Gregory Blackstock

The fact that Seattle artist Greg Blackstock is autistic is both irrelevant and integral to his art. It's tempting to forget that he's an autistic savant who spent 25 years working as a dishwasher for the Washington Athletic Club and lose yourself in these sly, funny drawings. The works, mostly monochrome, are filled with berries, handsaws, speedboats, fighter planes, freight cars (as in Our Old-Time Freight Train Equipment, pictured), terriers, Monsters of the Deep, things that make noise, and police vans, just to name a few. The captions, with their deadpan, Ripley's Believe It Or Not tone, are absolutely brilliant, and there's something strange and wonderful about the way Blackstock crams all sorts of stuff into his pictures, like an anthropologist or a modern-day Audubon. As much as he's a talented artist in his own right, there's no denying that autism is an essential part of these compulsive, fanatically detailed pictures. Blackstock also happens to be a talented accordion player (he can often be seen outside Key Arena or Safeco Field), and he'll play a few tunes on opening night. Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 3. Garde Rail, 110 Third Ave. S., 206-621-1055. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.