Visual Arts Picks

THE LONELIEST HIGHWAY

No one can resist staring at a car crash, or so goes the clich鮠So why not head down to Atelier 31 this month, where you can rubberneck at David Pirrie's paintings of demolished vehicles to your heart's content without threatening public safety? The Vancouver-based artist's new work depicts crumpled cars against a field of gray, placing them under a kind of formal, clinical scrutiny. Rather than evoking forensic narratives (who was behind the wheel? what caused the crash?) these paintings seem to go deeper. What is beautiful is beautiful because it is fleeting, linked to its inevitable destruction. Or something like that. Also on display is Seattle artist Junko Yamamoto's collection of cute and dreamy abstract paintings. Her artist's statement offers an awkward, lovely sort of wisdom: "Knowledge is an amazing cake. As we strive to eat larger and larger slices the cake remains undiminished, even becomes expanded." Opening Reception: 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Wed. Jan. 7. Atelier 31, 2500 First Ave., 206-448-5250. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Tues.; 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; noon- 5 p.m. Sun. ANDREW ENGELSON

In the second of its semiannual juried shows, this artist-owned collective continues to serve up a potent cocktail of politically engaged art. This month the theme is "Body Politics," and on display are works by 38 participants, including Jessica Dodge, Karen Kosoglad, Katie Miller, Blair Wilson, and first-prize winner James Cicatko, whose "Little Monsters" paintings find nude men and women pummeling each other senseless. Reception and awards: 6 p.m.-8 p.m. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. ANDREW ENGELSON

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