FRYE ART MUSEUM

704 Terry Ave, 622-9250


NORTHWEST VIEWS: SELECTIONS FROM THE SAFECO COLLECTION

SAFECO has been one of the most voracious collectors of local artists for almost 30 years. Here, a selection of figurative works. Through Nov 4.


WITNESS AND LEGACY: CONTEMPORARY ART ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

How can art represent tragedy on a grand scale? What can be derived from it? What can be learned? Answers (perhaps) here. Through Jan 13, 2002.


HENRY ART GALLERY

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


* JEFFRY MITCHELL: HANABUKI

In Hanabuki--a word that Mitchell has constructed to mean "snowing flowers"--ideas swirl around the viewer like gentle winds: contemplation vs. participation, fragments vs. whole, East vs. West, puns, bears, movement. It's a two-level installation loosely tied to ideas of heaven and earth, with a fur-lined cave below and clean white ikebana above. Through Jan 6, 2002.


* SHORT STORIES

A series of staggered rotating exhibitions that includes work from the permanent collection, commissioned projects, and installations. Work currently featured includes a suite of contemplative paintings by Denzil Hurley, Ernesto Neto's Flying Gloup Nave (a walk-through sculpture with undeniable biological associations), and photographed drawings in sugar, chocolate, and dirt by Vik Muniz. Lecture with Vik Muniz Sun Oct 14, 2 pm. Through May 12, 2002.


SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100


FIRST PERSON SINGULAR

Works that feature a lone figure, with contributions from Chuck Close, Catherine Opie, and Anselm Kiefer (from the museum's permanent collection) as well as John Currin and Francesco Clemente (on loan). Neat idea. Through Jan 2, 2002.


ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: WOMEN

See Review this issue. Photographs of women from all walks of life, presented not as an argument, but a document of where women are now. Through Jan 6, 2002.


ANNA SKIBSKA

Insisting on the delicacy of glass (something I think we forget here in Studio Glass world), Skibska stretches it into intricate webs. Polish-born, Seattle-residing, and Pilchuck-teaching, she brings a much-needed sophistication to the medium. Through Feb 17, 2002.


WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, (888) 238-4373


STUFF AND JUNK: THE STORY OF A BRICOLEUR

An assemblage by Eastern Washington sculptor Harold Balazs, who was recently designated one of Washington's "Living Treasures" by the people who designate those kinds of things. He's best known for his public art--enormous gate-like structures in enamel, metal, and concrete--but is also part of this state's fine-art heritage. Through Sept 2002.


WESTERN GALLERY

Fine Arts Complex , Western Washington University, Bellingham, (360) 650-3900


BOTANICA

Art and plants, with work by some top-notch artists, including Kiki Smith, Alexis Rockman, David Wojnarowicz, Darren Waterston, and others. Through Dec 1.


WING LUKE ASIAN MUSEUM

407 Seventh Ave S, 623-5124


IF TIRED HANDS COULD TALK: STORIES OF ASIAN GARMENT WORKERS

Tired hands can't talk--but a series of videos, oral history interviews, and an installation recreating the working conditions of Asian immigrant workers can. Through Feb 2002.


OPENING EXHIBITIONS


* BLINK

Michael O'Malley is a very, very good sculptor who graced us with his presence in Seattle for a year or two and then took off (further evidence that we can't hold on to our best artists?). At any rate, before he left, he curated this interesting show about artists and popular culture: resisting it, incorporating it, feeling its pressure. With work by Paul Sacaridiz, Jennifer Lapham, Debbie Reichard, Jim Hegge, Paul Matevier, and Phil Roach. Opening reception Thurs Oct 11, 6-9 pm. Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St, Kirkland, (425) 822-7161. Through Nov 16.


LAURIE BOWDEN

Bowden paints on birchwood, which creates an unexpected and dynamic relationship between the plane and its line. Rather mod, in a way. Opening reception Sat Oct 13, 6-10 pm. Cut Kulture, 2018 First Ave, 683-3809. Through Nov 10.


LOS ALTARES: UNA CELEBRACI"N DEL DĂŤA DE LOS MUERTOS

For all of you who skipped the romance languages, that's Altars: A Celebration of Day of the Dead. It's a window installation--presented as an introduction to ¡Mira! Festival de Cine y Video Latino--by Carlos Durán with Barbara DePirro, Rebeca Rabbit, Luis Sanchez, and Nora Sidione-Brown. Opening reception Thurs Oct 11, 7 pm. 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through Nov 4.


* SAVAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

Blatant conflict-of-interest alert! Illustrations by Stranger Art Director Joe Newton, as seen in Dan Savage's column Savage Love. But that doesn't mean it ain't great! And every piece is under $50! Opening reception Sun Oct 14, 7-9:30 pm. The Rose Club, 3601 S McClellan St, for info e-mail roseclub@cablespeed.com. Through Dec 1.


CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS


ANIMATION SENSATION

Presented in collaboration with the Sixth Annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Animation Sensation features all manner of animation, from low- to high-tech. Shown with many original works. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through Oct 21.


