BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM
510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, 425-454-3322
* DUANE HANSON
Hanson’s sculptures are the original double-take experience: Cast from human models and dressed in actual clothes, they are almost always mistaken for real people in a crowd until the rest of the crowd moves away. BAM is fortunate to have 15 of Hanson’s works for mindfuck purposes. Through Sept 30.
* MARY HENRY
Quietly, gradually, Whidbey Island-artist Henry has gained a following in Seattle with her geometric abstract paintings. She’s been working in the Northwest for 25 years without much fanfare, and this summer there will be three major exhibitions of her work–including the North Slope Series at BAM–which has never been shown in public before. Through Sept 9, with an additional exhibition from Aug 15-Nov 25.
MEDIA ARTS HISTORIES NORTHWEST: THE BELLEVUE FILM FESTIVAL HISTORY
Timeline, artifacts, and film from the fifteen-year-old festival. Through Sept 23.
* TWIN
A set of six multimedia installations by Wendy Hanson, each exploring ideas about identity and shared experience. Hanson has based these works on the excellently flamboyant sisters Annette Cohn and Florine Falk, longtime volunteers at BAM and a lot of fun to have at art openings. Through Oct 14.
BURKE MUSEUM
University of Washington, 543-5590
THE ENDURANCE: SHACKLETON’S LEGENDARY ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
The adventure story that should have ended adventure travel forever: Ernest Shackleton’s ship was trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea, and he and his crew survived two polar winters (freezing cold and night all the time) and a rescue mission in a tiny open boat. The miracle? No one died. Makes you feel kind of wimpy, eh? This is the exhibition that opened at the Museum of Natural History in New York–stark, amazing photographs, plus film footage and journal excerpts. Through Dec 31.
FRYE ART MUSEUM
704 Terry Ave, 622-9250
GARY FAIGIN: TRADITION & CONTRADICTION
Kinetic still lifes, billboards, and impossible space in 25 paintings from the co-founder of the Seattle Academy of Fine Art. Through Sept 2.
HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITY: EDWARD STEICHEN’S VANITY FAIR PORTRAITS
Before Annie Leibowitz, we had Steichen tracking fame’s comet, with gorgeous portraits of Greta Garbo, Fred Astaire, and Shirley Temple. Through Sept 16.
TREASURES TO GO: SCENES OF AMERICAN LIFE
Selections from the Smithsonian’s American art collection, on tour while the D.C. museum undergoes renovation. This is the only West Coast venue for the traveling show, which includes 500 works by artists such as Edward Hopper, Paul Cadmus, Reginald Marsh, and our own Jacob Lawrence. Through Sept 9.
HENRY ART GALLERY
15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280
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. Through August 19.
* SHORT STORIES
A series of rotating exhibitions that includes work from the permanent collection commissioned projects, and installations. Over the course of the next year, the North Galleries will feature art by Ernesto Neto, George Stoll, Chris Finley, and other recognized and under-known artists. Through May 12.
* SUMMER OF SOUND
The focus here is on sound art, and the centerpiece is Volume: Bed of Sound, an exhibition that comes to us from P.S. 1 in New York. It’s a huge futon with 58 listening stations, each of which features audio work from artists all along the sound art continuum, from Vito Acconci to Laurie Anderson to Sonic Youth. In addition to the big lie-down, there’s art from two of my personal favorite local artists, Susan Robb and Jesse Paul Miller, both of whom investigate, in different ways, the sounds that objects we think are inanimate make. AND Rodney Graham’s Listening Lounge AND Bill Fontana’s Spatial Concept/Sound. Through Sept 30.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
100 University St, 654-3100
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR
Works that feature a lone figure, with contributions from Chuck Close, Catherine Opie, and Anselm Kiefer (from the museum’s permanent collection) as well as John Currin and Francesco Clemente (on loan). Neat idea. Through Jan 2.
WHATCOM MUSEUM
121 Prospect St, Bellingham, 360-676-6981
DONUT SHOP FOUR
The donut shop folks from Portland have taken their concept on the road. Each show is in a different location, a kind of hit-and-run approach that we thoroughly approve of. This show, the fourth, features video, installation, and sculpture by Seoungho Cho, James Hegge, Susan Hornbeak-Ortiz, Michael O’Malley (the UW professor who has created great spatial/sculptural installations), John Torreano, and Cris Moss. Through Aug 19.
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
MARSHALL BIALAS
Layered mixed-media paintings in which life blurs, pixelates, and generally turns into various intense patterns. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-9pm. Mary Vitold Gallery, 110 S Washington St, 624-9336. Through Aug 31.
BYTE-BI-BYTE
Gallery owner Billy Howard has put together a sampling of work by artists who make use of digital technology, none of whom are from Adobeville–I mean, Seattle. With work by Jon Haddock, Euan MacDonald, Susan Horbeak-Ortiz, Jason Salavon, Sloane McFarland, and (hooray!) Sean Duffy. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Sept 8.
