BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM

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

* MARY HENRY

Quietly, gradually, Whidbey Island artist Henry has gained a following in Seattle with her geometric abstract paintings. No Limits is a Surround Sound kind of art, a 360° mural of geometric shapes. Through Nov 25.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ANNUAL 2001

Traditionally one of the best local annuals, this year juried by Sue Spaid, curator of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. With works by 41 regional artists. Through Jan 6, 2002.

FRYE ART MUSEUM

704 Terry Ave, 622-9250

NORTHWEST VIEWS: SELECTIONS FROM THE SAFECO COLLECTION

SAFECO has been one of the most voracious collectors of local artists for almost 30 years. Here, a selection of figurative works. Through Nov 4.

WITNESS AND LEGACY: CONTEMPORARY ART ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

How can art represent tragedy on a grand scale? What can be derived from it? What can be learned? Answers--perhaps--here. Through Jan 13, 2002.

HENRY ART GALLERY

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

* JEFFRY MITCHELL: HANABUKI

In Hanabuki, ideas abound: contemplation vs. participation, fragments vs. whole, East vs. West, puns, bears, movement. It's a two-level installation loosely tied to ideas of heaven and earth, with a fur-lined cave below and clean white ikebana above. Through Jan 6, 2002.

* SHORT STORIES

A series of staggered rotating exhibitions that includes work from the permanent collection, commissioned projects, and installations. Work currently featured includes a suite of contemplative paintings by Denzil Hurley, Ernesto Neto's Flying Gloup Nave (a walk-through sculpture with undeniable biological associations), and photographed drawings in sugar, chocolate, and dirt by Vik Muniz. Through May 12, 2002.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

100 University St, 654-3100

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: WOMEN

Photographs of women from all walks of life. Leibovitz gained her high profile with her Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair covers, but these images are anything but sensational; rather they are quiet, powerful, and even ordinary. Through Jan 6, 2002.

ANNA SKIBSKA

Insisting on the delicacy of glass, Skibska stretches it into intricate webs. Through Feb 17, 2002.

WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, (888) 238-4373

STUFF AND JUNK: THE STORY OF A BRICOLEUR

An assemblage by Eastern Washington sculptor Harold Balazs, who was recently designated one of Washington's "Living Treasures" by the people who designate those kinds of things. He's best known for his public art--enormous gate-like structures in enamel, metal, and concrete--but is also part of this state's fine-art heritage. Through Sept 2002.

WESTERN GALLERY

Fine Arts Complex , Western Washington University, Bellingham, (360) 650-3900

BOTANICA

Art and plants, with work by some top-notch artists including Kiki Smith, Alexis Rockman, David Wojnarowicz, Darren Waterston, and others. Through Dec 1.

WING LUKE ASIAN MUSEUM

407 Seventh Ave S, 623-5124

IF TIRED HANDS COULD TALK: STORIES OF ASIAN GARMENT WORKERS

Tired hands can't talk--but a series of videos, oral history interviews, and an installation re-creating the working conditions of Asian immigrant workers can. Through Feb 2002.

OPENING EXHIBITIONS

RAJAA A. GHARBI

Layers of watercolor, North African dyes, ink, pencil, and things found in nature. Opening reception Fri Oct 26, 6 pm. Antioch University Seattle, 2326 Sixth Ave, 441-5352. Through Dec 1.

LINEFORMCOLOR: FROM HARD-EDGE ABSTRACTION TO ARCHITECTURE

With the gallery's regular artists and a few guests. Opening reception Sat Oct 27, 6-8 pm. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Nov 24.

SAM TROUT, RANDY WOOD

One weekend only! Snappy new design-and-comics- influenced work from Trout in Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, and more kitty paintings from Wood in Kitty, El Mostro. Opening reception Fri Oct 26, 6-10 pm. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through Oct 28.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

KYNAN ANTOS

In KnitWear, Antos trains his eye on women's fashions from the early '60s. Zeitgeist Cafe, 161 S Jackson St, 583-0497. Through Oct 28.

