Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.
Lectures and Events
Biannual Art Walkabout SAFA's biannual walkabout opens studio and classroom doors to the public, with opportunities to meet with faculty, attend lectures, and view new art by students and instructors. 5-8 p.m. Fri. Feb. 11. Seattle Academy of Fine Art, 1501 10th Ave. E., free, 206-526-2787.
Buffalo Soldiers Exhibit As part of Black History Month, this one-weekend exhibit showcases the history of the "Buffalo Soldier" cavalry units involved in the Indian Wars and settlement of the American West. Uniforms, artifacts, and photos will be on display. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. Feb. 14-Sun. Feb. 15. South Seattle Community College Gallery, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., free, 206-764-5337.
Openings
Billy King "Viet Nam Now" showcases work by five painters currently working in Hanoi, with works ranging from boldly colored abstraction to expressionist figurative portraiture. Opens Sat. Feb. 12. 1211 First Ave., 206-264-6263. Noon-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Capitol Hill Cafe Garth Lens' photos of clear- cuts bring attention to the timber practices of Weyerhaeuser. Speakers from Seattle Rainforest Action Group to appear on opening night. 6-8 p.m. Sat. Feb. 10. 216 Broadway Ave. E., 503-261-3349.
Francine Seders Illustrations of Chinese-American life from Beth Lo's children's book Mahjong All Day Long.Reception: 2-4 p.m. Sun. Feb. 13. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.- Sat, 1-5 p.m. Sun.
Howard House Joseph Park shows new work (he also has a solo show opening at the Frye next week). The Seattle artist's slick paintings have the precision and drama of animation stills, and each combines influences from film, manga, and possibly even Edward Hopper. He'll also display a series of road signs funded by Seattle's 1 Percent for Art Fund. Also on display: spare but luminous abstractions on vinyl by Monique van Genderen. Opens Thurs. Feb. 10. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Kinsey Gallery The late French philosopher Jacques Derrida is much admired and rarely understood in academia and the arts. The creator of deconstruction and différence is celebrated in "Bâtir," a smart little group show featuring work by Robert Yoder, Buzz Spector, Ryuta Nakajima, and several others. Reception: 5-8 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 10. Casey Building, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Ave., 206-296-5360. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
Seattle Art Museum "Between Past and Future," new video and photography from China (SEE SW THIS WEEK, P. 49) 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Thurs.
Square Room This gallery and interior design shop celebrates one year in business with a group show featuring work by Brian McGuffey, Leif Holland, and others. Reception: 5-10 p.m. Sat. Feb. 12. 1316 E. Pike St., 206-267-7120.
Last Chance
Platform Blake Haygood's "Buck Fever" features spare, cartoony paintings of Rube Goldberg machines coming apart at the seams. 114 Third Ave. S., 206-323-2808. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sat. Feb. 12.
Galleries
Art Institute of Seattle Gallery Joey Robinson's 27 stark, roughly sketched portraits of black maids are accompanied by stories of their struggles during the civil rights movement. 2323 Elliott Ave., 206-448-0900. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.
Ballard/Fetherston Gary Komarin's big, splashy paintings of everything from noodly abstraction to birthday cakes seem naive and childlike at first glance, but there's something formal and calculated about the composition of these ham-fisted but likeable paintings. 818 E. Pike St., 206-322-9440. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Bluebottle I have to confess a big weakness for Kamala Dolphin-Kinglsey's lush paintings inspired by tattoo art and stained glass. Her new work, "Somnium," is stocked with a peaceable kingdom of pets, wild creatures, nuns, saints, 1930s Chinese film stars, and mythological figures—all entwined in tentacles of foliage. Sure, a lot of her stuff is dreamy and puppy-sweet, but sometimes you need a break from all the angst and irony. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri., noon- 6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
Capitol Hill Arts Center Edward Matlock's pop portraits of friends, painted on birch plywood. 1621 12th Ave., 206-388-0600. 6-10 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.
CoCA "People Doing Strange Things With Electricity," a collection of electric-powered visual art, robots, and other stuff Edison never imagined by Iole Alessandrini, Ginny Ruffner, W. Scott Trimble, Ellen Ziegler, and others. 410 Dexter Ave. N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.
Cornish College Gallery "Record," a group show by Cornish alums, examines how an event or image is always modified in the retelling. It's a hit-or-miss show: Neal Bashor's intentional artlessness is starting to get old, and both of the surreal videos by Michelle Sciumbato and David Herbert are clever but don't quite work. More effective are Rhonda Dee Pritchett's still shots of death and transfiguration from a family video, Rich Lel's strange little cartoons, and Dennis Raine's hilariously banal word-paintings. First Floor, 100 Lenora St., 206-726-5011. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
Davidson Selene Santucci's paintings in "Left Hand Turns" offer well-proportioned geometric abstractions into which she tucks little symbolic figures—creating a visual cabinet of curiosities. 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
