BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

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


*LUMINOUS LIGHT AS MATERIAL MEDIUM AND METAPHOR

Light as 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.


CONSOLIDATED WORKS

410 Terry Ave N, 381-3218


*NOTICE OF PROPOSED LAND USE ACTION

Bye-bye, building. As a grand farewell to the temporary space, ConWorks commissioned site-specific work by 10 artists, each of whom will address the building itself, either through objects found within it, drawings outside it, or--in the case of New York artist Shannon Kennedy--looking through its innards with endoscopic cameras. Other artists are Dan Corson, Patrick Holderfield, Bret Marion, Jennifer McNeely, Brad Miller, Jesse Paul Miller, David Nechak, Matthew Picton, and Susan Robb. Opening reception Friday May 18, 8 pm-midnight (members preview 7-8 pm); $5 suggested donation. Through July 8.


HENRY ART GALLERY

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


PERFORMING PHOTOGRAPHY

Selections from the Joseph and Elaine Monson Photography Collection, 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. Through June 3.


THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF JOHN GUTMANN: CULTURE SHOCK

Images from the '30s through the '50s selected by the photographer before his death in 1998 comprise this exhibition of American street life. Through May 27.


ALEXIS ROCKMAN: FUTURE EVOLUTION

What happens when the natural is subject to continual and careless tinkering? New York artist Rockman puts genetic engineering in the crosshairs, and his aim is dead-on. Part meticulous Audubon illustration, part horror show, these paintings show us what kinds of flora and fauna might evolve (and therefore survive) in the terribly compromised circumstances we're creating on Earth. See review this issue. Through August 19.


SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100


SEWN

Sculpture by six local artists (Rachel Brumer, David Chatt, Alison Gates, Wendy Hanson, Sara Lanzillotta, and Keith Yurdana) who work with textiles and sewing. Through July 22.


TREASURES FROM A LOST CIVILIZATION: ANCIENT CHINESE ART FROM SICHUAN

You wonder if archaeology will someday become obsolete, that we'll eventually run out of artifacts to find. But then there's the discovery of a site like Sanxingdui, that 14 years ago began to give up its treasure to the eyes of the world: relics in bronze, jade, and clay from the 13th century B.C. to the third century A.D. These are wondrous, mysterious pieces--weapons, totems, vessels--the uses for which are still mostly unknown. The show is the culmination of five years' work by Jay Xu, SAM's Foster Foundation Curator of Chinese Art, and is the first large-scale U.S. exhibition of the archaeological finds (it goes on to the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas and the Metropolitan in New York). The patient anthropological guesswork goes on. Through Aug 12.


SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM

1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100


*THE EMBODIED IMAGE CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY FROM THE JOHN B. ELLIOTT COLLECTION

There really isn't any equivalent of calligraphy in American culture--a merging of art and poetry that is highly revered in Chinese culture. Elliott's collection, one of the best outside Asia, includes scrolls, album leaves, and other works, 70 of which are on view in this exhibition. Through May 27.


WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE

407 Dexter Ave N, 264-8200


*THE WRIGHT COLLECTION

Robin Wright Moll has selected works from all her family members' collections to ruminate on the idea of the Duchampian destabilization of art. Some of the high points include Andy Warhol's Oxidation (in which unspecified persons urinated on a canvas covered in metallic paint), an enormous Sol LeWitt wall drawing, and a set of Carlos Mollura's plastic pillows. Through August 11.


OPENING EXHIBITIONS


FORCEMASSVOLUME

The fifth show from Artdrill, with work from over 120 members. Opening reception Sat May 19, 4 pm-whenever. Sand Point Naval Base, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Building 11. Through May 27.


PRINT SHOW THE FIRST

New gallery! Their inaugural show features West Coast printmakers, with an emphasis on letterpress. Opening reception Fri May 18, 6:30-9 pm. Cracked Compass Productions, 2129 Third Ave, 770-5900. Through June 30.


*PHIL ROACH

Tiny perfect environments seen through a fish-eye lens. See Stranger Suggests. Opening reception Thurs May 17, 6-10 pm. Nico Gallery, 619 Western, Second Floor, 264-1710. Through June 3.


