Dec. 29, 2004-Jan. 4, 2005

Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.

Last Chance

Atelier 31 Rebecca Raven’s 2- and 3-dimensional paintings inspired by the silent-movie era will be the last hurrah for this Belltown gallery, which will close shop at the end of the year. 2500 First Ave., 206- 448-5250. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Tues. & Sat. 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri. Ends Fri. Dec. 31.

Seattle Weekly PickBluebottle The faux ethnic treasures in “Artifacts of Pepelo Island,” by Seattle-based artist Iosufatu Sua ask the question: would you rather visit an anthropology exhibit of “primitive” art, or a show of contemporary street painting? And why? 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri., noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Fri. Dec. 31.

Gallery 4 Culture Designer and photographer Thom Heileson’s richly layered photomontages and videos offer up mysterious spaces, a kind of architecture of the unconscious. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Thurs. Dec. 30.

Seattle Weekly PickGallery 110 Steve Miller’s “Milky” captures the reactions of a bunch of naked people having gallons of milk poured over them, while Mark Moody’s “Dust Collectors” is a series of photos of dust-encrusted entomology exhibits. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Fri. Dec. 31.

Jack Straw New Media Gallery In “Yiju, Songs of Dislocation,” Byron Au Yong combines music and video projected on sculptures made from metal mesh to create a study of memory and heritage. 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919. 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. Dec. 31.

Linda Hodges A grab bag of artists who’ll be on display at Linda Hodges’ gallery in 2005, including Alfred Arreguin, Gayle Bard, and Jennifer Beedon Snow. 316 First Ave. S., 206-624-3034. 10:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Fri. Dec. 31.

Lisa Harris New still lifes and landscapes in pastels and paint by Skagit Valley artist Joel Brock. 1922 Pike Pl., 206-443-3315. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. Ends Thurs. Dec. 30.

Seattle Weekly PickSeattle Art Museum “Spain in the Age of Exploration 1492–1819” explores the cultural vibrancy of Spain’s golden age through paintings, maps, documents, navigational instruments, suits of armor, and other stuff of empire. Most of the surprises are beyond the big names: Juan de Flandes’ tender little Biblical scenes, a magnificent bronze crucifixion by Bernini that rivals Donatello’s David in its voluptuousness; and a tapestry of human folly and inhumanity designed by Hieronymous Bosch. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs. Ends Sun. Jan. 2.

Seattle Weekly PickSeattle Museum of the Mysteries Why did it take me so long to discover this place? This funky little collection of curiosities is a deadpan, serious-but-maybe-not subterranean museum dedicated to the paranormal and weird. It’s stocked with stuff on the first reported sighting of a UFO (right here in the Northwest), haunted buildings, and Bigfoot. (Who knew the most conclusive proof of Sasquatch after the famous Patterson film is a butt print the critter supposedly left in the mud.) 623 Broadway Ave. E., 206-328-6499. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Ends Thurs. Dec. 30.

Seattle Weekly PickTacoma Art Museum Scott Fife’s extraordinary sculptures are made from cut gray cardboard—including the monumental and goofy sculpture Leroy, The Big Pup. Fife’s “Idaho Project” applies these same methods to create elegant busts of the celebrities and important figures in a turn of the century trial for the murder of a former Idaho governor. 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4258. Every third Thursday free and open until 8 p.m.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. Jan. 2.

William Traver Danish glass artist Tobias Møhl’s intricately detailed vessels and forms are notable in that they use no added colors. 110 Union St., second floor, 206-587-6501. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. Jan. 2.

Openings

All City Coffee “R+E: Resplendent Equation,” is a collection of collaborative drawings by locals Robert Hardgrave and Erin Shafkind. Opens Sun. Jan. 2. 1205 S. Vale St., 206- 767-7146.

Victrola Coffee & Art New paintings in oils and encaustic by local artist Chad Downard. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Sat. Jan. 1. 411 15th E., 206-325-6520. 5:30 a.m.-11 p.m. daily.

