BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, 425-454-3322

*LUMINOUS: LIGHT AS MATERIAL, MEDIUM, AND METAPHOR

Light as an architectural element is one of Steven Holl's most famous tropes, and this exhibition was assembled to examine it further. It happily includes work by some of the artists you would expect to be represented: Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, Tokihiro Sato, and Iole Allesandrini. Through June 17.

CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART (CoCA)

(at Consolidated Works) 410 Terry Ave N, 728-1980 (in the loft)

INDEXTERITY

The show's title, laboriously translated from its semiotic roots, signals an inquiry into photography-as-truth, a deconstruction of its authority. Not exactly the newest idea on the block, but it's always nice to revisit it with new photographers in front of you. In this show: Yauger Yauger, Timothy Ringsmuth (Ms.), Miguel Edwards, Travis Winn, and Deborah Coito. Curated by Dan Kany. Through April 8.

CONSOLIDATED WORKS

410 Terry Ave N, 381-3218

SUBlimina

This new exhibition is the touring Altoids Curiously Strong Collection--tied rather loosely to the Consolidation Series theme of public and private thresholds, but we'll forgive it for bringing some good contemporary work by 25 emerging artists. Through April 8.

HENRY ART GALLERY

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

*WOLFGANG LAIB: A RETROSPECTIVE

Laib's work resides in the delicate realm of contemplation and nature: pollen sifted into piles and large color field--like squares, "milkstones," forms built of beeswax. This is the first American survey of Laib's work--a touring show that has been shown at the Hirshhorn in Washington D.C. and will travel to San Diego, Houston, and Munich. Through May 6.

PERFORMING PHOTOGRAPHY

Selections from the Joseph and Elaine Monson Photography Collection (one of the most comprehensive in the nation), chosen by the collection's curator, Michael van Horn. The idea is to demonstrate the medium's flexibility--from documentary to staged, entirely fictitious scenarios--but the upshot is just really good work by some of the best artists around (including Cindy Sherman, Zhang Huan, Tina Barney, Vito Acconci, Gilbert and George, and Ann Hamilton). Through June 3.

NORDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM

3014 NW 67th St, 789-5707

*BETWEEN SPACE AND TIME: CONTEMPORARY NORWEGIAN SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION

It's hard enough to keep up with American and British contemporary art; what's going on in Norway tends to be a big hole for all of us. This touring show of six mid-career Norwegian artist--which was seen in Moss, Norway, and Atlanta and moves on to New York--includes Per Barclay's oil-room installations and Bård Breivik's delicate mesh forms. The theme of the show in no way proscribes it, proving that even in a place as isolated as Norway, regional aesthetic takes a back seat to the personal one. Through April 1.

PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER

200 Second Ave N, 443-2001

*MATHEMATICA: A WORLD OF NUMBERS... AND BEYOND

The original version of this exhibit, an exploration of mathematics, created by the furniture designers Charles and Ray Eames, was one of the Pacific Science Center's first shows. Through April 29.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100

CREATING PERFECTION: SHAKER OBJECTS AND THEIR AFFINITIES

An exhibition examining the Shaker culture through its furniture, textiles, and tools, as well as photographs, prints, and drawings. A selection of non-Shaker objects shows the influences absorbed, and rejected, by this simplicity-embracing group; an adjacent display of modern works traces a similarly strict formalism that artists use to create structure in the chaotic modern world. Through April 29.

*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.

*JOHN SINGER SARGENT

This show, curator Trevor Fairbrother's swan song, pulls together an extensive representation of the work of Sargent, the premier portrait artist of his period (1856-1925). Included are a dozen of his famous portraits of the Wertheimer family, along with a good deal of his less famous works: his charcoal studies of male nudes and the watercolors he produced near the end of his life. Through March 18.

TACOMA ART MUSEUM

1123 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, 253-272-4258

*THE NEW FRONTIER: ART AND TELEVISION 1960-65

A media-wide investigation into the effects of television on culture, including work by Bruce Conner, Andy Warhol, and Yoko Ono. Through March 18.

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

GEORGE CHACONA, THERESA BATTY

In Sorrows of Isis, Chacona takes the old and recombines it into something new; Egyptian drawings, text, photographs, and etched tile. The result is Egyptian pop art, more or less. Battey is involved with her own alchemical process, merging photography and glass. Opening reception Thurs March 1, 6-8 pm. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through March 31.

*SEAN DUFFY

The Los Angeles-based Duffy takes an askance--but somehow still respectful--look at mod culture in an exhibition that will fill both Billy Howard's gallery and the furniture store that houses it. Duffy's targets are context, consumerism, and retro poaching; what's not to love in an Ikea table modified to look like a Benzedrine tablet? Opening reception Sat March 3, 6-8 pm. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through March 31.

CHRISTIAN FRENCH

It's been too long since we've seen a show of French's work; he's been hibernating for a while, dispensing his curatorial and art-activist skills instead. This show, entitled Transparence, includes previous and new work, including his gorgeous bubble prints and some black-and-white road photography. Opening reception Thurs March 1, 6-10 pm. Nico Gallery, 619 Western Ave, 264-1710. Through March 31.

KAREN GANZ

I make it a point never to quote press releases, but I loved the metaphysical description of Ganz' paintings that arrived through the mail: "A bit of whistling in the cemetery." Lovely! And true: Ganz combines slapstick cartoonish characters with layers of paint, both translucent and aggressively opaque, on a large, inescapable scale. The humor is apparent; the darkness sneaks up on you. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through April 1.

*JENNY HEISHMAN

New sculpture by Heishman, who recently returned from a fellowship working with Charles Ray (that nutty guy!). Opening reception Sat March 3, 7-10 pm. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 12th and Pike, 264-8061. Through April 1.