RAY CAROFANO, HAL GAGE, KEN SMITH
All bases covered this month: Gage photographs the human figure (specifically, his wife’s), Carofano turns his attention to landscapes, and Smith’s still lifes look like objects from the past. Opening reception next week. Benham Gallery, 1216 First Ave, 622-6383. Through Sept 15.
DRAWING: AN INTIMATE DIALOG
A look into the work that often doesn’t see a gallery wall–the residue of artistic thought, the artist’s conversation with himself. With work by artists all over the country. SOIL Art Gallery, 1205 E Pike, 264-8061. Through Aug 26.
DAI GIANG
Giang calls his painting method Upsidedownism, and he shows us how irrational and abstract the world really is with his bright, geometric work. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. King County Art Gallery, 506 Second Ave, Room 200, 296-7580. Through Aug 31.
MARY GROSS, MEGHAN TRAINOR
Two good artists! Opening reception Sun Aug 5, 7-10pm. Oseao Gallery, 1402 E Pike (above the Artificial Limb Co.), 568-0291.
* PATRICK HOLDERFIELD
In his sculptures–some made of melted plastic toys, others piñatas recreated in archival paper–Holderfield complicates the idea of toys. What are they when degraded, subjected to architecture, to the gallery’s white cube? Shown with his layered, sometimes chaotic drawings. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm, with a discussion with Holderfield at 7:30pm. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through Aug 30.
* TOMIKO JONES, JAMES EWING
Self-portraits of the artist Jones in a sad, mysterious story called The Bunny Chronicles. Ewing’s photographs are in the annex gallery. See Stranger Suggests. Opening reception Sat Aug 4, 6-10pm. The Pound Gallery, 1216 Tenth Ave, 323-0557. Through Aug 19.
PAMELA KEELEY
Keeley, who can draw simultaneously with both hands, contrasts the difference between the controlled line and the wild one. Her figures float close to the surface of her drawings, gently but persuasively inhabiting the space. Eyre/Moore Gallery, 913 Western Ave, 624-5596. Through Sept 1.
SETH KUPCHICK, JONATHAN MACKINNON
In Election 2000, Kupchick and Mackinnon have collaborated on a series of paintings about media coverage and the media itself. Opening reception Fri Aug 3. Secluded Alley Works, 113 Twelfth Ave, 839-0880. Through Aug 26.
ROBERT McCAULEY, JENNIFER BEEDON
To bridge the perceived gap between figurative and abstract painting, McCauley combines images of animals with mark-making more typical of Modernism. Beedon looks at suburban landscapes with an eye to its kitschy possibilities. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. Linda Hodges Gallery, 316 First Ave S, 624-3034. Through Sept 1.
PAPER
A group show on…guess what? With work by Gretchen Bennett, Jasmine Deatherage, Richard Hutter, Jeffry Mitchell, Sharon Sanborn, and Mariam Aziza Stephan. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. Zeitgeist, 171 S Jackson St, 583-0497. Through Sept 5.
PRIMARY COLORS
Fifteen artists think visually about color–not as obvious a topic as you might think. With gallery regulars (including Toots Zynsky, Lanny Bergner, and the sublime Richard Marquis) and invited guests (including Dante Marioni, Randy McCoy, and Big-Gun Chihuly). Opening reception Fri Aug 3, 6-8pm. Elliott Brown Gallery, 215 Westlake Ave, 340-8000. Through Oct 6.
SELECT GALLERY ARTISTS
A group show of gallery regulars–including Pam Gazalé, David C. Kane, and Luke Blackstone–and introducing the work of Tamara Helm. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. Esther Claypool Gallery, 617 Western Ave, 264-1586. Through Aug 25.
* FRIESE UNDINE, ANNA SKIBSKA
Two of Traver’s best artists at one blow. Undine returns with Thee, etc., monotypes that combine words and images in counterintuitive–but naggingly familiar–ways. Skibska’s glass sculptures are delicate webs of needle-like forms, at once impossible and dreamy. Opening reception Thurs Aug 2, 6-8pm. See review this issue. William Traver Gallery, 110 Union St, second floor, 587-6501. Through Sept 2.
JASON WITTE
A show called Tiny Little Doorknobs. Art/Not Terminal Gallery, 2045 Westlake Ave, 233-0680. Through Sept 6.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
ASS ‘N’ TITTIES
Hooray for Houston! The gallery has lasted two whole years in our backwater scene. They’re celebrating with big, glossy, sexy photos by Jamil GS; drawings and paintings by REAS. Houston, 907 E Pike St, 860-7820. Through Sept 12.
CAROL BOLT
In Summertime Pop-up, Bolt has created, in the gallery’s window, an origami garden that will evolve over the course of the installation. SAM Rental/Sales Gallery, 1334 First Ave, 654-3240. Through Sept 9.
