March. 9-15, 2005

Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.

Lectures and Events

Benefit Art Auction A gala dinner and auction of some 400 works by local artists, to raise funds for the Arts Council of Snohomish County. Everett Arts Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave. (Everett), 425-257-8380. $85. Silent auction begins at 4:30 p.m.; live auction begins at 7:30 p.m. Sat. March 12.

Panel Discussion: Artistic Freedom in China Scholars and working artists, including Willie Tsao, artistic director of the Beijing Modern Dance Company, discuss the possibilities and limitations facing contemporary visual and performing arts in China. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., 206-654-3100. Free with admission. 6:30 p.m. gallery walkthrough; 7:30 p.m. panel discussion Thurs. March 10.

Artist Slide Show: From Kasur to Kandahar For six months in 2003 and 2004, Seattle-based photographer Beb Reynol documented the daily life of the Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara tribes of Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion. The result is a series of varied and beautiful portraits of a people "struggling to reconstruct their country and their culture," according to Reynol. Oddfellows Hall, 1529 10th Ave., $5 suggested donation. 8 p.m. Thurs. March 10.

Openings

CoCABorn magazine, the online venue that fosters collaborations between writers and visual artists, is the impetus behind "Help Wanted," a promising-looking collection of multimedia, interactive pieces by Andrio Abero, Randy Moss, Tatiana Parcero, Trimpin, and many others.Reception: 7-10 p.m. Sat. March 12. 410 Dexter Ave. N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.

Columbia City Gallery A potpourri of photographs and prints by artists Stephanie Dickie, Bill Herberholz, and others. Reception: 5-9 p.m. Sat. March 12. 4864 Rainier Ave. S., 206-760-9843. Noon-7 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.

Kirkland Arts Center This intriguing exhibit explores how works on paper can move beyond the sketchy and ephemeral to more lasting innovation. Curated by Fionn Meade, the show has a promising lineup of artists, including Claire Cowie, Saul Becker, Perri Lynch, and Marc Dombrosky—who makes intricate needlework out of found grocery lists and scribbled notes. Reception: 6-9 p.m. Thurs. March 11. 620 Market St., Kirkland, 425-822-7161. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Roq La Rue Oh, the decadence! In "Opulent Decay," three artists luxuriate in death, the macabre, and destruction, including Joshua Petker's creepy expressionist paintings and Alice Tippet's subtle but gory pictures of peacocks and other birdies. Reception: 6-10 p.m. Fri. March 11. 23160 Second Ave., 206-374-8977. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon- 4 p.m. Sun.

Western Bridge "19 Rainstorms" is an international sampling of video, painting, photography, and installations by Oliver Boberg, Trisha Donnelly, Olafur Eliasson, Anri Sala, Tania Kitchell, and others. Opens Thurs. March 10. 3412 Fourth Ave. S., 206-838-7444. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Last Chance

Howard House A small show of Joseph Park's new work (see visual arts spotlight, page 70), plus spare abstraction with a fresh, improvisational feel by Monique van Genderen. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. March 12.

Kittredge Gallery New work by Seattle painter Alfredo Arreguín, who does amazing, mystic abstract and figurative work in rich colors; also, Phil Roach's voyeuristic peephole installations hiding little dioramas. University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Lawrence St. (Tacoma), 253-879-2806. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 1-4 p.m. Sat. Ends Fri. March 11.

Winston Wächter Toronto artist Tony Scherman's broadly brushed figurative works of mysterious women and birds have a ready-made decay to them. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. March 12.

Galleries

911 Media Arts John Feodorov, who as a child was told that the lava bed down the road was actually the coagulated blood of a slain giant, brings mythological imagination to bear on office cubicles and other disenchanted contemporary places in the installation "Four Sacred Spaces." 402 Ninth Ave., 206-682-6552. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Artemis Painter Matthew Porter (who also co-owns Bluebottle gallery on Capitol Hill) serves up more of his odd-cute paintings of gigantic cats eating Seattle (one too many double-shorts, perhaps?), and monkeys, monkeys, and more monkeys. Who doesn't love monkeys? Sat. Feb. 19. 3107 S. Day St., 206-323-0562. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Arts of Snohomish A group show of work by 30 participants in VSA of Washington's programs for artists with disabilities. 105 Cedar Ave. (Snohomish), 360-568-8648. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Ballard/Fetherston Big, sunny abstraction by Benton Peugh, and Dorothy Rissman's meticulously layered and sanded multimedia paintings. 818 E. Pike St., 206-322-9440. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Blue Heron Gallery Art Hansen's watercolors, drawings, and lithographs of Northwest landscapes are quite rewarding—a pleasing mix of recurring patterns, textures, and spare forms. All proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to Vashon Allied Arts. 19704 Vashon Hwy. S.W., Vashon Island, 206-463-5131. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-5 p.m. Sat.

Bluebottle Mike Maas' "TV Party" offers a bunch of Tiki- and Mod-retro 1970s nostalgia paintings made three- dimensional with multiple layers of cut Masonite. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri., noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.