MUSEUMS AND ART CENTERSBELLEVUE ART MUSEUM301 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, 425-454-3322.*GAME SHOWBAM weighs in with another unexpected look at art. Brian Wallace's latest exhibit features games designed by artists, writers, and musicians. There's work that is fun to touch and see and play with, but the intent is serious: An exhibit about creativity, decision-making, and how one relates to a work of art. Artists-in-residence include Seattle artist Helen Lessick and English game theorist Beryl Graham. Through Jan 30.

FRYE ART MUSEUM704 Terry Ave, 622-9250.JON SWIHARTTwenty years of cryptic paintings by Swihart, who fuses highly realistic painting with mysterious rituals, everyday details, and unexplained imagery. As a result, they seem like works we should recognize and understand -- but don't. Through Feb 6.

HENRY ART GALLERY15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280.*INSIDE OUT: NEW CHINESE ARTA group exhibit exploring the avant-garde in China from the mid '80s to the present. The show is so extensive that it takes two galleries to hold it all; the other is at the Tacoma Art Museum (1123 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, 253-272-4258). Through March 5.WHAT IT MEANT TO BE MODERN, SEATTLE ART AT MID-CENTURYOver 100 works -- including sculpture, paintings, and works on paper -- exploring the art and influence of a specific group of regional artists tagged by Life magazine in 1953 as the "Mystic Painters of the Northwest," which included Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and Mark Tobey. The exhibition follows the evolution of the "Northwest School" of artists from 1932 to 1962, and contextualizes their work with other national and international movements. Through Jan 23.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM100 University St, 654-3100.AN AMERICAN CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FROM DRYPOINT TO DIGITALAn important exhibition of works from the Hallmark Photographic Collection, examining important artists from Edward Muybridge to Aaron Siskind to Sandy Skoglund, and the advancement of photographic techniques throughout this century. Through Jan 9.*HEREABOUTS: NORTHWEST PICTURES BY SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHERSA group of our finest local photographers show documentary images of less-familiar parts of Washington: Erika Langley; Robert Lyons; Glenn Rudolph; Alice Wheeler; Kristen Capp; Andrew Miksys; and Alan Berner. It's all very, very good. Through March 12.

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100.MODERN MASTERS OF KYOTOWorks by late 19th- and early 20th-century artists from Kyoto round out the programming for SAAM's "Year of Japan." Through Feb 13.WORLDS OF FANTASY: CHINESE SHADOW PUPPETSVolunteer 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.TACOMA ART MUSEUM1123 Pacific Ave, 253-272-4258INSIDE/OUTThe celebrated touring show of contemporary Chinese art from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese artists living elsewhere in the world, is too big for any one venue, which is why TAM shared it with the Henry. See the other half of the local show, just down the road off I-5. Through March 5.

WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE407 Dexter Ave N, 264-8200.*THE WRIGHT COLLECTIONVirginia and Bagley Wright have rehung their foundation's exhibit space, devoting one gallery entirely to their great collection of '60s and '70s color field paintings, and introducing a large David Salle oil and the John Baldessari piece Two Onlookers and Tragedy to the mix. Other highlights of their collection include a Robert Longo, Eric Fischl, a huge Warhol Rorschach, and Jules Olitski's Thigh Smoke. Open-ended run.