Galleries

1506 Projects Tony Weathers’ “Yes, Oui, Si; Waiting,” is a site-specific video installation questioning our desire for commodities and consumer goods. 1506 E. Olive, 206-329-5400. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Seattle Weekly Pick911 Media Arts The contemporary media center celebrates its move to new digs with an installation of Language Willing, a simultaneously frenetic and lethargic video piece by local genius Gary Hill. 402 Ninth Ave., 206-682-6552. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

CoCA “Because We Can,” a solo show of surreal photos by Hugh Lenzt, plus a group show by CoCA members. 410 Dexter Ave. N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.

G. Gibson Contemporary figurative photographs by Mona Kuhn and flower photographs by Ron van Dongen. 514 E. Pike St., 206-587-4033. 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickGarde Rail Thick with frostinglike layers of paint (her skies resemble nothing so much as Crest toothpaste), Toronto-based artist Jennifer Harrison’s row upon row of painted houses offer a cheery, but abandoned landscape of mythical happiness. 110 Third Ave. S., 206-621-1055. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickGreg Kucera Susan Skilling’s recent minimalist paintings offer passionate glimpses into the heavens—a place of frosty moonlight and orblike objects that recall the intense spiritual iconography of Morris Graves. Lynne Woods Turner’s drawings create a place of concentric rings and faint dots, all sketched so lightly they’re nearly invisible. There’s no need to revive the tired “Northwest Mystics” label (Skilling is from Seattle, Turner from Portland), but these two local artists definitely deliver a quiet, meditative art that’s a refreshing blend of complexity and subtlety. 212 Third Ave., 206-624-0770. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickJames Harris In “Low Pressure,” Tania Kitchell conducts little experiment- performances in chilly conditions and records the results in fleeting, ephemeral photographs. The nearly abstract images of Kitchell’s breath steam and fluttering snowflakes caught against the night sky have a sweet, Zen quiet to them. Kitchell also keeps meticulous records of her time outdoors, and these Haiku-like weather observations are transferred into blocks of text etched on to plexiglass. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

National Parks Conservation Association Scott Parker’s “National Parks Project” collects photographs, paintings, and sketches from a dream road trip: visiting all 56 officially designated National Parks in two years via Jeep, kayak, bush plane, and on foot. 313-A First Ave., 206-903-1444, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Seattle Weekly PickPlatform “Paperwork” is a group show tackling paper as both material and subject matter by photographer Debra Baxter, printmaker Harriet Sanderson, Brooklyn’s Alicia Wargo, San Francisco’s Ray Beldner (who creates sculpture with dollar bills), and New York photographer Zelig Kurland. 114 Third Ave. S., 206-323-2808. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickRoq La Rue Mike Leavitt returns with more of his cool Art Army action figures based on all your favorite heroes: R. Crumb, Jean- Michel Basquiat, Van Gogh, and all the rest. Also on display: simple, monochrome paintings all centered around young critters lost in the woods by Joe Newton. 2316 Second Ave., 206-374-8977. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun.

Seattle Weekly PickSolomon Fine Art “Barely Visible” showcases two artists whose meticulous work transforms the banal into something vital through the act of creation: New York–based Cynthia Lin’s silverpoint drawings of paper capture the chaotic beauty of dust, while Marc Dombrosky’s fascinating work morphs tossed-aside grocery lists and other found notes into exquisitely detailed embroidery. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickWestern Bridge The second part of Henry Art Gallery’s ambitious show “Work of the Work” (much of which was mounted with the help of William and Ruth True’s Western Bridge collection) showcases art that deals with perception and humanist religiosity. Kimsooja’s jukeboxlike Mandala: Zone of Zero broadcasts a cacophony of chanting from Tibetans and Gregorian monks, while Steve McQueen’s gritty video of trip-hop singer Tricky is a near-claustrophobic immersion in a trance state. Anne Appleby’s color field paintings derived from the fleeting colors of Montana’s outdoors offer a palpable, quiet grace, while Carston Höller’s immersive merry-go-round of fluorescent light takes you to another plane of existence. 3412 Fourth Ave. S. 206-838-7444. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Seattle Weekly PickWright Exhibition Space This show, curated by Virginia Wright, hopes to revive interest in color field painters Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Helen Frankenthaler, and Kenneth Noland. Some of the pieces are magnificent in their lush disregard for anything but their own colors: Noland’s vast “Vista” surrounds the viewer with a bath of mauve, while Louis’ “Mem” is a subtle veil of browns. 407 Dexter Ave. N., 206-264-8200. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thurs.-Fri.