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

Lectures and Events

Artist Lecture Visual artist Darwin Nordin and poet Judith Roche talk about their involvement with the Remann Hall Women’s Project, a program that teaches art and poetry to young incarcerated women. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18. Museum of Northwest Art, 121 South First St. (La Conner), free, 360-466-4446.

Best of Northwest Craft Get a jump on your holiday shopping at this marketplace featuring 285 glassblowers, woodworkers, painters, ceramicists, jewelers, weavers, and sculptors. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. Nov. 19; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20-Sun. Nov. 21. Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way N.E., Hangar 27, $5, 206-525-5926.

Documentary and Panel Discussion: New Slovene Avant Garde Slovenia is apparently home to a thriving avant-garde movement, exemplified by Neue Slowenishe Kunst (NSK), an artists’ collective that uses theater, art, and music to appropriate old Soviet-era totalitarian kitsch as a form of dissent. A screening of a documentary on NSK will be followed by a panel discussion including two members of the collective, Seattle-based artist Charles Krafft (who has worked with NSK since the early 1990s), and Frye Art Museum curator Robin Held. 7 p.m. Sun. Nov. 21. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-329-2629.

Kobo at Higo Grand Opening Kobo is a fine little Capitol Hill store specializing in art, design, and craft inspired by Japanese tradition. Now, owners Binko Chiong-Bisbee and John Bisbee are working on opening a second, much larger store on Jackson Street in what was once Seattle’s thriving Nihonmachi, or Japantown. The new space, which will eventually feature a gallery, tearoom, and museum of Japantown artifacts, will take up residence in the old Higo store, a fixture in the community for decades. 5-9 p.m. Fri. Nov. 19. Kibo at Higo, 602 S. Jackson St., free, 206-381-3000.

Meet the Artists An artists reception and lecture by painter Patti Bezzo and sculptor Scott Mansfield. 1-3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20. Gallery 110, 110 S. Washington St., free, 206-624-9336.

Potters’ Sale Another chance to get your holiday shopping out of the way: a selection of work by 80 local ceramic artists. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18 and Fri. Nov. 19; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20. Hollywood Schoolhouse, 14810 N.E. 145th St. (Woodinville), free, www.undiscoveredpotters.com.

Openings

Crawl Space “Does anyone really need to see another goddamn SOIL or CoCA group show?” asks the press kit for “Members Only,” yet another goddamn group show—by folks like Gregory Schaffer, Kristen Ramirez, Megan Szczecko, and a cornucopia of other youngsters. Opens Sat. Nov. 20. 504 E. Denny Way #1 (near Olive), 206-240-6015. Noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Burke Museum “Evolution’s Big Bang” is a touring Smithsonian exhibit about British Columbia’s Burgess Shale formation—one of the world’s most important fossil records of what life was like 500 million years ago. UW campus, N. E. 45th St. and 17th Ave. N.E., 206-543-5590. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Thurs.

Winston Wächter Big, modernist megalithic sculptures in stone, bronze, and glass by Julie Speidel. Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Last Chance

CoCA This year’s “Northwest Annual” is pretty good, with a few standouts. Laura Wright’s sewn art is a hybrid between two- and three-dimensional art that pays tribute to the tools of paid and unpaid workers; Emily Ginsburg’s small monochrome paintings are composed of mysterious little Rorschach blobs/flowchart bubbles; and Sean Healy’s colorful cast resin sculptures make use of ’70s toys in novel ways. In a category all their own are Pat Boas’ three beautiful and disturbing acrylic-and-ink paintings of furry, mutant forms that coil and writhe like some demented genetic fusion of cat’s tails and phalluses. On the lighter side is Noah Klersfeld’s video shot at an intersection in Manhattan: With an after-the-fact voice-over, he’s transformed a boring 10 minutes of pedestrians and cars into piece of micromanaged stage direction that’s often quite funny: “You with the glasses, scratch your nose. On three, get rid of the pigeon.” 410 Dexter Avenue N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Ends Sat. Nov. 20.

