OPENING EXHIBITIONS
FORD GILBREATH, SHIRLEY SCHEIER
An investigation into the movement of Licton Springs (that's North Seattle, you know) turned into a video project called "Moon Root." With Scheier's works on paper about self-knowledge and bio-geology. Opening reception Fri Feb 22, 6-8 pm. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through March 30.
GINNY RUFFNER
The much-awarded Ruffner continues her inquiry into the life of the mind through the shape of the sculpture. Opening reception Thurs Feb 21, 5:30-8:30 pm. Woodside/Braseth Gallery, 1533 Ninth Ave, 622-7243. Through March 20.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
* EFRAIN ALMEIDA
Did you know that some of the hottest contemporary artists are from Brazil? It's true! Almeida's sculpture includes strands of beads that are "drawn" over the floor, like a contour map, or a body outline. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through March 2.
TIM BISKUP, GARY BASEMAN, TONY MILLIONAIRE
Work that mines the fine gray area between art and illustration. Roq la Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through February 28.
BLACK NATIVES
An installation produced by the art group Arts411 about the relationship between African and indigenous American people. M. Rosetta Hunter Gallery, Seattle Central Community College, Broadway and Pine, room 2116, 344-4379. Through March 5.
BOYS AGAINST GIRLS/GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
Gender issues, as explored by the ArtDrill folks and some of their friends. Nation Gallery, 1921 Fifth Ave, 374-9492. Through March 10.
RON EHRLICH
New abstract work. Ballard/Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through Feb 27.
DONALD FELS
Audio memoirs of growing up with plywood, plus a big ol' installation. Jack Straw Productions, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 634-0919. Through Feb 28.
PETTER GOLDSTINE
The Tent City Campaign features photographs from Goldstine's three months living in Tent City III. Independent Media Center Gallery, 1415 Third Ave, 328-9361. Through Feb 28.
LAURIE HEMINGWAY
Exciting new work in the little-explored medium of Etch-a-Sketch. Cut Kulture Gallery, 2018 First Ave, 374-8753. Through Feb 28.
THE IMMORTALITY CLINIC
The riddle of finite existence revealed, through the work of artist Jason Puccinelli and other death-defying tricks. Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave N, 254-0475. Through March 1.
ROBERT JONES
For the record, this is Jones the young Tacoma artist, not Jones the big-time Seattle husband-of-Fay artist. But he's very interesting and talented in his own right, and this series of paintings, Short Fiction, showcases his idiosyncratic sense of narrative. Still Life in Fremont Coffeehouse, 709 N 35th, 547-9850. Through March 4.
RICHARD LEWIS, JOHN DIVOLA, KEITH CARTER, RICHARD MISRACH
New works by everyone. G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson St, suite 200, 587-4033. Through March 2.
* LISA LIEDGREN, BLAIR WILSON
Both Liedgren and Wilson use the most ordinary of shapes--dots--but to entirely different ends. Wilson is a sort of cartoony post-Pointillist, while Liedgren's work looks more like Braille, or Morse code, or some other unreadable system. She's like Damien Hirst, only smarter. Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N Lawrence St, Tacoma, 253-879-3100. Through Feb 24.
* MATTHEW PICTON
Subway maps are rendered in plastic beads and resin, transforming a utility into a glittering string of jewels. Their cleverness lies is the movement from dimensionality to flatness and back again. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through March 9.
* SALLY SCHUH
For a couple of years now, Schuh has been mining an extraordinary collection of photographs and notes that once belonged to a Jewish matchmaker. In less-talented hands, this might have turned into a maudlin and undigested act of appropriation, but with Schuh it's a long meditation on desire and its concomitant signs. Here, she's showing intaglio prints and some cropped images from the series. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through March 3.
BRYAN SMITH
If I tell you that Smith assembles collages from cardboard and other cast-off paper, it might sound like a kindergarten project in a gallery. But I've seen this work--it has a kind of Rauschenbergian power, with unexpected dimensions and weird depth. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, suite 200, 296-7580. Through March 1.
* GARY SMOOT
See Review: Art. If you missed the opening, you've missed the heart of it, but it's worth checking out the progressively sadder remains. CMA Gallery, Ceramics Dept, University of Washington, 4205 Mary Gates Memorial Drive, 543-0178. Through Feb 23.
SOIL DOES HOUSTON
Hooray, they're back! Without this artist cooperative and this gallery, the Capitol Hill art scene felt quite faint. Now, a group show of SOIL members. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through March 2.
MEGHAN TRAINOR
New work asking new questions. The Pound Gallery, 1216 10th Ave, 323-0557. Through Feb 24.
