BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM
510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, (425) 454-3322
*JOHN STAMETS: BAM AS BUILT
See Stranger Suggests. Large-format images of the new museum under construction. Through March 10.
*SHAPING STORIES
An odd and oddly beautiful little show about narrative, with work by some good local artists (R. Eugene Parnell, Phil Roach) and some tremendously good artists from elsewhere (Paul Pfieffer, Bill Viola), and a brand-new installation from the Typing Explosion. Through March 10.
*ROGER SHIMOMURA: AN AMERICAN DIARY
The subject of the World War II-era internment of Japanese Americans is one that Shimomura has visited time and time again. In An American Diary, and another series, Memories of Childhood, he discards his references to traditional Japanese prints and opts for a comic-book format that is at the same time more accessible and more eerie. Through March 24. A selection of newer works will be shown through March 10.
FRYE ART MUSEUM
704 Terry Ave, 622-9250
THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION
Paintings and drawings by Fechin, Bongart, and Gaspard. Through Feb 17.
HENRY ART GALLERY
15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280
*SHORT STORIES
Now with new stories! A series of staggered rotating exhibitions that includes work from the permanent collection, commissioned projects, and installations. Vik Muniz works with unusual materials–chocolate, dirt, string–that are more than a punch line, rather a study in art’s effectiveness. The new shows include Susan Robb’s lovely and disorienting Seedling, from the Northwest New Works Laboratory (co-sponsored by 911 Media Arts Center) and work by Kori Newkirk, who is currently “in residence” (as they say) at the Henry. Through May 12.
*SUPERFLAT
Contemporary Japanese art in the pop art vein, from work influenced by comics culture (manga and anime) to erotic doodles and weirdly blank photography. Superflat was curated by artist Takashi Murakami–of the wonderful Mr. DOB and a recent balloon installation in New York’s Grand Central Terminal–who nurses a theory that the privileging of line over form is nothing new in Japanese art, but rather looks back to 14th-century scrolls, screens, and paintings. Through March 3.
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.
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
ABSTRACTION
Truth in advertising: abstract work by Susan Dory, Betsy Eby, Caio Fonseca, Chris Gallagher, Alfred Harris, and Antonio Murado. Dory’s blurred patterns–like gene prints, or wallpaper seen under the influence–are particularly good. Opening reception Thurs Jan 17, 6-8 pm. Winston Wächter Fine Art, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855. Through Feb 22.
ALICIA BERGER and JOHN BURROW
A sound and video installation about superheroes by two Cornish faculty members. Opening reception Wed Jan 23, 4:30-6 pm. Henriette E. Woessner Alumni Gallery, Cornish College of the Arts, 723 Harvard Ave E, (800) 726-ARTS. Through Feb 9.
KATHRYN GLOWEN
Human-sized leaves painted on wood panels. Dare to call it “just nature.” Opening reception Sun Jan 20, 2-4 pm. Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355. Through March 3.
CLAUDE ZERVAS, ROCHELLE WELLS
I haven’t seen any of Zervas’ video work yet, but everything else he does is very, very smart. With photographs by Wells. Opening reception Thurs Jan 17, 5-9 pm. Commencement Art Gallery, 902 Commerce St, Tacoma, (253) 591-5341. Through Feb 14.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS
14.15.ART
For the past eight years, 14.15.art–a group of 15 local printmakers and painters–has gathered each month for a kind of informal critique. This is their first show as a group. Phinney Center Gallery, Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N, 783-2244. Through Jan 28.
ERIK ANDREWS
New paintings: big abstractions with very specific text. Victrola Coffee, 411 15th Ave E, 325-6520. Through Jan 31.
ARTIST TRUST AUCTION PREVIEW
Work donated by over 200 Northwest artists for the Artist Trust benefit auction (on Feb 20; for tickets call the gallery, or Jennifer West at Artist Trust, 467-8734, ex. 14). Bank of America Gallery, 701 Fifth Ave, 3rd floor, 585-3200. Through Feb 4.
DEBRA BAXTER
Baxter has an interesting way with a canvas: she likes to attack it, disembowel it, and put it back together. Now, however, she’s interested in clouds, which makes sense in a roundabout kind of way–solid, but not, heavy, but fragmented–if you think about it enough. Zeitgeist, 171 S Jackson St, 583-0497. Through Jan 31.
BEACON HILL PRINTMAKERS
Another longtime group of printmakers… must be something in the water. Opening reception next week. ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave SW, 938-0963. Through Feb 2.
PHIL BORGES
The prolific photographer’s newest work, from the (pre-9/11) Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Odegaard Under-graduate Library, University of Washington campus, 685-3130. Through Jan 31.
GEORGE J. BRANDT
Mixed media, personal/spiritual journeys, disemboweled doll. Mary Vitold Gallery, 110 S Washington St, 624-9336. Through Feb 2.
BARBARA DePIRRO
Environments explored through photography and painting. Still Life in Fremont Coffeehouse, 709 E 35th St, 547-9850. Through Jan 22.
NORAH FLATLEY
A sculptural narrative of the Smith Tower–clever, since in exhibiting in the Smith Tower, the work becomes part of the narrative in an endless reflexive loop. King County Gallery, 506 Second Ave, room 200, 296-7580. Through Jan 25.
