Visual Arts Calendar


Openings


TACOMA ART MUSEUM Where do American intellectuals and artists go when they’re sick of our backward-ass politics and culture? Paris, naturellement. The touring exhibit “A Transatlantic Avant-Garde: American Artists in Paris, 1918-1939” documents an especially productive American exodus during the giddy cerebral party that was Paris in the 1920s and 30s. More than a hundred artworks, including samplings from Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, and Man Ray cover the gamut from abstraction to Dada. Magnifique? Very possibly. 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4258. Every third Thursday free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.; 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.


Last Chance


FOSTER/WHITE RAINIER SQUARE Delicate, ice-like glass installations by Carmen Lozar and oil paintings by Cornish alumnus Sarah Bergman. 1331 Fifth Ave., 206-583-0100. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

G. GIBSON “Factories and Toys” includes British photographer Michael Kenna’s spare, empty landscapes, plus work by Heidi Kirkpatrick and Beverly Rayner. 514 E. Pike St., 206-587-4033. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CENTER NORTHWEST SEE BOX, PAGE 91.

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SCCC HUNTER ART GALLERY “Youth in Focus” showcases work by local teens apprenticing with professional photographers and photojournalists. 801 E. Pine, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Tues & Thurs. 206-344-4379

SECLUDED ALLEY WORKS In the “The Great Cloud,” Seattle artist Helen Lessick captures the traces of thirteen human torsos using metal plumbers’ tape. 113 12th Ave. (at Yesler), 206-839-0880. Noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

VIVEZA A mess of jumbled, incoherent paintings of “urbanity” by Roderick Rojo, who can’t decide if he’s going to steal from Georges Braque or J.M.W. Turner. 2604 Western Ave., 206-355-0070. Noon-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.


Galleries


AIA “Flat Building,” is exactly what it says it is: photographs of buildings that for one reason or another, appear to be two-dimensional facades through the lens of photographer Brian Allen. 1911 First Ave., 206-448-4938. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

ATELIER 31 Etruscan-inspired sculpture that verges on pastiche by Seattle artist Karen Kargianis, alongside jazz-inspired portraits by Carole d’Inverno. 2500 First Ave., 206-448-5250. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Tues.; 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

ARTEMIS Julie Alexander’s large (four foot-by-four) abstract matrices of paint are reminiscent of weaving. Also, encaustic paintings on birch by Amy Ruppel, and Lars Husby’s wood sculptures. Sat. Dec. 6. 3107 S. Day St., 206-323-0562. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

BENHAM “Interpretations of Light:” flashy photographs by University of Washington alumni Michael Gesinger and longtime photographer Bruce Barnbaum. 1216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.

BLUEBOTTLE Celebrating one year of weird fridge magnets, percolator lamps, and heaps of affordable stuff by undiscovered artists, Bluebottle stages its first annual holiday bash. On offer: gallery owner Matthew Porter’s latest series of cartoony paintings based on obscure entertainments (this time masked Mexican wrestlers) and all manner of cards, ornaments, and objects by locals. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Tue.-Fri., noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

BRYAN OHNO Seattle artist Lisa Buchanan’s elegant abstract paintings percolate, bubble, and grid in pleasing compositions, while Junko IIjima, in “Hybrids,” takes shapes that look vaguely like consumer products and places them in “high art” settings: on pedestals or a Zen sand garden. 155 S. Main St., 206-667-9572. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

CAROLYN STALEY Recent acquisitions of ukiyo-e and modern Japanese prints on display include kacho-ga (bird and flower subjects) by Ohara Koson and Jun’ichiro Sekino’s Suizokukan (Aquarium), a rare commodity since it was achieved with a cumbersome 30-step process that destroys the printing block after only one print is made. 314 Occidental Ave., 206-621-1888. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

CDA GALLERY Tucked away in the Smith Tower, an exhibit at the county’s excellent venue for unrepresented artists takes a self-referential look at CDA’s home building. Local artist Ellen Sollod brings together three other artists (Don Fels, Jack Mackie and Buster Simpson) to create “Thinking in Public.” At its center will be a multi-sensory investigation of L.C. Smiththe tower’s original developer and magnate made rich by selling typewriters and guns. The building’s pyramidal top is evoked with piles of old typewriters, video, and sounds from the skyscraper’s inner workings. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon-Fri.

CITY SPACE “Sustainable Connections” showcases environmentally friendly artwork, architecture, and product designs by locals, including Rik Nelson’s “Clear Cut,” a quilt of plastic containers culled from landfills. 701 Fifth Ave. (Bank of America Tower), 3rd floor, 206-749-9525, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

D’ADAMO/WOLTZ Local artist Nick Kosciuk’s painted studies of adolescent orphans (which he works with in Belarus) are well-intentioned and well-executed. But there’s more than a whiff of maudlin sentimentality here. 303/307 Occidental S., 206-652-4414. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.

DAVIDSON SEE BOX, PAGE 90.

FRANCINE SEDERS Seattle native Elizabeth Sandvig has been exhibiting paintings in the area since 1960, which is probably enough to confer upon her the title of Northwest “master.” In a new solo show, “The Peaceable Kingdom,” Sandvig’s intentionally naïve, color-saturated fauvist paintings and monoprints depict all manner of wild creatures lying down together in peace. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.- Sat, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun.

