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Lectures and Events

Artist Forum An interdisciplinary performance thing during the Ballard Art Walk, featuring dance, music, and visual arts. 8 p.m. Sat. June 12. Trinity United Methodist Church, 6512 23rd Ave. N.W., admission by donation, 206-380-3445.

Artist Lecture: Remembering Noguchi Seattle artists Gerard Tsutakawa and Eric Nelsen talk about 20th-century sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi and his lasting influence on the arts in Seattle. 6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 16. Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect Ave., free with admission, 206-625-8900.

Lecture: The Life of Isamu Noguchi In her book The Life of Isamu Noguchi, biographer Masayo Duus sheds new light on this elusive artist and designer. This lecture investigates Noguchi’s early career, influences, and relationships. Lecture in Japanese with English translator. 2 p.m. Sun. June 12. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., $5-$7, 206-654-3100.

Meet the Artists Meet local artists Deborah Walker, who does slightly surreal paintings of birds, vessels, and containers, and Cindy Small, whose paintings deconstruct our notions of non-Western cultures as exotic. 3-5 p.m. Sat. June 11. Gallery 110, 110 S. Washington St., free, 206-624-9336

Poetry Machine Seattle Tour Who needs moody poets with bad jackets and rumpled hair when you can have a machine do all the work? Artist Juliana Cole, a UW MFA grad now living in Kansas City, created this electronic gizmo that allows users to select famous lines of poetry or compose their own. Opening reception: 6 p.m. Fri. June 10, CoCA, 410 Dexter Ave. N., 206-728-1980. Mon. June 13, SeaTac International Airport, 17801 International Blvd., 206-433-5388; Tues. June 14-Wed. June 15, On the Boards, 100 W. Roy St., 206-217-9888.

Second Chance to Dance In a fund-raising event for the Ruby Room, a nonprofit that helps low-income high-school students buy formal prom dresses, students from the Art Institute of Seattle show off their latest fashion designs. 7-10 p.m. Fri. June 10. The Crespinel Studio, 2312 Second Ave., $40, 206-595-2223.

Unveiling: Blocked Out Jim Owens, who coached UW football from 1957 to 1974, was embroiled in controversy late in his career over alleged poor treatment of African-American athletes. When a sculpture honoring Owens was installed on campus in 2003, some UW students thought it was time to examine why there was so little public art at UW celebrating people of color. The results of their activism is the creation of a public sculpture called Blocked Out, which will be unveiled in conjunction with a screening of a documentary on the project.11 a.m. Sat. June 11. Mary Gates Hall, UW campus, 206-543-6598.

Openings

20/Twenty “One Is the Loneliest Number,” new paintings by local artist Rachael Peacock. 7-9 p.m. Sat. June 11. 5009 20th Ave. N.W. (Ballard), 206-706-0969. Noon-8 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.

InfoHazard A new gallery and used bookstore focusing on renegade art and radical books opens with a show of surreal-erotic paintings by Kamilla White and multimedia paintings of crows by Noel Franklin. Reception: 6-9:30 p.m. Fri. June 10. 1716 E. Olive Way, 206-324-6630. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Kirkland Arts Center Iowa-based artist Tim Dooley’s car crash of graphic design, cartoon- influenced prints, a fake campfire, and media images arrives in this consistently good gallery space (with the help of some successful grant writing). BAM may be rising from the ashes soon, but at the moment the place to see cool art on the Eastside is right here. Reception: 6-9 p.m. Thurs. June 9. 620 Market St., 425-822-7161. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Every third Thurs. open until 8 p.m.

Seattle Art Museum “Isamu Noguchi-Sculptural Design,” a traveling exhibit landing at SAM this week, promises an unorthodox display of objects from Noguchi’s long career. The exhibit was conceived by theater designer Robert Wilson, and it chronicles Noguchi’s eclectic interests, from minimalist sculpture to theater collaborations with George Balanchine and Martha Graham. Opens Thurs. June 9. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.

Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery SAM/Rental samples work from artists with studios in Ballard, including Deborah Bell, Dionne Haroutunian, and Michael Schultheis. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Thurs. June 9. 1220 Third Ave., 206-343-1101. 10:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Shev Shoon Arts Center New prints by Nate Stottrup and Amy Thompson. Reception: 6-9 p.m. Sat. June 11. 5206 Ballard Ave. N.W., 206-782-2415. Noon-4 p.m. Sat.

