VISUAL ART


BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

301 Bellevue Square, 425-454-3322.


*2000 PACIFIC NORTHWEST ANNUAL

The list of artists for this year's Annual reads like an impeccable pedigree of Young Seattle Artists, including Leo Saul Berk, Susan Dory, Thess Fenner, Jeff Miller, and Nicola Vruwink. Wisely pared down from last year's laundry list, this year's show concentrates on more work by fewer artists, a happier result overall. Throughout the exhibition's run, the museum will host a series of six artist residencies, allowing artists the space and resources to create work over the duration of the exhibition; completed work will then be added to the show.


CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART

65 Cedar St, 728-1980.


DESTROY ALL MONSTERS

See Stranger Suggests.


FRYE ART MUSEUM

701 Terry Ave, 622-9250.


GRAHAM NICKSON

The British-born Nickson, well known for his figurative painting, has been painting bathers for the last 20 years. This subject certainly has deep roots in the history of art (Cézanne, Degas), and Nickson makes his mark with vivid, just-this-side-of-natural colors. Through July 16.


DAVID ROSENTHAL

Large oil paintings of Antarctica landscapes--realistic, with an otherworldly feel. Through Aug 9.


HENRY ART GALLERY

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


JACOB LAWRENCE: IN MEMORIAM

Twelve works hung in memory of Lawrence, who (in case you live in a bunker) died last month. Through July 21.


TONY OURSLER

Oursler's video works are characteristically creepy--for example, projections of facial features that give a weird, transparent life to inanimate objects. His installation at the Henry is called The Empty Cabinet, but knowing Oursler, "empty" is a relative term. Through July 30.


SHIFTING GROUND: TRANSFORMED VIEWS OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

It's such a ubiquitous subject, and so often maligned. Here's a show that makes a gallant effort to show how landscape portrayal has changed over time, and by implication, how our attitude toward the land has been altered in the process. Through Aug 20.


SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3158.


EASTMAN JOHNSON: PAINTING AMERICA

A retrospective of a consummate American painter. In his work, Johnson (1824-1906) covered many different territories, including scenes from Native American and black communities. Through Sept 10.


2000 1/2: GOING FORWARD LOOKING BACK

The idea is to think about received notions of the future, which in art terms translates into thinking about experimentation and non-mainstream ways of working and how these kinds of art have become part of the visual vernacular. Among the included artists are Gary Hill, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Vanessa Beecroft, and Sherrie Levine. In addition, two small traveling exhibitions have been incorporated under this conceptual umbrella: a series of photographs by the Chinese Canadian artist C. D. Hoy, and an installation by Whitfield Lovell. Through July 16.


SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM

1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100.


THE ART OF PROTEST

Social and political issues addressed through a variety of media, including the photography of Walker Evans and the mordant commentary of Jenny Holzer. Fang Lijun's enormous woodcut, No. 19, dominates the exhibition. Through Jan 21, 2001.


TACOMA ART MUSEUM

1123 Pacific Ave, 253-272-4258.


ALMOST WARM AND FUZZY: CHILDHOOD AND CONTEMPORARY ART

All the art references childhood in some manner, whether nostalgic or ironic or simply fun. Thirty artists from around the world contributed work to this show, which includes The Big Sneeze (an enormous liquid-emitting nose constructed by the Art Guys) and Sandy Skoglund's Shimmering Madness, an installation made up of about a million jellybeans and fluttering butterfly wings. The aim was a show for children as well as adults (and the two works cited here cover the gross-out angle and the lots-to-look at factor); grab your favorite eight-year-old and see if it works. Through Sept 17.


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. It includes the photography of Frank Matsura--who emigrated from Japan at the turn of the century (the last one) and documented the Okanogan frontier--through the contemporary work of Dean Wong and Jessica Kim. Through April 8, 2001.


WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE

407 Dexter Ave N, 264-8200.


*THE WRIGHT COLLECTION

Virginia 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 include a Robert Longo, Eric Fischl, a huge Warhol Rorschach, and Jules Olitski's Thigh Smoke. Open-ended run.


OPENING EXHIBITIONS


WOMEN IN PRINT

Actually, the show is of prints by women, and includes three decades' worth of work by 20 artists. Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, Third Floor, 585-3200. Through Aug 25.


CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS


JULIE ALEXANDER

Alexander usually builds her meticulous works with layers of graphite strokes, and her recent move to paint is an interesting shift. The works are still intense and earthy, but have a different visual depth. Oculus Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 366-2108 Through July 29.


