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

Lectures and Events

Lecture: Constantinople and the Silk Road Helen C. Evans, curator of medieval art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, talks about the intersection of cultures and art in Constantinople during the early Christian and Byzantine eras. 7 p.m. Thurs. May 26. $5-$10. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., 206-654-3100.

Openings

Henry Art Gallery Recent UW MFA grads strut their stuff in the Henry’s annual showcase.Reception: 7-9 p.m. Fri. May 27. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.

Last Chance

Baas Art In a recent artist statement, Barbara Noah says she has a thing for the “long shot.” That would certainly explain her digitally manipulated photos of twisted-balloon dogs orbiting Mars. 2703 E. Madison St., 206-324-4742. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

Bluebottle In “Future Perfect,” illustrator and Web designer Julie West offers up highly stylized and sexy pictures of an assortment of characters, all influenced by skate-punk-graffiti design. 415 E. Pine St., 206-325-1592. 1-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Tues. May 31.

Bryan Ohno In “Fragile Attachments,” Patricia Hagen’s abstract works take a turn for the minimal: On fields of blank canvas, a menagerie of green leaflets, nubbins of fruit, and droplets of color float by. 155 S. Main St., 206-667-9572. 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

D’Adamo/Woltz “80 Years of New Yorker Covers” is a brief exhibition of limited-edition signed prints of, well, covers from The New Yorker. 303/307 Occidental Ave. S., 206-652-4414. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. May 29.

Francine Seders With an aesthetic informed by 19th-century natural history, Kathryn Glowen’s “Lunar” features curiosity-cabinet assemblages and collages that make use of found lichen, wasp nest papers, and scraps of dictionary pages. 701 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-782-0355. 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tues.- Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. May 29.

Gallery 4 Culture In “Electropounce,” Seattle artist Ellen Ziegler conducts phenomenal experiments with an old sign-painting technology, which involves using a copper table and a high-voltage metal stylus to burn holes in paper. The perforated papers are minimal and abstract, yet they suggest a full range of associations: celestial zodiacs, mandalas, cells, scientific diagrams, and the tracks left by subatomic particles. In some works, little hieroglyphs dance on musical score lines; in others, Ziegler follows the bouncing randomness of the electric pen to create otherworldly, spiritual maps. 506 Second Ave., Suite 200 (Smith Tower), 206-296-7580. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. May 27.

Gallery 110 This tribute to the late Seattle artist and teacher Maxi Power, who passed away last summer, features Power’s exuberant glass vessels painted with a carnival of characters. 110 S. Washington St., 206-624-9336. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

Grover/Thurston Austin, Texas-based artist Lance Letscher creates intricate and finely crafted collages from eviscerated books, letters, and other found commercial paper. 309 Occidental Ave. S., 206-223-0816. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

Linda Hodges Semi-abstract landscapes by Eastern Washington’s Heidi Oberheide, and realist paintings of places like Seattle’s Thornton Creek by local Roger Jones. 316 First Ave. S., 206-624-3034. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery A collection of painting, photography, digital media, and ceramics by artists in VSA Arts of Washington, a nonprofit providing arts opportunities to people with disabilities. 801 E. Pine St. (Seattle Central Community College), 206-344-4379. 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. (and 5-7 p.m. Tues.-Wed.) Ends Thurs. June 1.

Photographic Center Northwest Japanese photographer Hiroshe Watanabe’s serene but intense images of Kabuki theater performers (many of them children), traditional Bunraku puppets, and assorted 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. Ends Mon. May 30.

Richard Hugo House In “Let’s Get Out of the Romance: Exhibition Station,” Rich Jensen and Phil Elverum—two Seattle music-industry insiders—create the layouts for an upcoming book about artistic utopias. 1634 11th Ave., 206-322-7030. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; noon-5 p.m. Sat. Ends Tues. May 31.

Seattle LGBT Community Center Gallery Maternity photographer Jennifer Loomis’ sweet images of gay and lesbian parents with their children. 1115 E. Pike St., 206-323-5428. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. Ends Mon. May 30.

Shift Cara Jaye’s solo show, “Dulce,” includes pigmented digital prints and a video housed inside a traditional Mexican street vendor’s cart, all inspired by the artist’s recent residency at the University of Guanjuato. 306 S. Washington St. (#105), 360-650-3436. Noon-5 p.m. Sat. Ends Sat. May 28.

SOIL “Perspect” is a vaguely creepy laboratory installation from Portland artist Laura Fritz. 112 Third Ave. S., 206-264-8061. Noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. Ends Sun. May 29.

Vera Project In “3 Punks,” photographers William Anthony, Bradley Hanson, and Ryan Schierling shot a variety of live performances by Seattle punk bands on one night in February 2005. 1122 E. Pike St. (#849), 206-956-8372. 2-6 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; 2-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Tues. May 31.

