma's citywide celebration of metal arts, pairs the work of Northwest jewelers with the objects that inspire them. Through Jan 1.
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, including the photography of Frank Matsura and the contemporary work of Dean Wong and Jessica Kim. Through April 8.
WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE
407 Dexter Ave N, 264-8200.
*THE WRIGHT COLLECTION
Virginia and Bagley Wright have devoted one gallery entirely to their great collection of '60s and '70s color field paintings, and introduced 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
KAIN KARAWAHN
Karawahn, German conceptual artist and videographer in town for CoCA's New Prometheans Festival, brings five videos about fire to the windows of 911. Ranging from the rather predictable imagery of books burning to the unexpected (and unexpectedly poignant) signals transmitted by a burning video camera, the videos run until dusk--and are as good as a drive-in movie, and cheaper. 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through Oct 13.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
A.K.A. PHOTOGRAPHY
See what photographers all over the country are doing with Polaroid film--that most versatile of media. Benham Photography Studio/Gallery, 1216 First Ave, 622-2480. Through Sept 30.
BARBIE 2000
Reflections in painting and sculpture on our favorite blonde, by 12 West Coast artists. Arthead Gallery, 5411 Meridian Ave N, 633-5544. Through Oct 10.
TOM BARIL
Baril trains his lens on the floral world, in a way that's not entirely new--the suggestive nature of flowers has been documented to death. The prints are pretty, though: clear and pure, and tinted in a bath of tea. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Oct 7.
*DONNABELLE CASIS
Donnabelle Casis' paintings mostly build on abstract painting techniques, although they're clearly representational: tumorous growths, skin and hair, orifices and extremities--bodies reduced to indistinct biological forms, with some breathtaking color combinations and brushwork. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Oct 21.
GEOFFREY CHADSEY
Boys, boys, boys. Chadsey's got a shirtless, Elvis-inspired guy, he's got a young man reclining on a bed. Those boys are cute, though. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through Sept 30.
*CONSTRUCTED REALITIES
A rich assortment of the better younger photographers of Seattle: Todd Kephart, Susan Robb, Eva Skold Westerlind, and Benjamin Wilkins. Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, Suite 140, 654-3240. Through Oct 14.
DAVID DeVLEESCHOUWER
The paintings are abstract--layers of paint that alternately merge and resist each other--but there's a pleasant suggestion of the world, a whiff of Gerhard Richter's blurred landscapes. Trapeze Gallery, 1130 34th Ave, 329-3363. Through Oct 6.
DISASTER SHOW
Paintings by Robert Preston and Disasterware (paper plates handsomely outfitted with scenes from recent and past cataclysmic events) by Charles Krafft. Roq la Rue Gallery, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Sept 30.
GREG DRASLER
Drasler, a New York-based painter, has narrowed his focus from detailed and opulent interiors to the everyday objects that populate them. The works are tinged with an eerie unlikeliness, as with a Rolodex floating through a calm sky. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Sept 30.
*THE EL CAMINO EFFECT
Leslie Clague, Patrick Holderfield, Steve Veatch, Blair Wilson, and others examine the mysterious El Camino Effect, wherein new objects are created through the juxtaposition of two existing objects. Fuzzy Engine, 2801 Market St, 720-1767. Through Oct 28.
CARYN FRIEDLANDER, ED MUSANTE
Friedlander shows oil pastel on paper, Musante shows birds and small mammals painted on cigar boxes and bird covers. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through Oct 1.
GARDE RAIL AT ZEITGEIST
An exhibition of work collected by Garde Rail Gallery founders Karen Light and Marcus Pina, who traveled throughout the Midwest and South looking for excellent examples of outsider and folk art. Zeitgeist Gallery, 161 S Jackson St, 583-0497. Through Oct 4.
SAM HAMRICK, BETSY BEST-SPADARO
Work by two prolific printmakers. Shoreline Community College Gallery, 16101 Greenwood Ave N, 546-4101. Through Nov 12.
EVAN HECOX
Hecox's images of S.F.'s Chinatown or graffiti-covered vans set exactingly reproduced details against simplified background forms, mixing the strategies of direct street documentation and graphic or commercial abstraction. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through Oct 31.
I CAPOLAVORI
That's the name of this new gallery, and it means "masterpieces." The debut exhibit features work by Piero Capobianco, Damon Maxwell, and Robert McRory. I Capolavori, 2519 Fifth Ave, 448-2825. Through Oct 31.
CARA JAYE
The photos are female nudes, the embroidery over them is insects. The last touch of color is Jaye's own blood. It's about female body modification, it's about entomology, and there seems to be a reference to the wounds inflicted by traditional women's work. FotoCircle Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 624-2645. Through Sept 30.