AMERICAN FAMILIES

The show's subtitle (Beyond the White Picket Fence) puts you on the alert that diversity is the theme here. Photographer Courtney Coolidge traveled around the country photographing families in all their glory and difficulty. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Aug 29.


ARTISTS UNLIMITED: STUDENT SHOWCASE

Work by artists participating in classes given by VSA Arts of Washington, a center that provides arts instruction and professional development for adults with disabilities. Harrison Street Gallery, Center House, Seattle Center, Third Floor. Through July 31.


JIM BLANCHARD

A show called Earaches in Ink featuring Jim Blanchard's album covers, posters, and flyers from the last 15 years. And it's all for sale. Fallout Records, 1506 E Olive Way, 323-2662. Through July 31.


GABRIEL BRANDT

The lovely title of this show is I Adore You, and the photographs explore a kind of isolation that makes the title an interesting paradox. The subjects are photographed nude and somewhere just outside the reach of society. FotoCircle Gallery, 216 Alaskan Way S, 624-2645. Through July 29.


*CRIS BRUCH

Bruch's intricately pieced sculpture at Consolidated Works earlier this year was absolutely mind-bending--about a thousand paper triangles fitted together somehow to make a large, hollow, multifaceted form. His new and similarly unfathomable installation, Duty Cycle, fills the atrium with paper and metal wheel-like forms invoking labor, repetition, and the passage of time. Suyama Space, 2324 Second Ave, 256-0809. Through Aug 18.


BILLY CHILDISH

Brit artist Childish is prolific in a number of genres--in painting, in poetry, and in music (he was the frontman for the punk band Thee Headcoats)--and is also known for the grenades he lobs at the established business of each discipline. His painting, like his music and writing, is raw and unpracticed--exactly the kind of so-called "outsider" work that's pressing in on the mainstream. Zeitgeist Gallery, 171 S Jackson St, 583-0497. Through Aug 2.


*BEN DARBY

Darby's "Flower Ball" paintings are the best and strangest things to happen to flowers in a long time. There's nothing sweet here; the flowers are heavily painted, as artificial as cake decoration, surreal and mortal in the manner of those slightly decayed Flemish still lifes. Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main St, 667-9572. Through July 29.


MICHAEL DENNIS, RICHARD BEERHORST

Dennis uses the crushed wreckage of cars and salvaged wood to create sculptures that suggest figures called, interestingly, Heroes. Beerhorst's oil portraits draw on early Renaissance iconography and body language, but have more in common with the emotional weirdness of folk art--Jesus Christ as a blasé hippie. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through July 29.


SUSANNA DENT

Dent's mixed-media-on-panel paintings offer a menu of suggestive images (skulls, vessels, plants), a bright palette, and an invitation to build a narrative from it all. The connections might not be obvious; Dent's skill is in suggestion. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Aug 1.


MARITA DINGUS, MAYSEY CRADDOCK

Messages from two artists living in the South. Dingus' mixed-media work incorporates wire and fabric and plastic objects to reference the woven work associated with slavery--baskets, quilts, and fences. Gouache and pastel paintings by Craddock contain emotionally laden domestic objects. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through July 30.


*KELSEY FERNKOPF, ROBERT YODER

Howard House celebrates its third anniversary with Milk and Honey, a show featuring Fernkopf's mixed-media sculptures and Yoder's recombined road-sign paintings. It's tempting to ask which is milk and which is honey, but it could just as well refer to the constant flow of good work from Billy Howard's gallery. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Aug 5.


HELEN GAMBLE

A new take on life jackets by this accomplished sculptor. Artemis Gallery, 1400 31st Ave S, 323-0562. Through July 30.


GARDEN

Hard on the heels of the Henry's garden-themed fundraiser this spring, another group show on the green space (sculpture, fountains, birdhouses) in the urban jungle. (This one, however, doesn't require an expensive ticket.) Art/Not Terminal Gallery, 2045 Westlake Ave, 233-0680. Through Aug 3.


KATHERINE GRAY

Known primarily as a glass artist (who has studied with some of the medium's masters, including Lino Tagliapietra, Bertil Vallien, and Dante Marioni), the Canadian-born Gray has put together a show that includes other intriguing materials. Serenissima is an arrangement of 2,500 puzzle pieces of Venice's Grand Canal, each piece mounted in its own jewelry box. These works make you really think about craft. Elliott Brown Gallery, 619 N 35th St, #101A, 547-9740. Through July 29.