William Traver Local painter Alan Fulle creates warm-toned stripe and dot paintings with incredibly thick layers of varnish, as if the patches of color were preserved in amber. Also on display: Seattle Opera set builder Rick Araluce’s mysterious assemblages of doll-house miniatures and David Ruth’s overly pretty glass panels. 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. Ends Sun. May 29.

Galleries

Cornish College Gallery Based on questions she asked the ancient Chinese I Ching divination system, Judith Kindler’s “The Journal” is a collection of mixed-media paintings and sculptures documenting the artist’s 30-year personal journal of philosophical discovery. 100 Lenora St. (seventh floor), 206-726-5011. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Crawl Space In “From A to A,” Todd Simeone distills photographs of household items to their basic visual elements using digital manipulation. 504 E. Denny Way (#1), 206-240-6015. Noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Davidson A selection of original prints by Pablo Picasso. (See visual arts spotlight, p. 107) 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

G. Gibson Fabric art isn’t limited to quilts any more. “Stitched,” for example, brings together work by longtime gallery artist Larry Calkins, who makes wall sculptures from dresses and beeswax; Ruth Marie Tomlinson, who sews fragments of inner tubes; and recent UW MFA graduate Laura Wright, whose “security blankets” 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.

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, and what I’ve seen of it is fantastic. Daly takes everyday objects such as wooden chairs and performs meticulous magic with them. One Adirondack chair, for instance, is systematically sliced into fragments, then reassembled to form two ghostly remnant chairs. To create 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.

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. One nice touch is that many of the individual buttons have hints of peace signs and anarchy symbols, a nod to the classic themes of button rebellion. 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.

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 quietly philosophical paintings have employed blocks of color, private iconography, and hand-scrawled slogans to inspire viewers to ask questions of themselves. 309A Third Ave., 206-903-6220. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

Karpeles Manuscript Library In conjunction with Tacoma’s Tall Ships Festival, Karpeles shows an assortment of original maps, diaries, and nautical charts from early explorations of the Northwest coast. 407 South G Street (Tacoma), 253-383-2575. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sun.

Platform “Between Before and After” features new drawings by Toronto-based experimental artist Stephen Andrews, whose recent work reproduces images of the war in Iraq using a unique color-separation process that involves crayons and window screens. 114 Third Ave. S., 206-323-2808. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. (Open until 8 p.m. Thurs. May 19.)

Roq La Rue “The Mod Squad” offers four painters purveying canvas-loads 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.

Souvenir Seattle artist Eve Cohen’s mutant, toothy creatures made from paper, seeds, wire, cloth, and wood are part of “Kinderkunst” at this new Ballard gallery. 5325 Ballard Ave. N.W., 206-297-7116. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon- 5 p.m. Sun.

Suyama Space Utah artist Paul Stout installs “Second Nature,” in which huge, single blades of “grass” grow up from assorted Victorian coffee tables. 2324 Second Ave., 206-256-0809. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Viveza Edie Nadelhaft’s colorful cow portraits, Michelle Salazar’s erotic cowboys, and Doug Smithenry’s fractured paintings, including . . . underwear-clad cowboys. Yee haw. 2604 Western Ave., 206-956-3584. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.

Winston Wächter New realist landscape and nature paintings by Christopher Reilly and Wade Hoefer. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tues.-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.-Sat.

Museums

Frye Art Museum “The Retrofuturistic World of NSK” collects 20 years’ worth of painting, prints, and other work by Slovenia’s Neue Slowenische Kunst art movement. Challenging the whole idea of authorship, nationality, and avant-garde, the artists in NSK create theater, music, and visual art that appropriates communist and capitalist kitsch in an effort to subvert authority. 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 Doug Aitken’s three-screen video installation 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. Also on display: “Playtime” pairs whimsical art made from toys with Peter Fischli and David Wells’ amazing 30-minute video of a Rube Goldberg-style installation; and a collection of minimalist works by locals offer disturbing mixes of childhood simplicity and adult emotional turmoil, including Claire Cowie’s excellent Panorama Drawing. UW campus, 206-543-2280. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.

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, Oliver Jackson, and Marita Dingus. Also on display: a sampling of works from SAM’s collection of 19th-century French artists, including Bouguereau, Monet, and Berthe Morisot. 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.

Tacoma Art Museum “Zero Karat” is a touring collection of jewelry made from such nonprecious materials as aluminum and Chinese newspapers. Also on display: “A Decade of Excellence” showcases Northwest artists who’ve been awarded the Behnke Foundation’s “Neddy” Artist Fellowship. 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4258. Every third Thursday free and open until 8 p.m. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun.