Jake who? The Jacob Lawrence Gallery was founded in 1983 at the University of Washington, where the pioneering local painter was then a teacher. Since then the space has mainly been devoted to student and faculty shows, considerably overshadowed by the Henry. What changed this year is the gallery’s relaunch under curator Scott Lawrimore, formerly of the Frye and past proprietor of his own downtown gallery. He’s now teaching at the UW as well, and he recently walked me through his second show at the space, a companion to the prior Industry, called Idleness. The two group exhibits contrast notions of productive labor and productive labor-saving; and that latter idea applies to Lawrimore’s recent cheap-by-necessity makeover of the Jake. Walls were added and windows covered to create more usable exhibition space, and Lawrimore says the DIY spruce-up (Jake Version 2.0) is intended partly to provoke discussion of a complete renovation and possible relocation in the the Art Building (itself an unsuccessful graft between two structures of wildly different vintages and design). Included in Idleness are architectural renderings for a more open, discussion-oriented gallery. Such future plans for a Jake Version 3.0 would of course require significant budget and labor (see Industry). In the meantime, says the forward-looking Lawrimore, “We have to rally the troops.” Additionally, the Jake now hosts a regular “picnic” salon gathering every Wednesday at noon (bring your own lunch), where visiting artists, students, and the art-curious are invited to come mingle and mix ideas. Jacob Lawrence Gallery (UW campus), art.washington.edu. Free. 10 a.m.–
5 p.m Tues.–Fri., noon–4 p.m. Sat. Ends Jan. 17.