MARK A. K. BOISSY

Boissy is a Senegalese artist currently living in Paris. His work involves cutting directly into the canvas, and then painting totemic images on top. Mwoyo Arts, 1125 Pike St, 223-0908. Through Oct 29.


CELEBRATION AND VISION: THE HEWITT COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART

One of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in the country. Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, Third Floor, 585-3200. Through Oct 26.


* MARCEL DZAMA, ED WICKLANDER

See Stranger Suggests. Dzama works in a kind of cultural miniature--a series of drawings that fall somewhere between doodle and manuscript illumination. In them, humans and creatures inhabit a world of surrealistic possibility: creepy, unexpected, but somehow quite dear. With sculptures by Wicklander. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Oct 27.


EMBRACING SCIENCE

Three New York artists investigate science through photography. Susan Jennings creates petri-dish images from air samples taken at gallery openings; Charlie Lindsay and Andrew Bordwin subject various media to electrical charges and photograph the results. An elegant intersection of microcosm and image. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Oct 27.


MICK GRONEK

Gronek's "chemical paintings" depend on the kind of alchemy that happens when patinas are applied to metal. The result is vaguely Pompeiian, crossed with '60s pop patterns. Velocity Art and Design, 2206 Queen Anne Ave N #201, 781-9494. Through Oct 17.


SHERRY KARVER

In Grand Central Station Series, Karver combines photography, digital manipulation, and oil painting to create a strangely prescient portrait of life in New York these days. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315. Through Oct 27.


* KUSTOM PURSE

Retail: the new future of art galleries. This show, curated by artist Elizabeth Jameson, features purses created by 30 of my favorite artists. These are not your average accessories: Prepare to have your mind bent, at least a little. Kuhlman Clothing, 2419 First Ave, 441-1999. Through Nov 29.


FELIX MacNEE, PAUL SPENCER

Two San Francisco artists are showing a total of 1,000 drawings, created in blocks of 14 in sessions that explore imagination and its derivatives. Proceeds from this Herculean show benefit National Disaster Relief. Nico Gallery, 619 Western Ave, 2nd floor, 264-1710. Through Oct 28.


* NEW WORKS LABORATORY 2001

This kicks ass! Co-presented by 911 Media Arts Center and the Henry Art Gallery, the New Works Laboratory features traditional-media artists paired with new-media artists: Phil Roach and Jennifer West; Donnabelle Casis and Dave Hanagan; and Susan Robb and R. Eugene Parnell. New City Theater, First Christian Church, 1632 Broadway Ave, 682-6552. Through Oct 24.


* JOSEPH PARK, MARK TAKAMICHI MILLER

See Bio: Art. New work from two of Seattle's (very different) power painters. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Oct 20.


* SARAH PETERS, ALEXANDER SCHWEDER

The icons of girlhood come under Peters' sharp lens in the wonderfully titled Pink Dingus; Schweder's urinals acknowledge Duchamp, but are fully functional. Both artists have recently done residencies at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin, with all its implied connection to plumbing and fixtures. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Oct 27.


EPHRAIM RUSSELL

Raising questions of usefulness and function, Russell's sculptures look like everyday objects--those that receive the attention of the industrial-design community--but are simply objects. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Through Oct 27.


CATHY SARKOWSKY

New paintings featuring explosive, psychedelic bursts of color laid over childlike drawings and images. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through Oct 16.


TAKE MY PICTURE

Work from 60 emerging artists, each of them an advanced-certificate student at PCN. At the Nov 3 party everyone goes home with one of the photographs for a measly $125 ticket. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Nov 3 (stay tuned for party details).


* TREAT ME GOOD

This show looks at the ongoing influence of a tough-chick rock star whose manufactured persona marched miles ahead of her. With work by Shawn Wolfe, Linda Peschong, Ryan Berg, John Seal, and others. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 1412 12th Ave, 264-8061. Through Oct 31.


LISA ZERKOWITZ, ITALO SCANGA

Reverie is a collection of Zerkowitz's etched-steel sculptures. With a mini-retrospective of Scanga's energetic sculpture and painting; the artist died this summer. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 115 S Main St, 667-9572. Through Oct 27.


EVENTS


BLENKO MUSEUM GRAND OPENING

I'm sure the Blenko Company is made up of very nice people, and the artists are all very sincere, but here it is: another glass venue. Was it really Richard M. Nixon who said, "People who like this sort of thing will find this is the sort of thing they like"? Anyway: Fri Oct 12 and Sat Oct 13, 7-10 pm, at 222 Westlake Ave N (in the Westlake Antique Mall). For information call 628-3117.


PIGS ON PARADE GALA AUCTION

Okay, everyone knows how I feel about this. But don't you want to see how it all turns out? Sat Oct 13 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center Skybridge. Tickets are $225 to start with cocktails and then dinner, $75 to arrive with the hoi polloi. For information call 682-PIGS.


THIRD ANNUAL BRA SHOW

Bras made by artists to promote breast cancer awareness; all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. Thurs Oct 11 and Fri Oct 12, 11:30 am and 1 pm. At the Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, 443-3241.