GALLERY OPENINGSLARRY BEMMAbstract paintings which layer oval forms in light, near-pastel colors. Ballard/Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Opens Wed Jan 12, 5-8 pm. Through Feb 5.CAROL BOLTBolt creates a site-specific installation entitled Willing within view of the public in the First Avenue window of the Rental/Sales Gallery, where it'll sit through mid-February. Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 748-9282. Performance Thurs Jan 6, 5-6:30 pm.TOM FEHER/SCOTT BICKELLA pair of photographers explore new possibilities of traditional photographic printing techniques. Feher shows moody shots from here and far away, while Bickell ruminates on Vashon Island and Washington coast landscapes and flowers. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Opens Fri Jan 7, 6-8 pm. Through Jan 30.CHRIS GRANTThe final show at Soil's Pioneer Square digs is an installation entitled Technological Isolation Tank #.618A, which claims to be "a reactive video installation confronting viewers with the electro-chemical presence of people and their surroundings." Soil Artist Cooperative, 310 First Ave S, 329-4271. Opens Thurs Jan 6, 6-10 pm. Through Jan 30.DEBORAH LAWRENCE/ERIC STOTIKLawrence shows obsessively collaged 2D works joining compositions drawn from early Northern European paintings and quilts with contemporary, social-issue driven subject matter. Betty Bowen Award-winner Stotik shows small narrative paintings and drawings in back. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Opens Thurs Jan 6, 6-8 pm. Through Jan 29.THE LION IN THE ARENAA photographic installation of images from the WTO protests, with work by Joseph Barboza, Akiko Sato, Junko Yamamoto, Scott Chin, and Hisao Iehara. RAW Gallery, NW Asian American Theatre, 409 Seventh Ave S, 340-1445. Opens Fri Jan 7, 5-7:30 pm. Through Jan 23.*CARLOS MOLLURA/ MARGARET KILGALLENLos Angeles artist Mollura shows a huge inflated sculpture filling half of Harris' front gallery. In back, Kilgallen shows prints. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Opens Sat Jan 8, 5-7 pm. Through Jan 30.NOW WHAT? REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST 1,000 YEARSA passel of gallery artists and invitees ruminate on the millennium. Participating artists include Squire Broel, Jena Scott, and T. Ellen Sollod. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Opens Thurs Jan 6, 6-9 pm. Through Jan 29.*SUSAN ROBBBest known as a photographer, Robb has ventured into sculpture and installation work. Her show Weatherradio, 3200: Handmade Genetics and Homestyle Plastic, includes cast polymer plaques, fur and latex sculptures, and inkjet prints, all with biological themes. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Opens Sat Jan 8, 6-10 pm. Through Jan 30.GEORGE TSUTAKAWAThe creator of the mossy fountains in the Opera House courtyard shows paintings and sculpture. Foster/White Gallery, 123 S Jackson St, 622-7606. Opens Thurs Jan 6. Through Jan 30.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS*LEO SAUL BERKBerk takes plywood and exploits its weaknesses -- its knots and uneven surfaces -- to beautiful effect. The result is miraculous -- wood, but not quite. The Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 329-2629. Through Jan 16.BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITYWinston-Wachter's inaugural photography exhibition celebrates the city and its inhabitants, its lights (obviously), and its glamour. Such luminaries as Irving Penn and Alexander Liberman are featured. Winston-Wachter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Jan 8.LISA BUCHANANThese large new paintings are beautifully patterned but nothing like simple decoration. They recall the backgrounds of a Klimt painting, but the shapes are more uneasy and neurotic. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main St, 667-9572. Through Jan 29.CLAIRE COWIEAn exhibit of prints and mixed-media sculpture that uses just about every medium imaginable. Madrona Automatic, 1435 34th Ave, 329-7869. Through Jan 9.ROLON BERT GARNERLongtime Seattle arts fixture Garner, currently associated with Two Bells Tavern's excellent art program, shows recent paintings at Two Bells and the Virginia Inn -- the other downtown Seattle bar with great taste in art. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050; Virginia Inn, 1937 First Ave, 728-1937. Through Feb 1.GREATEST HITSNew-brow art from Roq La Rue's regulars, including Niagara, Stefan Knorr, and Bwana Spoons. Roq La Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977.BOB HAOZOUSInstallations and portraits by the Native American artist. One installation, Separation, was first shown at the 1999 Venice Biennale. Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian Art, Discovery Park, 285-4425. Through March 26.CAROLYN KRIEG/PERIPHERAL VISIONARIESUsing the hues and patterns of Indian textiles, Krieg assembles and reassembles her work using a combination of computer coloring, Polaroids, and paint. In Peripheral Visionaries, three local artists -- Doug Keyes, Eva Skald Westerlind, and John Jenkins -- explore the idea of seeing through shadows, light, and tableaux. Reviewed this issue. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson St, Suite 200, 587-4033. Through Jan 15.PATRICIA RIDENOUR/ERIN SPENCER/CHRISTINE BURGOYNESexuality, self-portraiture, and masks -- a dark, introspective show of photographs by three local artists. Benham Photography, 1216 First Ave, 622-2480. Through Jan 15.*UNTIL 2000: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BEATKIT™Shawn Wolfe's Beatkit campaign to sell nothing under its own brand name has been seen on paintings, posters, drawings, and on "Panic Now" stickers all over the city. Wolfe's work is bright and alluring and smart. Beatkit™, ultimately, is beautifully unnecessary. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through Jan 12.