Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.
Lectures and Events
Greenwood-Phinney Art Walk Enjoy art on display in over 50 businesses along Greenwood and Phinney Avenues between 65th and 87th Streets. 6-9:30 p.m. Fri. May 12 and noon- 5 p.m. Sat. May 13. Also through May 27 at Phinney Center Gallery, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., 206-783-2244, www.phinneycenter.org, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. www.greenwoodphinneyartwalk.com.
Barbara Brotherton SAM's curator of Native American art speaks on "Kwakwaka'wakw Performance Art: Visual Art of the Potlatch." 6 p.m. Thurs. May 11. Stimson Auditorium, Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect St., 206-654-3131, www.seattleartmuseum.org.
Vashon Art Tour Enjoy a self-guided tour of 21 Vashon Island art studios and group shows, with everything from paintings, printmaking, and sculpture to garden art, jewelry, glass, weaving, pottery, and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. May 13-Sun. May 14. www.vashonislandartstudiotour.com; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries for transportation schedules.
Openings
Ballard Fetherston Melissa Furness works with acrylic paint, digital photography, and glassy resin glaze to explore identity, sexuality, alienation, and shared environment. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Fri. May 12. 818 E. Pike St., 206-322-9440, www.ballardfetherstongallery.com. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends June 10.
BLVD Gallery A new gallery that will showcase underground street art and graffiti culture from across the nation.Their inaugural show, "Groundswell," features work by Space Invader, Oliver Vernon, Robert Hardgrave, Bigfoot, Mear One, Iosefatu Sua, and more. Opening: 6-10 p.m. Fri. May 12. 2312 Second Ave., www.blvdart.com. 1-6 p.m. Wed., Thurs., & Sat., 1-7 p.m. Fri.
Columbia City This first annual regional juried exhibition examines our "plugged and caffeinated" culture via work by 17 local artists. Reception: 5-8 p.m. Sat. May 13. 4864 Rainier Ave. S., 206-760-9843, www.columbiacitygallery.com. Noon-8 p.m. Wed.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. Ends July 9.
Consolidated Works The annual Cornish CollegeDesign BFA Exhibition. Reception: 7-10 p.m. Fri. May 12. 500 Boren Ave. N., 206-381-3218, www.conworks.org, www.cornish.edu. Noon-7 p.m. daily. Ends May 26.
Davidson Contemporary John Grade's Cleave will transform the gallery into an artificial environment, constructed of clay, goat fur, and resin, that intends to replicate the landscape—think the canyons of Escalante in Utah or the glaciers of Mount Rainier. Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thurs. May 11. 310 S. Washington St., 206-624-7684, www.davidsongalleries.com. 11 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends June 24.
Jack Straw New Media Korean artist Kichul Kim's Rapport is a sound installation exploring the connection between seeing sound and reaching Nirvana, an idea he has worked with for over 10 years. Reception: 7 p.m. Fri. May 12. 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919, www.jackstraw.org. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends June 23.
James Harris "About Strange Lands: Sculpture and Watercolor" is artist Claire Cowie's third solo show at the gallery. Inspired by an old story about a rhinoceros named Clara who was captured and displayed as an exotic animal before crowds of Europeans, Cowie explores objectification and preconception. Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thurs. May 11. 309A Third Ave. S., 206-903-6220, www.jamesharrisgallery.com. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., by appointment Tues. Ends June 17.
Kirkland Arts Center "Menu: Edible Elements in Art" explores the use of food in contemporary art, featuring artwork by Josephine Balakrishnan, Patty Cokus, Dee Fontans, Edward Kranz, Theresa Lovering-Brown, Tom Muller, Toi Sennhauser, and Carmen Valdes. Opening: 6-9 p.m. Thurs. May 11. 620 Market St., 425-822-7161, www.kirklandartscenter.org. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. second Thursdays. Ends June 3.
Terry Avenue Studios The annual Cornish College Art BFA Exhibition. Reception: 7-10 p.m. Fri. May 12. 2000 Terry Ave., www.cornish.edu. Noon-7 p.m. daily. Ends May 26.
Last Chance
Crawl Space The connecting thread of "Personally Public," a group show of Fluxus-style concepts by 11 local artists and artistic teams, is the absurdist's glee in creating incongruities for public reaction. 504 E. Denny Way #1, 206-322-5752, www.crawlspacegallery.com. Noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends May 14.
Frye Art Museum "Swallow Harder: Selections from the Ben and Aileen Krohn Collection" is the provocative first museum show of this local multimedia contemporary collection. 704 Terry Ave., 206-622-9250, www.fryemuseum.org. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends May 14.
Gallery63Eleven New work by local artist Alix Lorance in "Women." 6311 24th Ave. N.W., 206-478-2238, www.gallery63eleven.com. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends May 10.
Greg Kucera "Splinter. Return." The abstract and figurative canvases and sculptures of Cuban-born painter, poet, and writer Enrique Martinez Celaya are darkly fascinating, as one might expect from an artist whose materials include charcoal, tar, and blood. Also: The intricate "visual algorithms" of the prints of New York artist James Siena. 212 Third Ave. S., 206-624-0770, www.gregkucera.com. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends May 13.
Howard House London-born Matthew Picton captures the spaces between the cracks, crannies, and crooks in parking lots, streets, lakes, ocean beds, and other entities, and turns them inside out. In his obviously patient hands, carefully photographed cracks in the road are reproduced as either spidery, hanging sculptures or as ink-and-paper drawings of incredible detail. His recent sculptural series based on floor mapping of the Arctic Ocean done by the Russian Navy seems to lack romance in comparison. Perhaps it's because we can relate to the ever-present cracks on the street (and in our lives) that they stir something more within us than scientifically mapped ocean beds, depicted in large, somewhat cold plastic or aluminum-wire sculptures. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399, www.howardhouse.net. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends May 13. MOLLY LORI
