Lectures and Events
LECTURE: ROY MCMAKIN He’ll discuss his current exhibit, “A Door Meant as Adornment.” SEE REVIEW, P. 79. 7 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 12, Henry Art Gallery, UW campus, 206-543-2280.
SEATTLE ACADEMY OF FINE ART GRAND OPENING Having recently completed an impressive renovation of the St. Nicholas building adjacent to St. Mark’s Cathedral (the former home to Cornish College) SAFA unveils its new digs to the public. Music, Butoh dancers, and artist demonstrations are all part of the evening’s festivities. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Fri. Feb. 13. 1501 Tenth Ave. E, free, 206-526-2787.
FORGIVE ME FRIDAY Who will win?the forces of darkness and bad luck, or the forces of Cupid (sometimes they’re hard to distinguish)? Find out when Valentine’s Day goes up against Friday the 13th at this hipster gathering, with music by Filastine, Free Jail, Infernal Noise Brigade, and Kisskisskiss. Art performances by unnamed artists. 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Fri. Feb. 13, Luscious Studio, 321 3rd avenue south # 301, $5, 206-622-4252.
ARTIST MEET & GREET A chance to chat with Cynthia Bittenfield and Robin Nelson Wicks, whose new photographs and paintings are on display. 3 p.m. Sat. Feb. 14, Gallery 110, 110 S. Washington St., free, 206-624-9336.
COLLECTIVE SPACES NIGHT OUT Five new alternative galleries pool their skillz for a new Art Walk on lower Cap Hill. Crawlspace (504 E. Denny St.) will have drawings from Dawn Cerny and Curtis Whaley; 1506 Projects (1506 E. Olive Way) shows new tricks from Neal Bashor; No Space (534 Summit Ave.) presents work of 17 young’uns from around the country; Edie’s Shoes (319 E. Pine St.) offers mixed media from Joseph Findeiss; and Joe Bar (810 E. Roy St.) showcases current and former employees of SAM. 6 p.m. Sat. Feb. 14.
Openings
BENHAM “Eye to Eye” collects the black & white photographs of Graham Nash?yeah, that Graham Nash. From what I’ve seen, the photos by the ’60s folk rock icon are OK but nothing special. If you want to see Nash in the flesh, he’ll be signing copies of his new book during the reception. Reception: 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Tues. Feb. 17. 1216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.
FRYE ART MUSEUM David Horsey, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the P-I gets a gallery show of his trenchant political cartoons (for a more complete retrospective check out the walls of the Northlake Tavern). Reception: 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 12. Artist lecture: 2 p.m. Sat. Feb. 14. 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.
KIRKLAND ARTS CENTER Juried by local ceramic artist Patti Warashina, “Gigantic Ceramic Figurines” brings together figurative sculptures from Brian Baker, Daniela Rumpf, Michaelene Walsh, and others. 620 Market St. 425-822-7161. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
SOLOMON FINE ART Two body-related collections of new work: Gerri Ondrizek’s ink-on-fabric tapestries based on her family’s chromosome patterns, and Ellen Garvens’ odd photographs of artificial limbs and prosthetic devices. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
TACOMA ART MUSEUM Now this sounds fascinating: In “Lewis and Clark Territory: Contemporary Artists Revisit Place, Race and Memory,” a host of artists explore those three themes in the contemporary American West. Coincides, obviously, with the bicentennial of Lewish and Clark’s 1804 expedition. Opens Thurs. Feb. 12. 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4258. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.; 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.
WINSTON WÄCHTER Paintings and works on paper by Georgia’s Bo Bartlett, whose realist paintings (also now on display at the Frye) are a weird amalgam of Norman Rockwell Americana, Andrew Wyeth’s rural spookiness, and renaissance formalism. 403 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Last Chance
BENHAM In “Coming of Age,” three photographers look at the transition from childhood to adulthood: South African-born Michelle Sank documents young minds in maturing bodies, Gabriella Csoszo takes portraits of adolescents from the wartorn Balkans, and Robert Lewis Smith stages his childrens’ toys in disturbing vignettes. 1216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun. Ends Sat. Feb. 14.
BRYAN OHNO Abstract studies in pattern and intricacy by Tokyo-born artist Marc Katano alongside organic-inspired ceramic wall sculpture by Juan Granados. 155 S. Main St., 206-667-9572. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. Feb. 14.
JAMES HARRIS SEE SW THIS WEEK, P. 49.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM RENTAL/SALES GALLERY This exhibit of paintings and drawings by instructors from Pratt is heavy on abstraction: Eva Isaken’s mixed-media works on canvas are embedded with layers of delicate collage and then excised with wispy lines of black. In Juan Alonso’s paintings, thick layers of paint capture organic forms, while Claire Cowie’s eccentric watercolors evoke strange, anonymous figurines. Also in the mix are Kamla Kakaria’s paintings of dental-like figures in encaustic, Linda Paris’ bird field guides transformed into specimens, and what appears to be a scribble of random data on graph paper by Marc Dombrosky. 1220 Third Ave., 206-343-1101. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Ends Sat. Feb. 14.
WINSTON WÄCHTER “Four from the Northwest” offers a sampling of new work by artists Julie Speidel, Catherine Eaton Skinner, Betsy Eby, and Victoria Adams. Adams is the one to watch: her deadpan landscapes seem straight out of the seventeenth century, yet there’s something intriguing about her obsessive quest to create intentionally unreal images of nature. 403 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Fri. Feb. 13.
Museums
FRYE ART MUSEUM What would Velazquez paint if he were a twenty-first century American born in Georgia? I’m not sure, but Bo Bartlett seems to think he has the answer. A student of Andrew Wyeth, Bartlett’s images are realistic, tightly structured and loaded with theatrics. There’s a palpable sense of mystery and foreboding in such paintings as “Homecoming.” For my taste, there’s just enough weirdness in Bartlett’s work to make it compelling. Chinese expat Zhi Lin’s “Five Capital Executions in China” brings a brutal realism to the topic of inhumanity. 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.
MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST ART Simon Schama once observed that landscapes are always culture before they’re nature. “The Grand View,” a new exhibit at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner confirms. Ranging from the soaring visions of Albert Bierstadt to quirky investigations by contemporary painter Michael Brophy, this exhibit explores the importance of place in the region’s art and the cultural biases we bring to picturing landscape. 121 South First St. (La Conner), 360-466-4446. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.
MUSEUM OF GLASS “Breathing Glass” and “Raining Popcorn” are two huge installations by artist Sandy Skoglund: the former employs massive quantities of miniature marshmallows and thousands of glass dragonflies, while the second fills a room with drifts of knee-deep popcorn. How the hell do they keep the ants out, I wonder? 11801 East Dock St. Tacoma, 253-396-1768. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun.
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM A lot of artists try to lay claim to crossing genres, but Christian Marclay probably best earns the title of a true multi-media artist. Ever since he started scratching records at Cooper Union in the late ’70s, he’s been grinding music, sound, performance art, design, DJ-ing, and film in his creative Cuisinart. In this 20-year retrospective of his work, music dominates: there are collages cobbled from thrift-store record bins (as in Doorsiana, above); piles of shredded audiotape; weird hybrid instruments (tubas grafted onto trumpets, unplayable 20-foot accordions); and video collages such as Video Quartet, which appropriate Hollywood’s portrayal of musicians. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.
Send listings two weeks in advance to visualarts@seattleweekly.com.