FRITZ WESTMAN

Pushpins, road paint, and photocopies transformed into conceptual objects. Opening reception Sat May 19, 6-10 pm. Li'l Red Shack Gallery, 1028 First Ave S, 621-7807. Through June 30.


CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS


THOMAS ALBRECHT, DYLAN MOSLEY, CLAUDE ZERVAS

Abstract work, in both drawing and sculpture. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, room 200, 296-7580. Through May 31.


SAMI BEN LARBI

Participants are dressed, one at a time, in a latex suit which is then inflated, and given a pair of goggles fitted out with an LCD screen and then set loose in a room with other, similarly dressed folks to... interact. Sand Point Naval Station, 7400 NE Sand Point Way, Building #11. Through May 24.


PETER BILL

If you're reading this now, you've missed the four-day exhibition of Bill's video installation Magdalena's Window, but you can still see the paintings and digital prints it inspired. Bill's video work uses time lapse and fish-eye lenses to slow down and distort urban landscapes, and his painting is similarly inspired. Nico Gallery, 619 Western Ave, Second Floor, 264-1710. Through May 28.


WELDON BUTLER

Prints and drawings from one of Seattle's sparest geometric artists. Visual Abstractions, 1130 34th St. Through May 26.


HENRY CHAMBERLAIN

Drawings based on Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog. Glo's Diner, 1621 E Olive Way, 529-2735. Through June 30.


*DAN CLOWES CHRIS WARE

What's not to love about this pair of pop-culture luminaries? Between them they've changed the visual language of comics: Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World) with his portraits of alienated men saddled by specific sexual cravings and Ware (Jimmy Corrigan) with his tiny-framed, slow-paced stories. Knowing their work is de rigeur for anyone interested in the area that comics and art share. Roq la Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through June 2.


PETER de LORY

As artist-in-residence for Seattle Public Utilities, de Lory photographed many of SPU's operations, such as water and drainage. Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, Third Floor, 585-3200. Through May 25.


JENNY DAVIDSON, DIANA FALCHUK

A show that addresses looking and the looked-at, with Davidson's photographs of women's eyes, and Falchuk's intricate sculptures made of books, wax, and twine. Forgotten Works Gallery, 619 Western Ave, Fourth Floor, 343-7212. Through May 19.


BEN DRURY

Album sleeves and limited-edition toys. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through June 2.


BETSY EBY

New encaustic diptychs--the seam between the two pieces becomes a very physical split, a kind of lightning bolt through Eby's abstract fields. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through June 6.


DAVID ECKARD

Some kind of ritual happened here--but what? Eckard has created an arena with a series of conceptual question marks. Suyama Space, 2324 Second Ave, 256-0809. Through June 8.


*LEIV FAGERENG

Welcome to the Quicksand Years showcases Fagereng's odd vision of the times--the world and our impact on it. See review this issue. Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave, 254-0475. Through June 4.


*CHRISTIAN FRENCH MEGAN MURPHY

French has created a model for the gamble of art, with an installation made of lottery tickets. Viewers are invited to contribute to a kitty for more tickets, and the winnings will be split three ways--between the artist, gallery, and purchaser. With paintings by Murphy, in a series entitled Flesh. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through June 2.


*WENDY HANSON

A window installation by Hanson, whose work is featured in SAM's Sewn show. Entitled Horn of Plenty--Memorial for a Weary Economy, this work uses discarded clothing and thread to meditate on things lost and changed. SAM Rental Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 654-3183. Through July 15.


HEARD SAID

Artist Stuart Keeler has interviewed and recorded the stories and sounds of immigrants and turned them into a sound and sculpture installation. Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 634-0919. Through May 31.


IN TRANSITION

A rotating show that explores transitional spaces, with artists Mel Curtis, Michael Gesinger, Fred Lisaius, Spike Mafford, and Marsha Karr. SAM Rental Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 654-3240. Through May 26.


*BILL JACOBSON DOUG KEYES

Jacobson uses the out-of-focus photograph to redefine seeing. From Keyes, more of his very cool book pictures--every page photographed and superimposed into one very condensed, but somehow ethereal image. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson, Suite 200, 587-4033. Through June 2.