Vera Project Break-dancing photographs by local Amanda Hovey. Opening night features music, break dancing, and free lessons. 5:30-8 p.m. Wed. June 8. 1916 Fourth Ave., 206-525-8585. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; 2-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Last Chance

Cornish College Gallery Based on 30 years’ worth of personal journals and experiments with the I Ching divination system, Judith Kindler’s “The Journal” offers mixed-media paintings, many covered in a thick layer of encaustic, and various ceramic sculptures, all investigating issues of guilt, childhood, and memory. Some of the works feel a touch sentimental, but the majority, including the rows of sleeping children’s heads in Recurring Dream, present a sweet but rigorous look at the past.Seventh Floor, 100 Lenora St., 206-726-5011. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. June 10.

Henry Art Gallery Recent UW MFA grads strut their stuff in the Henry’s annual MFA showcase. Standouts include Sean Johnson’s precariously balanced sculpture of steel and wood, Ariana Page Russell’s disturbing photos of self-scarring, languid balloons and dripping sketches by Camille Stack, and Kevin Marc Bernstein’s opalescent abstract paintings.UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs. Ends Sun. June 12.

Howard House Seattle artist Gretchen Bennett’s “Landscape Flair” offers clever experiments in stickers, buttons, and other forms usually associated with “street” art. The result is nature art twisted into an ironic context: Fake wood contact paper becomes a fawn in its dying moments or a clear-cut forest. Another very clever composition offers a collage of individual buttons printed with tree branches that collectively form a wooded landscape. Some of Bennett’s art is meant to reach beyond the gallery: For just two bucks, you can purchase your very own Bennett button emblazoned with a solitary tree. Also on display, glib paintings of superheroes committing atrocities by Jon Haddock. 604 Second Ave., 206-256-6399. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. June 11.

Galleries

070 Gallery New photography by Michelle Bates, who in the past has specialized in fuzzy-bordered images using cheap Holga cameras. 17633 Vashon Hwy. S.W., Vashon Island, 206-463-9280. 11 a.m.– 7 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.

All City Coffee “Blue and Green Make Gold” features new, boldly colored abstract canvases by Kristen Cochran. 125 Prefontaine Pl. S., 206-652-8331. 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat.; 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.

Ballard/Fetherston Lisbeth Firmin’s monoprints and realist paintings inspired by a recent trip to Cuba. 818 E. Pike St., 206-322-9440. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Fri. June 3.

Bluebottle In “Dust and Feather Stories,” Faryn Davis’ paintings of birds encase found objects, organic matter, and paper in resin. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Capitol Hill Arts Center “Tasty Bits and Misfits” is part of a nutritious breakfast of paintings inspired by Saturday morning cartoons and other animation, brought to you by Suzanne Kaufman and Karin Yamagiwa. 1621 12th Ave., 206-388-0500. 6-10 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.

Carolyn Staley Eleven prints depicting Buddhist goddesses by contemporary artist Mayumi Oda. 314 Occidental Ave., 206-621-1888. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Davidson “Natural Selection” features painters interpreting cityscapes and landscapes in stylized, formal compositions, including work by Tram Bui and Mary Iverson. “Landscapes in Wood” collects reduction-woodblock prints (in which the printing block is recut before each color layer is printed) by Gordon Mortensen, Jean Gummper, and Robert Patierno. Also: selections of original prints by Picasso, including a particularly lovely sampling of line drawings from the famous “La Suite Vollard.” 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Francine Seders Painter Alan Lau’s day job as a produce stocker at Uwajimaya figures in his new abstract works, executed in sumi ink, oil pastel, and China markers. Also on display: sculptures in wood, plastic, and bronze by longtime local artist Dan Carmichael. 6701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun.

G. Gibson Fabric art isn’t limited to quilts any more. “Stitched” brings together longtime gallery artist Larry Calkins’ wall sculptures made from dresses and beeswax; Ruth Marie Tomlinson’s sewn fragments of rubber inner tubes; and recent UW MFA graduate Laura Wright’s “security blankets,” which include necessities for the post-9/11 era: machetes, shovels, and booze flasks. 300 S. Washington St., 206-587-4033. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.

