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

Lectures and Events

Architecture Forum: Art Meets Architecture Architect Jim Olson, landscape designer Jennifer Guthrie, and artist Buster Simpson discuss the intersection of public art and architecture. 5:30-7 p.m. Thurs. Aug. 25. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., free (RSVP required) 206-667-9184.

Arts in Nature Festival Performance, sound art, eco-friendly hip-hop, butoh, and creative cat’s cradle invade West Seattle’s Camp Long. Whoever conceived this festival must have been on acid. Looks like a hybrid of hippy-trippy Solstice Parade stuff and bona fide artists like Gamelan Pacifica and sound artist Peri Lynch. Vegetarian food will be available (on reusable plates). Oh, and bicycle or take the bus, please. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat. Aug. 27; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun. Aug. 28. Camp Long, 200 35th Ave. S.W., $5-$10 (requested donation), 206-923-0853.

West Edge Sculpture Invitational Gala A gala evening of wine, jazz, Tiki lounge food, and outdoor sculpture, all at Harbor Steps. 6-9 p.m. Fri. Aug. 26. 1301 First Ave. (Harbor Steps), $20, 206-334-5040.

Last Chance

Davidson Seattle painter Matthew Landkammer and “The Personal Politic” (see spotlight, at right) 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

CoCA New digitally created exercises in lush abstract color, a kind of Op Art for the cyber age, by New York–based artist and photographer Matthew Klein. Plus, Philo’s Cave, a sculptural installation by UW MFA candidate Tivon Rice.410 Dexter Ave. N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Ends Sun. Aug. 28.

Francine Seders “Large Works” is a brief show of, well, large works by gallery favorites. This second week showcases art by Guy Anderson, Alfonse Borysewicz, Lauri Chambers, and Andreas Grunert, and gory scenes by longtime Northwest artist Michael Spafford. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. Aug. 28.

Gallery 110 “Women I Know in Their Underwear,” offers not-quite-nude paintings by Pam BergLundh, plus abstract collage in various media by Elizabeth Halfacre. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Garde Rail Gallery artist Kevin Titzer guest curates a satisfying and lighthearted show of art inspired by the brainy geek rock of the They Might Be Giants. Standouts include Eduardo Recife’s Are U Together, an intricate twist of knots and tangled hearts, and They’ll Need a Crane, a sweet little meditation on a clear-cut relationship by Brooklyn-based artist Andy Kehoe. 110 Third Ave. S., 206-621-1055. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Greg Kucera New work by Montana artist Deborah Butterfield, who does clever, larger-than-life sculptures of horses from found wood. (The wood is lost in the bronze-casting process, leaving an amazingly realistic trace of weathered wood grain.) Other smaller pieces are made from found scrap metal and copper. 212 Third Ave., 206-624-0770. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Howard House Local artist Juniper Shuey’s debut solo show, “Mystery in Which We All Participate,” explores notions of perception, the body, and religious transformation through video, installation, and one inflatable sculpture. The most impressive piece is A Thousand More Things Have Gone Right Than Gone Wrong, a video of faces emerging from milky liquid projected on a table piled with flour. Another installation, You Will Find Yourself Eventually, projects the viewer’s visage on a screen of sprayed water. This is skilled, virtuoso new media art, but it all left me feeling a bit cold. The video Revelation of an Unexpected Cooperation, for instance, is clever: Construction workers build a wall in front of a choreographed couple wearing animal masks. But it doesn’t quite transcend that overgrown-art-school-project feel. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Lisa Harris Boldly colored abstract paintings with an intuitive sense of form and balance by Seattle’s Victoria Johnson, plus narrative collages by Iren Mahler. 1922 Pike Pl., 206-443-3315. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Marenakos Stonearium Seattle gallerist Bryan Ohno, now without a permanent gallery space, links up with the Marenakos Rock Center to present a show of steel sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, plus stone work by Kazutaka Uchida, Richard Hestekind, Kentaro Kojima, and Alexandra Morosco. 3220 First Ave. S., 206-667-9572. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Ends Fri. Aug. 26.

Photographic Center Northwest “Focused” presents the results of PCNW’s 10th annual photo contest, this year judged by Mary Virginia Swanson. The results are varied. Standouts include Patty Carroll’s uncanny staged tableaux in fabric, and tsunami images from Sri Lanka by Wyatt Gallery. 900 12th Ave., 206-720-7222. Noon-9:30 p.m. Mon.; 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. Aug. 29.

Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery “Summer Introductions” offers debuts by eight local artists new to SAM’s Rental/Sales Gallery, including Anna Fidler and Stephen Yates. 1220 Third Ave., 206-343-1101. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Ends Sat. Aug. 27.