JESUS SAYS BUY MORE FOLK ART

It's not just an excellent exhibition title; it's jazzy folk art from New Orleans. The artists are Sainte-James Boudrot, Charles Gillam, Reginald Mitchell, and "Big Al" Taplet. Garde Rail Gallery, 4750 35th Ave S, 760-3720. Through May 26.


DAVID C. KANE, GLENN RUDOLPH

Kane's Book of Physiognomy is a series of 192 small monoprint portraits created, according to the artist, in an improvisational mood. From Rudolph, the landscapes and lifestyles of rural Washington State. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through June 2.


NORIKO KATO

Traditional Sumi art. Art/Not Terminal Gallery, 2045 Westlake Ave, 233-0680. Through June 7.


I.H. KUNIYUKI

Silver-print images from Kuniyuki's performance work. Mary Vitold Gallery, 110 S Washington St, 624-9336. Through June 2.


MARGIE LIVINGSTON

Abstract work based on the observation of a thicket of trees and vines. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 1205 E Pike, 264-8061. Through May 27.


JOHANNA NITZKE MARQUIS, MAYME KRATZ

Collages from Nitzke; cast resin sculpture from Kratz. Elliott Brown Gallery, 215 Westlake Ave N, 340-8000. Through May 26.


CAMERON MARTIN

Martin plays with landscape painting by altering the very things that allow us to identify it. Horizons disappear, foreground and background shift, and distance is relative. The use of iridescent and industrial paints further complicates his take on a stale old genre. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through June 9.


RON McCOMB

Paintings and drawings from the artist whose very varied career includes all those photographs for the rolfing book--you know. This show has the excellent title of The blind homunculus gravitates toward form. Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 275-3055. Through May 20.


NATURAL CONFORMITY

This collaborative installation--the work of Kelly Wilbur, Momcilo Bozic, and Nguyen Anna Ford--features stacks of old televisions showing multiple points of view, part pre-recorded, part passers-by. 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through May 20.


NIKI POLYOCAN

New photography in a series entitled Los Ninos de Sayulita. Rose Club Café, 3601 McClellan St, 725-3654. Through May 31.


PUBLIC DOMAIN

Graffiti and large work by Romson Bustillo, Meghan Trainor, Brady Trainor, Nhon Nguyen, and Jite Agbro. Secluded Alley Works, 113 12th Ave, 839-0880. Through May 24.


LAURIE REID

The faintest of marks--watercolor with only a trace of pigment--takes the act of painting down to pure gesture. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through June 9.


TANYA ROESIJADI, RANDY WOOD

Purrponius is the name of Roesijadi's emissary (through painting) into this strange world. He's part cat, part lizard, with a fuzzy demeanor and a forked tongue. Wood's installation uses work based on his comic book series Kitties!!! Do you sense a theme here? Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through May 27.


*AMY RUEFFERT

Luminous vessels are just the beginning in a show called Beyond Tupperware. Rueffert has created a kind of domestic fantasy based on the colors of a set of Tupperware spoons; her vision is generous enough to include a bunny with switchable tails, little sweaters for the bottles, and a patio chair upholstered in stripes from the same palette. Bubba-Mavis Gallery, 1158 Eastlake Ave E, 405-3223. Through May 31.


ERIN L. SHAFKIND

Work entitled Butter & Old Fruit. Victrola Coffee and Art, 411 15th Ave E, 325-6520. Through May 31.


SAUNDRA VALENCIA, BRENDA SCALLON, ALICIA BERGER

In the front room, Valencia's mixed media lightboxes. In the "parlour," there's a video installation by Scallon and Berger. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 781-2392. Through June 6.


*KARA WALKER

It doesn't come much more discomfiting than this. Walker's silhouettes show us slave narratives that are (somehow) both horrific and whimsical. Are these stories repressed by history? A personal expression of Walker's experience as a black woman? Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through June 2.


WENDY WILSON, RENAIT STEPHENS

Photographic images on paper and fabric; the artists use 19th-century techniques to look backward whence we came. Pitcairn Scott Gallery of Design, 2207 Second Ave, 448-5380. Through May 25.