Gallery 4 Culture A sampler of black-and-white photographs from the county’s public art collection, including work by Eduardo Calderon, Michael Gesinger, Mary Peck, and others. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Gallery 110 The death of Deborah Walker’s father is the inspiration for a series of slightly surreal paintings of birds, vessels, and containers, while Cindy Small’s paintings deconstruct our notion of non-Western cultures as exotic. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

Garde Rail New work by brothers Clint and Scott Griffin. Clint creates world maps and other images by scraping away at layers of collage, while Scott arc-welds mysterious figures to old metal boxes and other found metal. 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 Recent UW MFA graduate Drew Daly exhibits new sculpture; what I’ve seen of it is fantastic. Daly takes everyday objects like wooden chairs and performs meticulous magic with them. One Adirondack chair, for instance, is systematically sliced into fragments and then reassembled to form two ghostly remnant chairs. To make Subject: Remnant, Daly spent 300 hours sanding an antique chair until nothing but the most delicate skeletal structure remained. Also on display: a potpourri of recent gallery acquisitions, including works by Tara Donovan, Robert Gober, Tim Hawkinson, William Kentridge, and Martin Puryear. 212 Third Ave., 206-624-0770. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Jack Straw New Media Gallery Kristin Tollefson’s installation, “Organic Plan,” is inspired by the landscape and folk art of Iceland. Central to the exhibit is a large, suspended, ringlike sculpture that pays homage to baldrying, a traditional Icelandic embroidery technique. 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-634-0919. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

James Harris New paintings by Oakland’s Squeak Carnwath, whose large, overtly philosophical paintings employ blocks of color, an intricate private iconography, and hand-scrawled slogans to inspire viewers to ask questions of themselves. Some of it is didactic, but the overall effect conveys a passionate belief in the transformative power of painting. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

Joe Bar Seattle photographer Frank Huster traveled to Sri Lanka with Northwest Medical Teams to document the organization’s tsunami relief work. All proceeds from this small sampling of the more than 3,000 images he took will be donated to UNICEF. 810 E. Roy St., 206-324-0407. 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Lisa Harris Christopher Harris’ nearly abstract color images of the rolling fields of Eastern Washington, taken with a pinhole camera. Also: nostalgic photographs modified with oil paints by Sherry Karver. 1922 Pike Pl., 206-443-3315. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.

Northwest Craft Center A plethora of ceramics, from raku to earthenware to electric-fired pieces, by 41 local artists. 305 Harrison St. (Seattle Center), 206-728-1555. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sun.

Photographic Center Northwest Thesis portfolios by PCNW graduates, including Ken Claflin’s illuminated urban cityscapes. 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.

Platform “Between Before and After” features new drawings by Toronto-based experimental artist Stephen Andrews, whose recent work reproduces disturbing images from the war in Iraq using a unique and meticulous color-separation process that involves crayons and window screens. A brief one-minute animation featuring many of these images distills the horror of war into a quietly elegant composition. 114 Third Ave. S., 206-323-2808. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.

Pratt Fine Arts Center Recent work by Cuban-born local painter Juan Alonso. 1902 S. Main St., 206-328-2200. 9 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Priceless Works Matt Sellars’ installation “Anticline” alludes to the vast landscape of the West using wood sculpture and drawings. Plus: painter Rich Lehl’s surreal universe of people, animals, and sushi. 619 N. 35th St., Suite 100, 206-349-9943. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-Sun.

Roq La Rue Creepy surreal paintings of Barbie-thin gothic women by Lori Early. Also: “The Mod Squad” features four painters purveying canvasloads of hipitude. Andrew Brandou (aka Howdy Partner) puts Golden Book children’s characters to work in pursuit of world revolution, while Keith Weesner, Ryan Heshka, Dale Sizer paint variations on pulp-fiction covers, hot-rod pinups, and tiki-lounge kitsch. 2316 Second Ave., 206-374-8977. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-4 p.m. Sun.

Sand Point Gallery Gen X artists revisit the Victorian era in “New Age Old.” On tap will be Thom Heileson’s video 101 Sunsets, a trucker-speed-paced tour of pretty landscapes, Dawn Cerny’s etchings based on Florence Nightingale’s wartime experiences, and Ellen Ziegler’s aquatic animals on Mylar. But I’m clueless as to what exactly the “Victorian penchant for bowdlerizing furniture” could be. Censored ottomans? 7527 63rd Ave. N.E., Building #5, Bay C, second floor, 206-543-0379. Noon- 5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.

