Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.
Lectures and Events
ARTIST LECTURE: BO BARTLETT Andrew Wyeth protégé Bartlett talks about his large, realist paintings of quiet weirdness in the American heartland. 2 p.m. Sat. Feb. 21, Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., free, 206-622-9250.
WHY DOCUMENT? Timed with the arrival of the College Art Association's national conference in Seattle, Elliott Bay Book Company hosts a panel discussion on the challenges of documenting the history and significance of visual art in the Northwest. Entitled "Why Document? The Art of Creative Documentation," the conversation will include artist Barbara Earl Thomas, critic Deloris Tarzan Ament, curator Sheryl Conkelton, and longtime art scene fixture Wesley Wehr. 5:30 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 19. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S. Main St., free, (206) 624-6600.
Openings
COCA Inaugurating CoCA's new space near South Lake Union, "Neoqueer" is a nationally touring exhibit of 43 prominent and emerging gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender artists. Curated by the Queer Caucus for Art, the exhibit is timed to coincide with the arrival of the national College Art Association annual conference in Seattle. Reception: 8 p.m.-midnight, Fri. Feb. 20. 410 Dexter Avenue N., 206-728-1980. 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.
CONSOLIDATED WORKS A gala opening for two new offerings at ConWorks: "Suspension," a multi-media art-theater-music thing that the folks in the ConWorks publicity machine are very vague about, and "Sonic Absorption," an installation by Christian Marclay, the pop music-as-art wunderkind whose work is also on display at SAM. Reception: 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Fri. Feb. 20 ($7, members free). 500 Boren Ave. N., 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 206-860-5245.
JAMES HARRIS In "Land Escapes" Seattle artist Claire Cowie recycles old "rejected" prints and drawings and refashions them into a series of collages meant to evoke the collision of industry and nature alongside Seattle's Duwamish River (a low-rent district where Cowie and lots of other artists have their studios). Reception: 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Wed. Feb. 18. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM "Larger than Life Heroes" presents Ukiyo-e and woodblock prints on the subject of sumo wrestling. Yup, big sweaty fat guys grappling with each other in loincloths. This is supposed to be a definitive exhibit on Japan's strange national pastime, with works ranging from 18th century artist Katsukawa Shunsho to contemporary video of the sport. Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect Ave., 206-625-8900. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.
SOLOMON FINE ART "Obscured Elements" offers meditations on human physiology by two artists: Gerri Ondrizek's ink-on-fabric tapestries based on her family's chromosome patterns, and Ellen Garvens' odd photographs of artificial limbs and prosthetic devices. Reception: 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 19. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
WRIGHT EXHIBITION SPACE "The Figure in Contemporary Art" looks at how the human form has taken a postmodern turn in contemporary art by showcasing work by 23 big-time international artists, including Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, and Eric Fischl. 407 Dexter Ave. N., 206-622-1896. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thurs-Fri.
Last Chance
BURKE MUSEUM "Reverent Remembrance," is the Burke's exploration of how five cultures deal with Mister Death, from an Egyptian mummy to the Celtic roots of Halloween. UW campus, N. E. 45th St. and 17th Ave. N.E., 206-543-5590. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. Thurs.). Ends Sun. Feb. 22.
Galleries
AIA "Kumamoto Artpolis" collects 70 photos of architecture built under the innovative Artpolis movement, a design system that since 1988 favors adapting structures to local environmental and cultural contexts. 1911 First Ave., 206-448-4938. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
ART INSTITUTE OF SEATTLE GALLERY "Wee Works" refers not to bodily fluids, but the miniscule scale of some 200 works of art by college art students from the U.S. and Scotland. 2323 Elliott Avenue, 206-448-0900. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.
ART/NOT TERMINAL Paintings on the theme of expressive movement by Janine Geater-Davis. 2045 Westlake, 206-233-0680, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.
ARTEMIS "Entre Chien et Loup," (translation: somewhere between dog and wolf) is the title of freelance photojournalist Paul Souders' solo show of photographs of the shifting, ghostly nature of twilight. 3107 S. Day St., 206-323-0562. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
ATELIER 31 AT 31's new curator, Stefano Catalani, has invited ten artists (including Margo Quan Knight and Douglas Smithenry) to take an existing work and interpret each in the color red. Both the originals and the ruddy-hued versions will be on display. 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.
BENHAM "Eye to Eye" collects the black & white photographs of Graham Nash—yeah, that Graham Nash. 1216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.
CAPITOL HILL ARTS CENTER Thom Heileson's video installation "Scend" evokes the empty spaces of Death Valley. 1621 12th Ave., Mon.-Fri. 6 p.m.-2 a.m.