MICHAEL KENNA, ROCKY SCHENCK
Two photographers working in low-light situations. Kenna shows prints from his new book, Nightwork, including a stunning night image of a pair of fountains in Russia, the water plumes glowing in the long-exposure blur. Schenck's photos are interiors--family scenes, to be precise. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson #200, 587-4033. Through Oct 21.
DAVID LASKY
The sardonic mind behind Urban Hipster shows his comics-influenced paintings and drawings. Glo's, 1621 E Olive Way, 529-2735. Through Oct 21.
*PETER LUCAS
WigglyWorld's Lucas gives us images of airplanes and aerial photography, intending to "create a multiple-perspective sense of movement and transition." Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 329-2629. Through Oct 15.
RANDY MCCOY
Bright new paintings, in a series called Butterfly Jokes. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through Oct 5.
*JENNIFER MCNEELY, AILEEN GAGNEY, DAVID LARA OROZCO
McNeely's soft, squishy, sexy, threatening sculptures should be required viewing for anyone with a body. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 781-2392. Through Oct 11.
METAL-URGE
Tacoma's all-city celebration of that other milled material includes exhibitions at Random Modern Gallery (1122 Market St, Tacoma, 253-383-5659, through Oct 31) and Commencement Art Gallery (902 Commerce, 253-591-5341, through Nov 3). Call 253-591-5192 for a complete roster.
MODERN STONE AGE
Heavy stuff--40 artists (including Joe Max Emminger and Julie Speidel) using concrete. Pratt Fine Arts Center, 1902 S Main St, 328-2200. Though Oct 27.
KATHY MOSS, DAVID FRENCH
New works in painting and sculpture, respectively. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 Pike St, 322-9440. Through Sept 30.
*ROBERT MOTHERWELL, ROBERT HELM
Motherwell's colossal output of collage prints is sampled, giving us a taste for his intuitive grasp of abstract composition. Helm's prints gather 16 of the dream-symbol images that much of the artist's landscape paintings draw on. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Sept 30.
MOTION MAYHEM
Rock music photography by Diona J. Mavis and C. Taylor. Crocodile Cafe, 2200 Second Ave, 448-2114. Through Sept 30.
GARY NISBET, RANDY HAYES
Nisbet's collage-on-canvas works are a familiar sight, flirting perilously close to the decorative, but often turning up a few exciting juxtapositions. Randy Hayes' technique of painting over groups of snapshots from his travels has a similar hit-miss ratio, but his hits are home runs. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through Sept 30.
NO BOUNDARIES X
The 10th anniversary of this juried show featuring work by artists with disabilities. Harrison Street Gallery, Center House, Seattle Center, 443-1843. Through Oct 31.
NORTHWEST MASTERS
A show of works by Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, Paul Horiuchi, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, William Ivey, and James Washington Jr. Kurt Lidtke Gallery, 318 Second Ave S, 623-5082. Through Sept 30.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST NEEDLE ART GUILD
With so much talk about women's work and the use of sewing in fine art, it's probably not a bad idea to spend some time looking at the real thing. The Guild members are showing all manner of needlework, from quilts to rugs to machine embroidery. Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St, Kirkland, 425-822-7161. Through Oct 27.
HENK PANDER
In The Wreck of the New Carissa, painter Pander shows off a series of seven large canvases that read like modern updates of Gericault or Turner. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave S, 624-7684. Through Sept 30.
KAZUTAKA UCHIDA
The sculptor once worked with Isamu Noguchi, and the influence is readily apparent. Still, Uchida's work with marble and granite, with its precise compositions and rough/smooth juxtapositions, has enough grace to stand alone. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main, 667-9572. Through Oct 7.
VARIETY OF LIFE
Work by photographers associated with the Reach project--an association supporting homeless and formerly homeless artists. Boomtown Cafe, 513 Third Ave, 625-2989. Through Sept 30.
BILL WHIPPLE
This sculpture is kinetic, but you have to do the work. Whipple provides the knobs and levers that make his almost quaintly silhouetted sculptures turn and click and spin. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Sept 30.
ALLISON WOODS
Woods' paintings owe a lot to the Modernist masters, but that's not a bad place for a debt. Abstract, color-rich canvasses, with accompanying pastel studies. Oculus Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 783-0488. Through Sept 30.
EVENTS
*NEW PROMETHEANS INTERNATIONAL FIRE ART FESTIVAL
The week-long series of lectures, discussions, and presentations, curated by Ingrid Larson and presented by CoCA, builds to a pyromaniac's dream: a series of ignitions out at Sand Point, including a Fire Sculpture Championship, in which teams create large works to set on fire (and how it looks while burning counts). Contact CoCA, 728-1980 for a list of the week's events, and don't miss the big burn on Oct 7; $12 tickets are available through TicketWeb or at CoCA.