Seattle LGBT Community Center “Portraits of Pride” features self-portraits by local gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender artists, all in celebration of Pride Month. 1115 E. Pike St., 206-323-5428. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun.

SOIL “Unearthed” is a group show featuring delicately burned papers by Tokyo-born artist Etsuko Ichikawa, plus new work by Tuan Nguyen and Sara Osebold, and Helen Curtis’ assemblages incorporating glass and pig intestines (just think of the promotional opportunities with nearby Salumi restaurant . . . ). 112 Third Ave. S., 206-264-8061. Noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sun.

Solomon Fine Art New work by abstract painter Paul Shakespear. 1215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Suyama Space In Utah artist Paul Stout’s installation “Second Nature,” huge blades of “grass” grow up from assorted Victorian coffee tables. Be sure not to 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.

Vain Fragments of spray-can work and graffiti lettering by Sam Sneke, one the city’s most renowned street mural artists. 2018 First Ave., 206-441-3441. Noon- 7 p.m. Sun.-Tues.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wed.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Vidya A new gallery in the creaky 619 Western building launches “The Triumph of Death and Other Stuff,” comics-inspired paintings and drawings by Tim Marsden, plus John Feodorov’s symbolic paintings exploring alienation and identity. 619 Western Ave., second floor, 206-297-0437. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Western Bridge German artist Daniel Roth’s commissioned piece “River Styx” presents evidence—in drawings, sculpture, and photography—of an underground river running west from Seattle, under the Olympic Peninsula, and out to a burial island off the West Coast. Also on display: video by Maria Friberg and Roni Horn’s 100-photo installation “You Are the Weather.” 3412 Fourth Ave. S., 206-838-7444. Noon-6 p.m. Thurs.-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.

Zeitgeist Nature-based abstract paintings and drawings by Stephanie Dennis. 171 S. Jackson St., 206-583-0497. 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Museums

Frye Art Museum “The Retrofuturistic World of NSK” collects 20 years’ worth of painting, prints, and other media by Slovenia’s Neue Slowenische Kunst art movement. Challenging concepts of authorship, nationality, and avant-garde, NSK creates theater, music, and visual art that appropriates Communist and capitalist kitsch in an effort to subvert authority. “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. 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 Recent UW MFA grads strut their stuff in the Henry’s annual showcase.Also on display: Doug Aitken’s Interiors is a majestic meditation on the search for meaning amid the stress and alienation of 21st-century urban life. Sprawling throughout an entire gallery, four separate story lines play out on a vast box of screens, allowing you to view three of the videos simultaneously as a sculptural whole from many different angles. The nearly wordless stories arch from contemplative (a young family with a new baby stands in a junkyard as a Brian Eno–like soundtrack throbs underneath) to mysterious (a man sands a helicopter in a sterile factory cleanroom) and frenetic (hip-hop artist André Benjamin gushes a verbal storm while a woman smashes a handball and an Asian businessman twitches in a sweaty convulsion of stress). The collective vignettes pack a surprising emotional wallop, considering the stories are stripped to their most simple visual and sonic elements. Meanwhile, the small show “Playtime” collects whimsical art made from toys. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.

Museum of Glass A 20-year survey of the career of Stanwood, Wash., glassman William Morris, whose importance in the Pilchuck glass industry rivals that of Chihuly, and whose sculptural pieces draw inspiration from ancient myth and archeology. 1801 E. Dock St., Tacoma, 253-396-1768. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.- Sat. (third Thurs. of the month until 8 p.m.); noon- 5 p.m. Sun.

Seattle Art Museum “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, and Marita Dingus. Also on display: a sampling of works in SAM’s collection of 19th-century French artists, including Bouguereau and Monet. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.

Seattle Asian Art Museum “Mountain Dreams” collects contemporary ceramics incised with Buddhist text by Korean artist Yoon Kwang-cho. Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect Ave., 206-625-8900. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.

Wing Luke Asian Museum “Women and Violence” explores issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, war, trafficking, and the “mail-order bride” phenomenon, specifically focusing on the Asian/Pacific Islander community. 407 Seventh Ave. S., 206-623-5124. 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.