Consolidated Works “Quiet Revolution” is a group show that promises “interpersonal politics, atmospheric conditions, civil disobedience, fantasy vs. the real, and sensorial information.” Artists include Mandy Greer, who creates lovely installations that weave fables in fabric, beads, and glitter; Paul Margolis, who does amazing things with quilts; Jack Ryan, whose installation contains hundreds of acrylic ears; and Kat Tomka’s sculptures made from Scotch tape. 500 Boren Ave. N., 206-860-5245. 4-8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri.; 1-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Sun. Nov. 21.

Kirkland Arts Center “Ruffle: Decadent Vexation” features fluff with a purpose by Elizabeth Jameson, Mandy Greer, Kris Lyons, and Anna Maltz. 620 Market St., 425-822-7161. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. Nov. 19.

Kittredge Gallery Theory-laden abstract painting and sculpture by Matthew Gehring, and Rebecca Murtaugh’s “Color Coded,” a site-specific installation using an art medium most of us deskbound folks can appreciate: 10,000 Post-It notes. University of Puget Sound campus, 1500 N. Lawrence (Tacoma), 253-879-2806. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 1-4 p.m. Sat. Ends Wed. Nov. 24.

Galleries

Artemis Vibrantly colored landscapes and flora paintings by Kansas City–based painter and former Seattle resident Eric Bashor. 3107 S. Day St., 206-323-0562. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Atelier 31 New York artist James Croak is best known for figurative sculptures made from dirt—he burst on the scene in the 1980s, but hasn’t gained much notoriety since then. “This is Not a Dress Rehearsal,” showcases work from the last couple decades—including dirt sculptures of babies and business-suited everymen plus other earthy sculptures in latex and tar. Also showing: Seattle artist Layne Kleinart’s rough portraits of sock monkeys and other plush critters. 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.

Ballard/Fetherston Michael Schultheis’s scrappy abstract canvases, plus something I think could be potentially cool: Frank Huster’s abstract photographs of crumbling walls and flaking paint. 818 E. Pike St., 206-322-9440. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Benham A group show of new work by photographers David Fokos, who takes minimalist landscapes; Rosanne Olson, who specializes in 4×5 and pinhole cameras; and Peggy Washburn, a local photographer and director of the Insight Youth photography program for at-risk teens. 1216 First Ave., 206-622-2480. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.

Bluebottle Hip-hop cartoonist, animator, and masterful DJ Kid Koala shows selections from his graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall, about a down-and-out robot looking for love. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Bryan Ohno Portland artist Jay Backstrand juxtaposes several subjects in each of his hyper-realist paintings. 155 S. Main St., 206-667-9572. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

City Space A boring exhibit by a group of local artists “working with . . . an artificial ‘park’ within the gallery,” to serve as a launching pad for discussing public art in Seattle parks. 701 Fifth Ave. (Bank of America Tower), Third floor, 206-749-9525. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Cornish College Gallery A group show by Cornish faculty in illustration, design, and interior design, including work by artists Ellen Forney and Brian Murphy plus music industry designer Emilie Burnham. 1000 Lenora, First Floor, 206-726-5011. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Foster/White New modernist sculpture in bronze and glass by Gerard Tsutakawa. 123 S. Jackson, 206-622-2833. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Francine Seders Pit-fired clay ceramics and bronze by California-Kauai artist David Kuraoka. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.- Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun.

Gallery 110 Scott Mansfield’s mixed-media sculptures incorporate books, ceramics, and found objects in playful, geometrically vibrant compositions. Also on display, local painter Patti Bezzo’s hyper-real paintings of Seattle locales. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon- 5 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

Gallery 4 Culture Chad States’ staged tableaux photographs have all the posed phoniness and beautiful people of a Land’s End catalog—but the scenes enact weird, ambiguous dramas of conflict and mystery. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

G. Gibson A show of mixed-media paintings, sculpture and elongated dresses by outsider artist Larry Calkins—who creates sentimental paintings stocked with animals, calligraphylike scribbles and other symbolic motifs. 514 E. Pike St., 206-587-4033. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

Garde Rail Self-trained, D.C.-based artist Bill Miller creates delicate landscapes and portraits of his family members using vintage linoleum and vinyl flooring pieces—using a method somewhere between collage and stained glass. 110 Third Ave. S., 206-621-1055. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

