MUSEUMS AND ART CENTERS

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.

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.

OPENINGS

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. Fri Sept 3 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. Sat Sept 4 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. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 6.

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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Thurs Sept 2 through Sept 28.

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. Wed Sept 1 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. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 3.

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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Thurs Sept 2 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. Sat Sept 4 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. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 6.

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. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct. 2.

ROYAL NEBEKER

Highly expressionistic figurative paintings, created over the last five years and inspired by the music of Edvard Grieg, are showcased in The Lyrical Piece. Lisa Harris Gallery, 192 Pike Place, 443-3315. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct. 2.

*ISAMU NOGUCHI

A solo exhibition by one of the world's most renowned sculptors. Featured will be works in graphite, marble, bronze, galvanized steel, and his well known Akari sculptural lamps. George Suyama, one of the Northwest's foremost architects, created an intricate setting for the works. Brian Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main St, 667-9572. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 9.

DEMI RAVEN

Digitally composed modular paintings examining interactions between image, meaning, and memory. SOIL, 310 First Ave S. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 2.

*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. Bellevue Art Museum, 301 Bellevue Square, Bellevue Mall, 425-454-3322. Sat Sept 4 through Nov 9.

DAVID SPAGNOLA

Gold-toned prints of landscapes photographed at night, yielding a warm, dreamy glow. FotoCircle, 163 S Jackson, Second Floor, 624-2645. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 2.

ELIZABETH ROSE STANTON

Delicate watercolor studies of insects all wrapped up in charming little frames and big satin bows. Funny, unexpected, and tender. Martin Zambito Fine Art, 721 Pike St, 726-9509. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 6.

DEREK STROUP

Los Angeles artist Derek Stroup shows a series of drawings and sculpture of rooftop TV antennas in a show titled Field Guide. The drawings are in India ink on typewriter paper -- fittingly obsolescent media for depicting the outmoded technology of the antennas. In the drawings and in a more recent set of delicate, realistic sculptures, Stroup creates a taxonomic classification of these vestigial structures. The Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 329-2629. Opens Tues Sept 7, 6-8 pm, through Oct 17.

SYNAPSE

Thirteen contemporary artists from Tacoma show their sculpture and installation work. ArtSpace, 216 Alaskan Way S, 442-9365. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct. 2.

RON VAN DONGEN/TAKATOMO USUI

Influenced by Karl Blossfeldt, this Dutch photographer takes his subjects from his own garden, capturing sharp focused details of flowers on gelatin silver prints. Over the last few years, G. Gibson has proven to be a venue to turn to for more than just straight photography. Usui's large-scale landscapes of Japan and the Northwest are painted with layers of acrylic color with an overlay of photo-emulsion on paper. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson, Suite 200, 587-4033. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct. 16.

BENJAMIN WILKINS

Large-scale black and white photographs of humans struggling with various elaborate machines. The contraptions most often seem to get the best of the straining figures. What's the name of the guy who has to push a rock up a hill for all eternity? King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Thurs Sept 2 through Oct 1.

*ROBERT YODER

Simply, Yoder cuts up signs and puts them back together. It is an absolute joy that he allows his work to be that simple, not feeling the need to muck up his complex abstract creations with anything other than a wax finish. The immediate recognition of the materials and the deconstructed graphic elements of signage give the new compositions a strong foundation, yet the eye doesn't instinctually try to reconstruct the original sign, it just follows the resulting dynamic lines and shapes. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Wed Sept 1 through Sept 26.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS

BRIAN BURKE

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

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.

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.

DORIS JEW

It's wonderful to see art installed in unlikely places. Jew is exhibiting her art-garments in the window of a successful downtown boutique. The dresses are seductively grotesque with misshapen body forms and rich, sexy fabrics. The windows at Baby & Co., 1936 First Ave, 448-4077. Through Sept 3.

DAVID KINSEY

In 1996 Kinsey started a design firm called Black Market Inc. and, with his partners, produced strong graphic works ranging from spray-can murals to toy designs. Kinsey exhibits both design work such as posters and skateboard graphics, and socio-political based paintings. ARO.space, 925 E Pike St, 320-0424. Through Sept 9.

STOKLEY TOWLES

Performance artist and oral historian, Towles' Magnuson Park installation, What Happened Here, sets out to create a narrative of the last 11,000 years of the park by interviewing visitors and posting signs about the stories they tell. You can find him in the military tent near the swimming beach. Sat-Mon Sept 4-6. Through Labor Day.

JULIA WHITE

Dreamy paintings of lonesome figures and dilapidated buildings. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through Oct 3.

EVENTS

BUMBERSHOOT is primarily thought of as a music festival, yet there are always solid visual art exhibitions. Check out works by one of the Northwest's most celebrated couples in Jacob & Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence: Together in the World. Also, Phresh: A Fresh Look at Northwest Art is the result of a competition for new regional talent sponsored by SAM's Pacific Northwest Art Council and juried by Trevor Fairbrother. There is a show on consumerism and another on the use of ancient symbols in contemporary art, and much more. The Seattle Center, Sept 4-6.

OPPORTUNITIES

STREETLIFE ART GALLERY is seeking visual artists to lead workshops, individual projects, and possible group projects. StreetLife is a cooperative that provides art space, supplies, and display space to homeless and very low-income people. StreetLife is sponsored by the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project. For more information contact Alena at 441-3247.