Winston Wächter New work by eight abstract painters, including locals Jaq Chartier (whose paintings are the results of meticulous tests of materials) and Susan Dory. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Museums
Bellevue Arts Museum BAM is back with a re-tooled mission as an accessible (read: noncontroversial) place for art, craft, and design. Executive Director Michael Monroe launches the resurrection with "The Artful Teapot," an impressive but safe collection of 250 teapots as sculpture. Albert Paley's new–Art Nouveau iron work is nice and intricate, kind of like a Chihuly is nice and intricate (fans of the Tacoma glassmeister can see one of his newly commissioned works in BAM's lobby). And for those who just can't get enough glass, there's an exhibit of art and posters from the early days of the Pilchuck Glass School. 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. (until 9 p.m. Thurs); 11 a.m-5:30 p.m. Sun.
Burke Museum Subhankar Banerjee's magnificent photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are the result of a two-year expedition on the tundra. Savor these images, before ExxonMobil and BP bring their "low-impact" drilling apparatus to ANWR. Also on display: traditional and contemporary Native American art depicting arctic animals. UW campus, Northeast 45th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast, 206-543-5590. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. Thurs.).
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 the whole idea of authorship, nationality, and avant-garde, the artists in NSK create 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-sized 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 Seattle artist Trimpin's wonderfully titled installation Phfftt! involves some 200 electronically controlled woodwind instruments that viewers can play with a series of two dials—or they can simply listen to one of 12 manic, lighthearted, or sinister works by the composer. The installation has an amazing ability to give space to sound. Also on display: Do not miss the magnificent Francis Bacon painting Study for a Pope IV on display in its own room. Seattle is lucky to have this picture, on loan from an anonymous West Coast patron. The 1961 work is a late piece in Bacon's startling series of popes; this one conveys a haunting combination of authority and impotence. The skull-like head seems to shift and shimmer before your eyes, and the feeble hands make the pontiff seem very fallible indeed. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.
Seattle Art Museum "Isamu Noguchi—Sculptural Design" is an unorthodox and splashy exploration of the eclectic 20th-century sculptor-designer. The exhibit is a visual and sonic extravaganza designed by theater experimentalist Robert Wilson. Various rooms evoke different themes in Noguchi's long career: His work in the theater with the likes of Martha Graham takes the shape of a brooding theatrical space; intensely material sculptural works are set in a Zen rock garden complete with several tons of raked gravel. Other rooms suggest Noguchi's mission to popularize art through mass-produced design. There are moments when the whole project goes over the top—the canned thunder and lightning accompanying a model of a monument to Benjamin Franklin is just a bit much. Still, this is a fascinating look at an artist who managed to span divides between cultures and artistic disciplines. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Thurs.