Suyama Space In Utah-based artist Paul Stout’s oddly compelling installation “Second Nature,” huge blades of “grass” grow up from assorted Victorian coffee tables. And don’t miss Stout’s virtuoso mechanical bugs under glass in the adjacent space. 2324 Second Ave., 206-256-0809. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. Aug. 26.

William Traver Venetian glass artists Davide Salvadore’s variations on the musical instruments, sculpture, and culture of Africa. 110 Union St., second floor, 206-587-6501. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Mon. Aug. 28.

Galleries

Artcore Tattoo-influenced paintings of big-eyed ladies, most with a hefty dose of blue eye shadow, by Costa Rican artist Alex Nuñez. 5501-A Airport Way S., 206-767-2673.

Artemis Sun-drenched realist paintings of Seattle locales and other stuff by Anne Duffy. 3107 S. Day St., 206-323-0562. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Art/Not Terminal Portraits by photographer Mike Henley, plus a group show of sketches and paintings from the Figure Workshop, a local institution in which Eugene and Laura Pizzuto have led artists in human figure studies for 35 years. 2045 Westlake Ave., 206-233-0680. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

ArtsWest Ceramic wall sculptures by Julie Lindell, plus black-and-white photos of everyday people and objects by Ron Hammond and Zuzana Sadkova. 4711 California Ave. S.W., 206-938-0963. Noon-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Benham “Beyond the Landscape,” nearly abstract photographs of the outdoors by resident artists Bruce Barnbaum and Phyllis Uitti-Maslin. 216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

Bluebottle In his second solo show at Bluebottle, painter Charles Glaubitz shows more of his frenetic, politically charged paintings. A child of American and Mexican parents, Glaubitz inhabits the strange and increasingly artistically vibrant cross-border environment of San Diego and Tijuana. Stocked with satanic Mickey Mouse figures, pollution-belching maquiladora factories, masked wrestlers, and heroic children, Glaubitz’s work is a complex vision of the messy march of globalization. Some of the paintings contain little poems in Spanish, and there’s a sweet kind of spiritual earnestness to the new work. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Foster/White Glass baubles in primary colors by California artist Elin Christopherson. 123 S. Jackson St., 206-622-2833. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Gallery 4 Culture Watercolors, prints, and drawings by Bay Area artist William T. Wiley. Raised in Richland, Wash., Wiley has been a part of the counterculture art movement since the ’60s, offering surreal and politically charged illustrations, many deeply coded with layers of allusion and symbols. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon-Fri.

Gulassa & Co. “Orb” features mod, polka-dotted, and pastel ceramics by local artist Timothy Foss. 10 Dravus St., 206-283-181. Noon-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Jack Straw New Media Gallery Rene Yung’s installation “Four Dignities” uses fabric screens and quiet audio to encourage viewers to experience the Buddhist concept of mindfulness in four states: sitting, walking, standing, and lying down. 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919. 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Kobo at Higo “Scenes of Japan” features Kiyoshi Toda’s photographs exploring the culture of his native Japan. 602-608 S. Jackson St., 206-381-3000. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

OKOK “Ha Get’em,” offers faux brand-name T-shirts and intentionally useless consumer products by local designer and illustrator Shawn Wolfe. 709 Broadway Ave. E., 206-322-7523. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon- 7 p.m. Sun.

Roq La Rue “The Devil’s Hobby Hut” brings together two cranky masters of lowbrow art: Seattle’s own Charles Krafft and San Francisco–based poster artist Frank Kozik. Krafft will display more of his fantastic porcelain weaponry, SPONE reliquaries made with human ashes, and satanic, Delft-style ceramics made during a recent residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands. Kozik, known for revitalizing the rock poster for such bands as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the Beastie Boys, shows new works on paper, plus an assortment of 100 Japanese-style evil-robot toys. 2316 Second Ave., 206-374-8977. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-4 p.m. Sun.

Schmancy Oddball toys are the new hip art medium, peddled by stores like Schmancy in Belltown and OKOK on Capitol Hill. “Plush You!” features a motley assortment of stuffed animals from Stuart Bloomfield, Beck Wheeler, Heidi Kenney, and David Huyck. These one-of-a-kind critters are reasonably priced, weird, and the kids love ’em. 1930 Second Ave., 206-728-8008. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Seattle LGBT Community Center “Before and After” features photographic vignettes of Seattle by local artist Amy Abadilla. 1115 E. Pike St., 206-323-5428. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun.