GALLERY 63 ELEVEN Paintings by self-proclaimed genius and local indie filmmaker Karl Krogstad. 6311 N.W. 24th, 206-478-2238. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

GALLERY 110 Rajaa Gharbi’s wispy, symbolic paintings influenced by Arabic calligraphy, alongside Deborah Walker’s slightly didactic paintings alluding to the extinction of species. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

GARDE RAIL After thirty years breaking rock in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and earning a case of black lung for his troubles, Jack Savitsky decided to start painting and selling his simple works for five bucks a pop at local craft fairs. Now he’s recognized as one of the pioneers of twentieth century “folk art.” 4860 Rainier Ave. (Columbia City), 206-721-0107. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

GREG KUCERA “Images from the Inside,” a retrospective Bruce Davidson’s career, demonstrates why this photographer is acclaimed as one of the most influential of the past century. There’s a little bit of everything from Davidson’s four-decade career: searing accounts of the Civil Right movement, scenes from his legendary series documenting urban poverty, including “Brooklyn Gang, 1959,” and recent images of two very different urban locales: Central Park and Las Vegas. 212 Third Ave., 206-624-0770. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

JACK STRAW NEW MEDIA Artist Jesse Paul Miller set out to find some peace and quiet in the nature preserves of North Central Florida, and brought audio equipment do document it. What he found wasn’t exactly solitude free of human noise, as this interactive installation demonstrates. 261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

JAMES HARRIS In Ramona Trent’s first solo show in Seattle, the photographer poses women in contemplative settings, with a nod to Cindy Sherman’s ironic glamour self-portraits of the 1980s. The result is a series of strangely melancholy vignettes deconstructing what it means to be feminine. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

LAST SUPPER CLUB Graffiti-influenced paintings by Johnson Good. 124 S. Washington St., 206-748-9975.

LINDA HODGES Solo exhibitions by two Seattle artists: Gillian Theobald, whose new series of spiritual paintings pay tribute to earth, air, fire, and water; and Jack Chevalier, a Vashon Island artist whose large wooden surfaces are bursting with paint, geometric figures, and elements that extend beyond two dimensions. 316 First Ave. S., 206-624-3034. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

LISA HARRIS Working with a palette knife rather than brushes, Northwest painter Ed Kamuda achieves a rough-hewn, childlike stylecreating spiritual landscapes with echoes of Paul Klee and Kamuda’s mentor, Guy Anderson. 1922 Pike Pl., 206-443-3315. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.

MARTIN-ZAMBITO Rare early-career works by twentieth century Northwest artists, including a nude study of artist Guy Anderson in the 1930s by Morris Graves. 721 E. Pike St., 206-726-9509. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

SOLOMON FINE ART In “Reserved,” eight local artists eschew bombast for understatement and subtlety in both subject matter and execution. Featured artists include Mark Dombrowsky and Chris St. Clair. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

WILLIAM TRAVER Big, glass-and-steel chandeliers and other glass objects by James Mongrain. 110 Union St., second floor, 206-587-6501. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

WINSTON WÄCHTER High-modernist abstract canvases and works on paper by New York-born artist Caio Fonseca. 403 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.


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 compellingalthough using realistic narrative painting to approach contemporary culture is a little like writing rock reviews in iambic pentameter. Fun, but is it really relevant? Meanwhile, Chinese expat Zhi Lin’s “Five Capital Executions in China” brings a brutal realism to the topic of inhumanity. In “Starvation,” a crowd of revelers feasts ravenously, oblivious to the torture in their midst. It’s like Auden once saidsuffering always takes place “while some one else is eating or opening a window or just dully walking along.” Perfect for the kids! Also on display, “Watermarks” features depictions of the world’s waters by wandering painter Tony Foster. 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 In addition to Lee Bul’s “Live Forever” karaoke pods, James Turrell’s “Knowing Light” has been extended into February, and if you haven’t treated yourself to these magnificent rooms of pure color and light, you need to stop making excuses and go. “Architecture and Light” showcases some rather sterile but technically interesting photographs from the Henry Monsen collection, while Victoria Haven’s “Supermodel City” is a filigree of red tape pinned to one of the gallery’s walls. Pae White’s “Grotto,”a dense mobile made from thousands of colorful cell-like dots suspended from the ceilingcreates a fluid, three-dimensional stream of color. Polly Apfelbaum’s accompanying work, “Flying Hearts,” doesn’t quite compete, covering the floor of the gallery with intricate strips of dyed velvet. In “Flirting With Rodchenko,” a dozen or so artists attempt monochromatic paintingsworthy of note is Anne Appleby’s “Summer in Aspen,” a kind of variation on abstraction inspired by the natural world. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.

MUSEUM OF GLASS “Moving Through Nature” explores variations on landscape and nature through installations by sculptors Mayme Kratz and Stacey Neff as well as Michael Kenna’s dreamy, Zen-inspired black and white photographs of Japan. Also on display: “Glass of the Avant Garde,” selections from the Torsten Brohan collection of middle European twentieth-century art glass. 1801 East Dock St. Tacoma, 253-396-1768. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun.

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM SEE REVIEW, PAGE 88. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.


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