Greg Kucera I have mixed feelings about Darren Waterston’s “13 Paintings.” There’s no doubt that these watery, astral abstractions have a fine sense of composition and color—there’s a fine balance of vaguely biological, fluid forms. And often the paintings have the feel of Chinese landscapes set on Jupiter. But there’s just something a little too easy to like about it all—it’s just too pretty and celestial in a New Age-y sort of way. 212 Third Ave., 206-624-0770. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Howard House Alex Schweder’s “Lovesick Buildings” (see spotlight). Also on display: abstract works on paper and in collage by Robert Yoder, a very skilled modernist whose new collage/paintings venture into unusual materials, including vinyl, tape and nail polish. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Jack Straw New Media Gallery “Yiju, Songs of Dislocation,” is Byron Au Yong’s multimedia exploration of his family’s forced migration from China. 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

James Harris Jeffry Mitchell’s overly sweet work is influenced by the Japanese traditions of sumi and ceramics, and this small show samples some of his cut-paper paintings of chrysanthemums and gaudy ceramics, including a baroque, grapes-and-cherubs thing in gaudy metallic glaze. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Kuhlman “Swank” is a tribute to hard drinking and features Robert Rini’s paintings of Robert Mitchum, paper bag paintings by Chris Crites, and Sara Lanzillotta’s cocktail-swigging elephant dolls. 2419 First Ave. (Belltown), 206-441-1999. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sat.

Lisa Harris Overly cheery, Matisse-like monotype prints of birds, flowers, masquerade masks, and Tuscan sunshine by Kim Osgood. Nice if you like this sort of thing. 1922 Pike Pl., 206-443-3315. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.

National Parks Conservation Association “Away Out Over Everything” collects Mary Peck’s stunning photos of the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha Valley. 313A First Ave., 206-903-1444, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Phoenix Rising Gallery Talented ceramicist Tim Foss’ new work includes droplet-drenched abstract forms. 2030 Western Ave. 206-728-2332. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.-Sat.

Photographic Center Northwest In “Fotografías,” local photographer Eduardo Calderón wanders the alleyways of Rome, Peru, New York, Mexico, and Seattle, finding little poems of life and freezing them on film. Never one to crop or manipulate his images, there’s an honesty to his roving eye, but also a kind of mystical edge that goes beyond mere documentation.900 12th Ave., 206-720-7222. Noon-9:30 p.m. Mon.; 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tues.-Sun.

Platform In his second gallery show in town (the other is at Suyama Space) Brian Murphy uses odd angles and mirrors to paint honest, unflattering self-portraits. 114 Third Ave. S., 206-323-2808. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Priceless Works In “Memento Mori” Chauney Peck’s stainlike abstract paintings on vinyl allude to decay along the seashore. Plus, Elise Richman’s three-dimensional confections of paint; design work and assorted ephemera from the band Climax Golden Twins; and drawings from Jesse Paul Miller. 619 N. 35th St., Suite 100, 206-349-9943. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sun.

Richard Hugo House Local artist Jennifer Gardner incorporates hair into each of her altarlike boxes, reliquaries, and little installations that recall the quirky-odd boxes of Joseph Cornell. Gardner’s stuff is lusher in a boudoir sort of way, and slightly more morbid. And then there’s the hair, in braids and clumps and tangles—that favorite keepsake of obsessive beloveds and creepy stalkers throughout history. 1634 11th Ave., 206-322-7030. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; noon-5 p.m. Sat.

Roq La Rue “The Pin-Up Show,” offers a collection of Betty Page–inspired nekkid ladies by the likes of Lisa Petrucci, Miles Thompson, Lynne Naylor, the Pop Tarts, Michiko, and Erin Norlin. 2316 Second Ave., 206- 374-8977. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-4 p.m. Sun.

Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery In the fifth of a series of “guest” shows highlighting various local galleries, Capitol Hill’s Ballard/Fetherston gets the call. In the past, this gallery’s abstract artists tended to be the standouts—look for work by Deborah Bell, Elizabeth Jameson, and Michael Schultheis. Also on display: a print show by local artists including Claire Cowie, Betty Merken, and others. 1220 Third Ave., 206-343-1101. 10:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Seattle LGBT Community Center Gallery The laconically titled “Show” features new work by Cody Blomberg, Drew Lienau, Chris Connors, Ivan Wright, and Bill Hacker. 1115 E. Pike St. 206-323-5428. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-8p.m. Sun.