* BLINK

Artist Michael O'Malley curated this interesting show about artists and popular culture: resisting it, incorporating it, feeling its pressure. Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St, Kirkland, (425) 822-7161. Through Nov 16.

LAURIE BOWDEN

Bowden paints on birchwood, which creates an unexpected and dynamic relationship between the plane and its line. Rather mod, in a way. Cut Kulture, 2018 First Ave, 683-3809. Through Nov 10.

* NADÈGE DESGEN:TEZ

In Things Among Others, Desgenétez displays interpretive re-creations of functional objects, such as a look back at her girlhood striped socks. Bubba-Mavis Gallery, 1158 Eastlake Ave E, 405-3223. Through Nov 9.

* MARCEL DZAMA, ED WICKLANDER

See Bio: Art. Dzama works in a kind of cultural miniature--a series of drawings that fall somewhere between doodle and manuscript illumination. In them, humans and creatures inhabit a world of surrealistic possibility: creepy, unexpected, but somehow quite dear. With sculptures by Wicklander. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Oct 27.

EMBRACING SCIENCE

Three New York artists investigate science through photography. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Oct 27.

* FAKE

If it looks like a duck, is it still necessarily a duck? Twenty-five local artists show forgeries--inciting all sorts of philosophical questions about value. Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave, 254-0475. Through Nov 19.

JOE FINDLEISS

Lightboxes! Lipstick Traces, 500 E Pine St, 329-2813. Through Oct 31.

FOTOCIRCLE MEMBERS EXHIBITION

With work by Carl Lierman, Rick Jones, Karen Howard, Lou Cuevas, Jerry Simon, Jackie Ransier, Steve Laskevitch, and Carla Fraga. FotoCircle Gallery, 562 First Ave S, Third floor, 624-2645. Through Dec 1.

FRANKENSTEIN SURF SHACK

October is particularly well suited to what goes on at the Roq; this month, a groovy-ghoulie group show. Roq La Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Nov 1.

MILTON H. GREENE, MADAME YEVONDE

From the '40s through the '60s, Greene photographed the world's iconic movie stars, including some informal portraits of Marilyn Monroe, who lived with him and his family in Connecticut. British photographer Yevonde focused, during her 60-year career, on women. Benham Photography, 1216 First Ave, 622-6383. Through Oct 27.

MATT HELD

First solo show in the Northwest of paintings by a much-lauded-by-people-in-New-York artist. Chrissa's Wine Bar, 1013 E Pike St, 726-3422. Through Nov 4.

BOOTSY HOLLER

Silver prints on fiber, eponymously hanging like Laundry. Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 675-2055. Through Nov 3.

JON HOWE, JOSHUA GEOFFREY

Bodies, bodies, bodies, distorted through emotion, mixed media, and reality. The Li'l Red Shack Gallery, 1028 First Ave S, 621-7807. Through Nov 11.

JACKIE HUNSAKER, MELISSA STERN

New works, with faces. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through Nov 21.

SHERRY KARVER

In Grand Central Station Series, Karver combines photography, digital manipulation, and oil painting to create a strangely prescient portrait of life in New York these days. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315. Through Oct 27.

* KUSTOM PURSE

Reviewed this issue. Retail: the new future of art galleries. This show, curated by artist Elizabeth Jameson, features purses created by 30 of my favorite artists. These are not your average accessories: Prepare to have your mind bent, at least a little. Kuhlman Clothing, 2419 First Ave, 441-1999. Through Nov 29.

LOS ALTARES: UNA CELEBRACI"N DEL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

For all of you who skipped the romance languages, that's Altars: A Celebration of Day of the Dead. It's a window installation--presented as an introduction to ¡Mira! Festival de Cine y Video Latino--by Carlos Durán with Barbara DePirro, Rebeca Rabbit, Luis Sanchez, and Nora Sidione-Brown. 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552. Through Nov 4.

MRS. X

Leslie Straka channels her ideas about history, gender, and art through historical fashion in the Rental/Sales Gallery window. Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 654-3240. Through Nov 4.