CLAIRE JOHNSON

Johnson's topic is the body, and her usual method of investigation is in large paintings that abstract the physical self in unexpected ways. Her new work is small, and shows cropped views of body parts that have been pierced, bruised, or otherwise altered. Opening reception Thurs March 1, 6-9 pm. Oculus Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 442-9365. Through March 31.

ROBERT MIRENZI

Mixed-media sculpture using, among other things, dried pig snouts and ears, architects' templates, and crayons, contained in wax, plaster, or found containers. Opening reception Sun March 4, 2-4 pm. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through April 1.

*JASON PUCCINELLI

Remember those paintings with the holes where the heads should be? And you'd put your head into the hole and have a picture taken as the bearded lady, or the Siamese twins? Puccinelli is reviving this sideshow tradition with full-scale paintings that offer photo ops of a much more disturbing kind. Opening reception Fri March 2, 6-11 pm. See Stranger Suggests. Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave, 254-0475. Through April 4.

JOHN SEAL

Large-scale paintings based on Polaroids--the transfer of the instant-gratification portrait to the lasting object of contemplation. Opening reception Thurs March 1, 6-8 pm. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Through March 30.

CYNTHIA LAUREEN VOGT

Little artist's books that combine photography--reproduced via laser printing and xerography--with personal oral history, both real and imagined. Opening reception Thurs March 1, 6-9 pm. FotoCircle Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 624-2645. Through March 31.

DAVID WALEGA

Pinhole cameras seem to be the photographic tool du jour. Walega uses this low-tech option to meditate on other forms of photography: portraits, landscapes, and animal studies. Opening reception Fri March 2, 6-8 pm. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through March 30.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

*MARE BLOCKER

There's a special place in my heart for book art, and Blocker takes up a lot of it. Her works combine art and text in ways that challenge the very idea of the book; her new one-of-a-kind books are being shown with a limited edition card game called The Badge Mount Set. Wessel and Lieberman Booksellers, 208 First Ave S, 682-3545. Through March 31.

JOHN BOWMAN

The primary reference for Bowman's paintings is the theater, and what we see is a fraction of it: the curtain, the stage, a chandelier. But that's all we get--the interrupted narrative is ours to provide. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through March 3.

CUBAN SPLASH/SALPIC"N CUBANO

Work by four Cuban-born artists: Ariela Boronat, Adela E. Gonzalez, Tatiana Garmendia, Tomas Oliva. Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St, Kirkland, 425-822-7161. Through March 28.

*TIMMY DOWLING

Photographs of men and their accessories, inspired by the poses of action figures. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through March 10.

THE EROTIC SHOW

Erotic, erotic, erotic. What's the big deal? You can't go to the bathroom these days without tripping over some erotic art. This particular take is the third show in the past year from those ambitious Artdrill folks. Artdrill at the CMA Art Gallery, 4205 Mary Gates Memorial Dr, 543-0178. Through March 3.

JAMES EWING, LINDA BELL, NICOLA VRUWINK

Photography by Ewing and Bell; a video installation by the multi-talented Vruwink. Commencement Art Gallery, Ninth and Commerce, Tacoma, 253-591-5341. Through March 8.

SHAWN FERRIS

Ferris' paintings--with a personal iconography of birds, eggs, and crowns--feel like Medieval miniatures--detailed, cryptic, otherworldly. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through April 4.

GREG RICHARD KALAMAR

New paintings, bright and expressionistic. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 781-2392. Through March 7.

SALLY LARSEN

Digital projections that suggest water and other personal imagery. Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian Art, Daybreak Star Arts Center, Discovery Park, 285-4425. Through April 1.

*MANIA

Fuzzy Engine's core artists take on excess, obsession, and cultural enthusiasm. Fuzzy Engine, 2801 NW Market St, 789-6951. Through March 3.

DAMON MAXWELL

New work from Maxwell, whose work ranges from the cartoonish and grotesque to the intense and abstract. I Capolavori, 2519 Fifth Ave, 448-2825. Through March 14.

MO YUN SHI

It means "Ink Rhythm Poetry," and includes work by five Chinese artists from the Anhui Province. Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, third floor, 585-3200. Through March 30.

MARIA PORGES

Bay Area artist Porges is populating the world with wax vessels. Displayed like shop items on a wooden ledge, the multicolored bottles are imprinted with words, creating layers of text and meaning. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through March 10.

PIKE POWERS

Where do boats go when they die? Recent paintings by Powers--who is also Pilchuck's artistic director--look at the dying fishing industry. Elliott Brown Gallery, 215 Westlake Ave N, 340-8000. Through March 10.

PHILIP RUBINOV-JACOBSON, ANDREA TUCKER

Strange forces seem to be at work in the paintings of both artists. Rubinov-Jackson leans more toward the mystical, while Tucker's have a more implicit humor: gorgeous blowsy girls fighting evil, business as usual. Roq La Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through March 2.

JACK SPENCER, SETH THOMPSON

Photography from Mexico and Cuba. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson, Suite 200, 587-4033. Through March 22.

EVENTS

CARL SMOOL

Smool appears as part of Art Out Loud, a new series created as part of Columbia City's art walk on the first Sunday of the month, through May. This month's topic is fire sculpture, something Smool certainly knows something about: his multi-piece sculpture was set to burn on New Year's Eve, 1999; due to paranoia about terrorism, it didn't actually go off for a few months after that. He'll speak on Sun March 4, 2:30-3:30 pm at Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S Alaska St, with a reception from 4-5 pm at the Columbia City Gallery, 4916 Rainier Ave S. For information about tickets, call the gallery at 760-9843.