Wright Exhibition Space "Aboriginal Vision" offers selections of contemporary Australian Aboriginal art from the expansive collection of UW international studies professor Margaret Levi and her husband, Robert Kaplan. 407 Dexter Ave. N., 206-264-8200. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thurs.-Fri.
Zeitgeist Nature-based abstract paintings and drawings by Stephanie Dennis. 171 S. Jackson St., 206-583-0497. 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
Museums
Frye Art Museum "The Retrofuturistic World of NSK" collects 20 years' worth of painting, prints, and other media by Slovenia's Neue Slowenische Kunst art movement. Challenging concepts of authorship, nationality, and avant-garde, NSK creates theater, music, and visual art that appropriates Communist and capitalist kitsch in an effort to subvert authority. "Taking and Making" features recent work by Oliver Herring, the German-born artist whose experiments in photography, video, and sculpture take novel turns, including a life-size self-portrait sculpture made from snapshots. 704 Terry Ave., 206-622-9250. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.
Henry Art Gallery Recent UW MFA grads strut their stuff in the Henry's annual showcase.Also on display: Doug Aitken's Interiors is a majestic meditation on the search for meaning amid the stress and alienation of 21st-century urban life. Sprawling throughout an entire gallery, four separate story lines play out on a vast box of screens, allowing you to view three of the videos simultaneously as a sculptural whole from many different angles. The nearly wordless stories arch from contemplative (a young family with a new baby stands in a junkyard as a Brian Eno–like soundtrack throbs underneath) to mysterious (a man sands a helicopter in a sterile factory cleanroom) and frenetic (hip-hop artist André Benjamin gushes a verbal storm while a woman smashes a handball and an Asian businessman twitches in a sweaty convulsion of stress). The collective vignettes pack a surprising emotional wallop, considering the stories are stripped to their most simple visual and sonic elements. Meanwhile, the small show "Playtime" collects whimsical art made from toys. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.
Museum of Glass A 20-year survey of the career of Stanwood, Wash., glassman William Morris, whose importance in the Pilchuck glass industry rivals that of Chihuly, and whose sculptural pieces draw inspiration from ancient myth and archeology. 1801 E. Dock St., Tacoma, 253-396-1768. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.- Sat. (third Thurs. of the month until 8 p.m.); noon- 5 p.m. Sun.
Seattle Art Museum "Africa in America" is a varied and complex exploration of slavery, displacement, and ethnic culture as portrayed in African-American art of the late 20th century, including work by James W. Washington Jr., Kara Walker, Ellen Gallagher, and Marita Dingus. Also on display: a sampling of works in SAM's collection of 19th-century French artists, including Bouguereau and Monet. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.
Seattle Asian Art Museum "Mountain Dreams" collects contemporary ceramics incised with Buddhist text by Korean artist Yoon Kwang-cho. Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect Ave., 206-625-8900. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.
Wing Luke Asian Museum "Women and Violence" explores issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, war, trafficking, and the "mail-order bride" phenomenon, specifically focusing on the Asian/Pacific Islander community. 407 Seventh Ave. S., 206-623-5124. 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