Sessions Gallery Industrial landscapes by former Californian Greg Ashline at this new Ballard gallery focusing on emerging artists and digital art. 2220 Market St., Suite L-09, 206-234-5000. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

SOIL “Girls Growing,” a satisfying group show curated by Jess Van Nostrand, offers work that rips apart all the clichés about the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Featured artists include Barbara Wijnveld and Margi Geerlinks (Netherlands), Jenny Zwick (Seattle), Kipling West (Calgary), and Ginny Ivanicki (Vancouver). 112 Third Ave. S., 206-264-8061. Noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sun.

Solomon Fine Art “Natural Selection” offers nature-inspired art by Denver’s Trine Bumiller and Washington, D.C.–based painter Isabel Manolo. Manolo’s work, a series of remembered landscapes executed in near-abstract acrylics, looks the most promising. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Stonington Gallery “Awakenings: A Gathering of Contemporary Coast Salish Artists” showcases the work of 20 Native American artists from the Pacific Northwest, including cedar sculpture, glass, basketry, and metalwork by Shaun Peterson, Susan A. Point, Marvin Oliver, and others. 119 S. Jackson St., 206-405-4040. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Vera Project Photographs of local live music shows taken by students from Photographic Center Northwest. 1916 Fourth Ave., 206-525-8585. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; 2-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Viveza The Belltown gallery celebrates its two-year anniversary with a group show of gallery regulars, including Melinda Hannigan and Doug Smithenry. 2604 Western Ave., 206-956-3584. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.

West Edge Sculptural Invitational Harbor Steps gets a dose of mediocre sculpture for the second summer in a row, including works by locals Ann Morris, Gerard Tsutakawa, Claudia Fitch, and Ross Palmer Beecher. Harbor Steps to Benaroya Hall, between Third Avenue and Western Avenue at University Street, 206-334-5040.

Western Bridge German artist Daniel Roth’s strange and subtle installation River Styx presents “evidence”—in drawings, sculpture, and photography—of an underground river running west from Seattle, below the Olympic Peninsula, and out to a burial island off the coast. Also on display is Rodney Graham’s clever second look at an old oak tree, Roni Horn’s obsessive 100-photo installation You Are the Weather, and a justly famous series of portraits of four sisters taken over a span of 30 years by Nicholas Nixon. And speaking of the River Styx, you’ll feel like you’ve been to hell and back after experiencing Gary Hill’s numbing video Wall Piece, a study in frustration, artistic struggle, and the failure of language. 3412 Fourth Ave. S., 206-838-7444. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Winston Wächter The human figure is the theme of “Figuration,” a sampler of work by gallery artists. Most notable is Brian Murphy, whose unsparing self-portraits are a study in dissolution and excess; other artists include Generation X’s answer to Norman Rockwell, Bo Bartlett; James Croak, who sculpts people from cast dirt; sculptor Robert Taplin; and painters Tony Scherman and Alex Katz. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

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.

Museums

Bellevue Arts Museum BAM is back with a retooled 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 among caribou and 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 “William Cumming: The Image of Consequence” offers an authoritative retrospective of the Northwest painter’s long career; he’s now 88 and still hard at work. Curated by local art critic Matthew Kangas, the show follows the evolution of Cumming’s work from reform-minded realism to a more formal fusion of representation and abstraction. 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.

Frye Art Museum “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. “Spectatorship and Desire: Lust” rehangs some of the Frye’s permanent collection in a salon-style jumble. 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 Lead Pencil Studio, the local architecture/art installation team of Daniel Mihalyo and Annie Han, installs “Minus Space,” which re-creates the hillside lost in the 1997 expansion of the Henry, using a fine scrim of assorted materials. Also on display: German-born Seattle artist Trimpin does amazing things combining technological gizmos with more analog stuff like typewriters, player pianos, and other musical instruments. (His best-known work is the immense Roots and Branches sculpture of robotically controlled guitars at EMP.) The next year or so is going to be something of a Trimpin celebration, with local galleries and museums showcasing the artist’s various kinetic sculptures. At the Henry, the wonderfully titled installation Phfftt involves some 200 electronically controlled woodwind instruments that can be played and that have 12 manic, lighthearted, or sinister works by the composer. Also: 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. Finally, “Seeing the Unseen” is a fascinating collection of prints of X-ray, microscopic, time-lapse, and other 19th- and 20th-century photographic novelties. 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, complete with kite and key, is just a bit much. Still, this is a fascinating look at an artist who managed to span divides between cultures and artistic disciplines. Also on display: “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, Oliver Jackson, and Marita Dingus. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.- Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.