SIMONA FOGGITT
New mixed-media works with lots of newspaper. Nico Gallery, 619 Western Ave, 2nd floor, 264-1710. Through Feb 2.
GALLERY ARTISTS GROUP EXHIBIT
With work by Isabel Kahn, Brandon Zebold, Dean Eliasen, Mary Henry, Ben Harby, Jim Hansen, and the Lisas (Zerkowitz and Buchanan). Bryan Ohno Gallery, 155 S Main St, 667-9572. Through Feb 2.
ANNIE GRGICH
Twelve years of Grgich’s work–intensely layered, intensely personal–which has its roots in the punk scenes and zines of Portland and San Francisco. Garde Rail Gallery, 4860 Rainier Ave S, 721-0107. Through Jan 26.
PAVLINA HONCOVA
Photographs of a monastery’s destroyed rooms; architecture as built, and as ravaged. FotoCircle Gallery, 562 First Ave S, Suite 300, 624-2645. Through Feb 2.
DEBORAH HORRELL
An exploration of vessels as metaphors. Elliott Brown Gallery, 215 Westlake Ave N, 340-8000. Through Jan 26.
IT’S JUST LIKE THE MOVIES
Except when it isn’t. Reactions to 9/11. Li’l Red Shack Gallery, 1020 First Ave S, 621-7807. Through Feb 3.
*NIKKI McCLURE AND BEATRICE CORON
If you’ve never seen McClure’s intricate cut-paper works, I implore you, once again, to go. Here, she’s also showing two books that she collaborated on with Coron, mailing them back and forth between coasts, building on each other’s work. Wessel and Leiberman Booksellers, 208 First Ave S, 682-3545. Through Jan 31.
MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION
Juried by Marsha Burns. Photographic Center Northwest, 900 12th Ave, 720-7222. Through Jan 30.
THE MEXICANA SHOW
The gallery’s usual prankster-artists (Jim Blanchard, David Tupper, Cook & Walsh) take on Mexi-kitsch (wrestlers! little dogs!). Roq la Rue, 2224 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Jan 31.
LAMONT MUDD
Pop culture and other fleeting sensations, captured in painting. dirtworks gallery, 214 First Ave S, lower level, 625-4101. Through Jan 31.
MIKE NIPPER
The same paintings he showed at the Croc in September–but Nipper works here, and if I don’t mention him, I won’t get my mail. Also, poor guy’s last two shows have been upstaged by WTO riots and terrorism, so give him a break. Re-Bar, 1114 Howell St, 233-9873. Through Jan 31.
FRANK OKADA,
An exhibition of the works remaining in Okada’s estate when he died last year. His last works combine the strictness of geometric abstraction with a detailed brushwork and attention to paint-handling that brings them to life. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770. Through Feb 2.
CHRISTOPHER PALMS
Photographs from over 15 years of shooting. KALO Gallery, 214 First Ave S, #B8, 781-7786. Through Jan 27.
LAURA JANE PETELKO
Two photographic documentaries. Artemis Gallery, 3107 S Day St, 323-0562. Through Jan 31.
CRAIG POZZI
Reflections on the bounty, excess, and capitalistic scourge of the American mall. Little Theatre Gallery, 608 19th Ave E, 675-2055. Through Jan 26.
MELANIE REED, D.A. JONES
Surrealism times two. JEM Studios, 1205 S Vale St (Georgetown), 767-3166. Through Jan 28.
*STEPPING FROM THE SHADOWS
IMC’s latest art venture brings graffiti artists from around the country inside–with works on canvas and installation projects by PARS (of the sad children in the scary and carnivorous urban landscapes), Cause-B (of the revolutionary heroes and sexy kittens), and Amir H. Fallah (a writer whose graffiti runs backward, like Farsi), among others. Independent Media Center Gallery, 1415 Third Ave, 262-0721. Through Jan 31.
INEZ STORER
New paintings in Fantasies/Lies. Grover/Thurston Gallery, 309 Occidental Ave S, 223-0816. Through Feb 14.
*TRANSMOGRIFIED
Other curators have meditated on the intersection of science and art, the Benjaminesque implications of mechanical reproduction, and the through-the-looking-glass world of things that were formerly too small (or too hidden) to see. Here is Jim Harris’ take, with the work of four exceptional Seattle artists (Claire Cowie, Patrick Holderfield, Susan Robb, and Ephraim Russell) and Stephanie Syjuco from San Francisco. James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Through Jan 19.
*PATTI WARASHINA
This is Warashina’s first solo show in Seattle in a decade; here, she focuses on the human body as seen in ancient history with sculptures that create a point on a visual timeline. Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399. Through Jan 26.
JESSE JOSHUA WATSON
New work in a show called Black Music Seen. The Bohemian, 111 Yesler Way, 447-1514. Through Feb 5.
RICH WERNER
Comics-influenced art–including some watercolor–on cold-press illustration board. Cut Kulture Gallery, 2018 First Ave, 374-8753. Through Feb 1.
EVENTS
SEX WORKERS’ ART SHOW
Apparently, all sex workers who make art are geniuses. Judge for yourself. Sat Jan 19 at 8 pm at the Capitol Theatre, 206 Fifth Ave, Olympia. Admission is $10. For information call (360) 280-2170.