D. HAKE BRINCKERHOFF
The central subject here is chairs–with and without humans. Baas Art Gallery, 2703 E. Madison St, 324-4742. Through Aug 25.
DEBORAH BUTTERFIELD
A stable of Butterfield’s famous and imposing horses, cast from found wood and metals, some cast in bronze. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Sept 1.
ISA D’ARLEANS
New paintings, in a show titled Love, Play, and Enjoy Yourself. Ballard Fetherston Gallery, 818 E Pike St, 322-9440. Through Sept 2.
DOG IS GOD SPELLED BACKWARDS
Dog photography! G. Gibson Gallery, 122 S Jackson St, Suite 200, 587-4033. Through Aug 31.
ALBERT FISHER
Work from the last 10 years. i Capolavori, 2519 Fifth Ave, 448-2825. Through Sept 9.
FROM SOWETO TO SEATTLE
Contemporary art from South Africa. Mwoyo Arts, 1125 Pike St, 223-0908. Through Aug 26.
* EVA GOODMAN
Eyeballs, ivy, and ice–in an installation by the multi-skilled Goodman, who can blow glass, weld, and cut topiary. Bubba-Mavis Gallery, 1158 Eastlake Ave E, 405-3223 (by appointment). Through Aug 17.
MORRIS GRAVES MEMORIAL EXHIBITIONS
There are two. One at the Henry Art Gallery (15th Ave NE and NE 41st, through Aug 12), and one at SAM (First and University, through October 20, 2002). If you didn’t know anything about his work, now you have no excuse.
DEAN KARR, YUMIKO KAYUKAWA
Kayukawa’s illustrations blend pop-Japanese culture with traditional Japanese style (get ready for Superflat!). Karr shows rock photography from this last decade. See review this issue. Roq la Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Aug 10.
MIK KASTNER
In the excellently titled Sets for Retinal Abnormalities Based in Real Time, Kastner assembles television screens and video cameras within mixed-media sculptures. The recording apparatus delivers a distorted image of the work–perhaps a nod to the varying experience each viewer has with a work?–and will be moved around during the span of the show. Ambitious work for a café. Café News, 8913 Roosevelt Way NE. Through Aug 31.
* JAMES LAVADOUR
Hallucinatory landscape painting that is anything but static. Somehow Lavadour manages to produce work that is both photographic and surreal. Trust me. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through Aug 11.
JEFF MIHALYO
New work from Mihalyo, a solid figurative painter. Black Lab Gallery, 5208 Ballard Ave NW, 781-2392. Through Aug 9.
YUKI NAKAMURA, ANNE DUFFY
If you missed Nakamura’s neat new ceramics last month, you’ve got another chance to see them. With paintings by Duffy, and Tim Sullivan and Lauren Steinhardt in the video room. Commencement Art Gallery, 902 Commerce St, Tacoma, 253-591-5341. Through Aug 9.
* NEW DIRECTIONS IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Hooray! The big pictures are here! This nod to the newest trend in photography is an opportunity for us to see work by Shirin Neshat–who makes those gorgeous black-and-white films about Muslim women–Candida Höfer, Vik Muniz, Paul Seawright, and Seton Smith. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Aug 18.
RENE PENA
Cuban artist Pena has “wrapped” this gorgeous space with his photographic installation, Manmade Materials. Suyama Space, 2324 Second Ave, 256-0809. Through Aug 24.
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
With work by 11 artists. Phinney Center Gallery, 6532 Phinney Ave, 783-2244. Through Aug 31.
REX RAY
Abstract, organic, and stylish collages by San Francisco artist and designer Ray. Velocity Art and Design, 2206 Queen Anne Ave N, #201, 781-9494. Through Aug 15.
NINA SEVEN
Everyday objects in fanciful composition. Glo’s Diner, 1621 E Olive Way. Through Sept 1.
JANICE TOULOUSE SHINGWAAK, LEONARD BEAM
In The Traveling Alter Native Medicine Show, Toulouse Shingwaak and Beam document their journey to sacred and historical sites across Canada and the United States with rubbings of objects from those sites. Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian Art, Daybreak Star Arts Center, Discovery Park, 285-4425. Through Aug 14.
GRAHAM SYED
New gallery! Featuring Syed’s photographs of the Oregon Coast. Kalo Gallery, 214 First Ave S, lower level, 781-7786. Through Aug 31.
JOHN TAYLOR
For his sculptures of ships, Taylor uses photographs of real vessels as inspiration and then interprets the image in found materials. New location! Garde Rail Gallery, 4860 Rainier Ave S, 760-3720. Through Aug 24.
CHRIS THOMPSON
Dark, dark humor. In Thompson’s paintings, a lighter moment might be a Twinkie barbecue. Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave, 254-0475. Through Aug 8.