* SARAH PETERS, ALEXANDER SCHWEDER

Reviewed this issue. The icons of girlhood come under Peters' sharp lens in the wonderfully titled Pink Dingus; Schweder's urinals acknowledge Duchamp, but are fully functional. Both artists have recently done residencies at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin, with all its implied connection to plumbing and fixtures. With a talk and slide show by Schweder on Thurs Oct 25 at 7 pm. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Oct 27.

BEVERLY RAYNER, DEBRA GOLDMAN

With photographs, found objects, and various materials, Rayner delivers her take on Genetic Decoder & Other Pseudoscientific Explorations; in Mapping, Goldman explores the act and consequences of folding. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson St, Suite 200, 587-4033. Through Nov 17.

* PETER ROSTOVSKY

New York artist Rostovsky asked people he'd never met to send him descriptions of themselves, and then painted portraits from their words. This calls the whole idea of portraiture into question--how much the artist brings to the project, how the language, the very syntax, of the description influences the image, what, in the end, portraits are for. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through Nov 24.

* EPHRAIM RUSSELL

Reviewed this issue. Raising questions of usefulness and function, Russell's sculptures look like everyday objects--those that receive the attention of the industrial-design community--but are simply objects. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Through Oct 27.

* SAVAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

Blatant conflict-of-interest alert! Illustrations by Stranger Art Director Joe Newton, as seen in Dan Savage's column Savage Love. But that doesn't mean it ain't great! The Rose Club, 3601 S McClellan St (Mt. Baker), for info e-mail roseclub@cablespeed.com. Through Dec 1.

SCANNER AND TONNE

In Sound Polaroids: Re-Mapping the Hidden Sounds of London, musician Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) and U.K. graphic artist Paul Farrington (Tonne) collected familiar London sounds. These sounds, and the sites they come from, create a synesthetic memory map. Originally commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Fisher Gallery, Cornish College of the Arts, Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy St, 726-5011. Through Nov 9.

TAKE MY PICTURE

Work from 60 emerging artists, each of them an advanced-certificate student at PCN. At the Nov 3 party, everyone goes home with one of the photographs for a measly $125 ticket. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Nov 3 (stay tuned for party details).

* TREAT ME GOOD

See Stranger Suggests. Who rocks harder than Pat Benatar? No one, that's who. This show looks at the ongoing influence of a tough-chick rock star whose manufactured persona marched miles ahead of her. With works by Shawn Wolfe, Linda Peschong, Ryan Berg, John Seal, and others. SOIL Artist Cooperative, 1412 12th Ave, 264-8061. Through Oct 31.

HAMID ZAVAREEI, REBECCA LUNCAN, NIKKI McCLURE, BEN MEEKER

High points here are Luncan's paintings on metal (I've seen a tiny painting of a clitoris on a U.S. quarter dollar) and McClure's cut-paper constructions. Commencement Art Gallery, 902 Commerce, Tacoma, (253) 591-5341. Through Nov 8.

EVENTS

* SECLUSION

Arrive at Secluded Alley Works by 7 pm with camping supplies for one night. You'll be taken to an undisclosed location in the country where art will spread over 10 acres. The mystery will be strictly enforced: surprise guests, lighting is by campfire and flashlight only, and no talking outside the camping circle. Sounds a little like hazing, but art is supposed to catch you off guard. Fri Oct 26 at Secluded Alley Works, 113 12th Ave, 839-0880. Tickets are $23, and are available through www.ticketweb.com or by calling SAW.

SOUTH END OPEN STUDIOS

A surprising number of artists have migrated down to Columbia City, drawn by the cheap housing, diverse population, and unpretentious lifestyle. Here's your chance to see what they're doing. On Sat Oct 27, 11 am-5 pm. Maps are available at the Columbia City Gallery, 4916 Rainier Ave, 760-9843.

* JAMES TURRELL LECTURE

See Stranger Suggests. Tues Oct 30 at 7 pm at Kane Hall; for information call the Henry Art Gallery at 543-2280. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 members, $5 students.