Shoreline Community College Art Gallery “Exposed,” a group show of student photographers from Shoreline Community College. Building 1000, 16101 Greenwood N., 206-546-4101 ext. 4433. 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

SOIL Photographs of “perfomative” outdoor sculpture (a bunch of office chairs facing the ocean, for example) by Chris Engman. Plus decorative, postmodern William Morris–esque curlicues and feathers in paint on wood by Nicholas Nyland. 112 Third Ave. S., 206-264-8061. Noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sun.

Solomon Fine Art Chris St. Pierre’s charcoal portraits all fixate on his friend, musician Bruce Fairweather. Plus, kitschy, staged photographs of blackly comic dioramas by Tom Gormally. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Suyama Space Brian Murphy returns with more of his watercolor self-portraits of the sort that wowed the crowds at the old Esther-Claypool space a couple years back. Once again, facial features float off at odd angles, like unmoored islands of utter corruption, but this time the paintings are freakin’ HUGE. They’re, like, as tall as you standing on your own shoulders. 2324 Second Ave. 206-256-0809. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Western Bridge The second part of Henry Art Gallery’s ambitious show “Work of the Work” (see review, p. 73. 3412 Fourth Ave. S., 206-838-7444. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

William Traver “Fresh Paint” is a group show of new work by Tom DeGroot, Geoff Garza, and others. 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.

Wright Exhibition Space Decorative eye candy for corporate lobbies or sincere experiments in color and texture? The color field painters were the aesthetic descendents of Pollock and Rothko, in a period when Warhol, Pop Art, and conceptual art were replacing high-minded abstraction. This show, curated by Virginia Wright, hopes to revive interest in color field painters Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Helen Frankenthaler, and Kenneth Noland. Some of the pieces are magnificent in their lush disregard for anything but their own colors: Noland’s vast Vista surrounds the viewer with a bath of mauve, while Louis’ Mem is a subtle veil of browns. 407 Dexter Ave. N., 206-622-1896. 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Thursdays.

Museums

Frye Art Museum Born in the Netherlands and now living and working in Portland, Henk Pander takes modern day tragedies—the New Carissa oil spill, terminal illness, and ground zero in Manhattan—and uses old masters–style realism to dramatize them. He’s a skilled painter, but ultimately his work reeks of sentimentality. Plus, etchings by one of Seattle’s first homegrown artists, Paul Morgan Gustin. 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 “The Work of the Work” (see review, p. 73. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.

Museum of Northwest Art “Collaborations From the Elizabeth Tapper Print Workshop” showcases the work of the renowned Skagit Valley printmaker in collaboration with artists Susan Bennerstrom, Fay Jones, Russell Chatham, Elizabeth Sandvig, Michael Spafford, and others. 121 South First St. (La Conner), 360-466-4446. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

Seattle Art Museum “Spain in the Age of Exploration 1492–1819” offers a sampling of the dark visions of Velazquez, Zurbaran, Goya, and other masters. This huge show of art and artifacts explores the cultural vibrancy of Spain’s golden age through paintings, altarpieces, documents, navigational instruments, suits of armor, and other stuff of empire. Also on display: “The View From Here,” offers selections of Pacific Northwest art from 1870 to 1940, while “Modern in America,” explores the interaction between photography and the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, Jasper Johns, and other 20th-century greats. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.

Tacoma Art Museum It might be a stretch to say that the Hudson River painters—Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Albert Bierstadt among them—invented the American wilderness. But even so, these early 19th-century painters, influenced by Thoreau and Emerson, shifted the popular view of nature from something to be feared and fought to something sublime and worthy of reverence. This collection of 50 important landscapes from Connecticut’s Wadsworth Athenaeum features work by Cole, Church, Bierstadt, and several others. Plus, the late UW professor and ceramics maven Howard Kottler is celebrated in the exhibit “Look Alikes,” a selection of kitschy commemorative plates from the 1960s to the 1980s. 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.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.

Wing Luke Asian Museum The juried exhibit “Beyond Talk: Redrawing Race” attempts to break open the lockbox of dialogue on race. 407 Seventh S., 206-623-5124. 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.