CHRISTOPHER HARRIS

Chromogenic prints of the Palouse region, blurred to interesting abstraction. Harris uses handmade cameras, and his shots are made over long exposures through a pinhole lens. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315. Through July 30.


HOME ALIVE

See Bio Box. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through July 30.


JENNY HYDE, JOE ROBBINS

Hyde superimposes rural, traditional-feeling themes onto nontraditionally sewn canvases. Robbins' sculpture combines two entirely unexpected elements (cast-porcelain mosaic squares and traditional male iconography) to create something entirely other. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9276. Through Aug 19.


BRIAN KENNEDY

Irish artist Kennedy has created a site-specific installation using salt and silver and gold. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 12th and Pike, 264-8061. Through July 30.


*KAZUHITO KOBAYASHI

Solid felt creations that resemble body parts and internal organs--sort of. Somehow they manage to by friendly and menacing at the same time. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through July 29.


*RICHARD KRAFT, JOSEPH BIEL

These Portland artists collaborate on mixed-media installations that include photographs, sculpture, painting, and found objects. Things are intriguingly placed, suggesting symbolism and connection. But the connections between objects aren't given; the idea is to inspire them in the mind of the viewer. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through July 29.


JAY LAZERWITZ

Encaustics on the theme of house and home. Sev Shoon Arts Center, 5206 Ballard Ave NW, 782-2415. Through Aug 6.


LULU

A series of paintings entitled Spirits Themselves. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave, 781-2392. Through Aug 9.


ROBERT MACDONALD, MICHAEL DUDASH

Exoskeletons and endoskeletons by two Seattle artists. MacDonald makes sculptures from wire frames and patterned canvas, and lights them from within, so that they look like obscure sea creatures. DuDash's paintings and reliefs use skeletons, fossils, and dead-leaf-imagery to create goulish work with an undertone of longing. Roq La Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through July 29.


RICHARD MISRACH

Large-scale landscape photography. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson, #200, 587-4033. Through Aug 19.


CHARLES K. ROSENBERG

Rosenberg's works on paper feature patterning in gold leaf, charcoal, and graphite powder on glassine paper. The Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 329-2629. Through Aug 20.


MACROCOSM/MICROCOSM

Nature enlarged beyond recognition and pressed right into the canvas, from artists Carolyn Watts and Eva Isaksen. Cornish College of the Arts, Fisher Gallery, 710 E Roy St, 726-5011. Through Aug 31.


*MIRROR'S EDGE

See Stranger Suggests. Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC, 604-662-4700. Through Aug 13.


MARIAM AZIZA STEPHAN

A series of drawings entitled Stranded by this sure-handed artist. Two Bells Tavern, 2313 Fourth Ave, 441-3050. Through Aug 1.


TERRY TURRELL

These hand-carved figures are augmented by found materials such as tin and wire, giving them an air of things at once discarded and revered. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through Aug12.


20th-CENTURY MASTER WORKS ON PAPER

Works by Dubuffet, Leger, Matisse, Picasso, Braques, Miro, and Le Corbusier. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Aug 10.


BILL VAEGEMAST

Witty miniature paintings that touch on political and economic topics. Trapeze Gallery, 1130 34th Ave, 329-3363. Through Aug 4.


*ULRICH WELLMANN

This is painting reduced to its most essential components: paint, surface, viewer. Except reduction here adds up to an intense experience of harmonic color, which Wellmann allows to take center stage by painting on Plexiglass. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through July 29.


EVENTS


RealNetworks BASTILLE DAY OPENING

Who knows what they really do over there at RealNetworks? Who cares? They show local artists every other month, with a nice spread of food on opening night. This month features music photographer Charles Peterson (you've seen his work over and over again on the cover of The Rocket), as well as Jennifer McNeely, Cheryl dos Remedios, Adde Russel, Paul McKee, Andre Montgomery, Andrea Mackey, and Robert Mackey. Fri July 14, 6-9 pm, at RealNetworks (2601 Elliott Ave). Admission is free.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS


BETTY BOWEN AWARD COMPETITION

This is perhaps the most prestigious of local art awards, won year after year by the best of the bunch. But if you don't submit, you'll never know. Send six fully labeled slides of recent work, a resume, and SASE to Betty Bowen Memorial Award, Seattle Art Museum, P.O. Box 22000, Seattle, WA 98122. The postmark deadline is July 28.