Openings & Events

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BAM ARTSfair SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 17.

Robert Blatt

Elements is a sound installation investigating the role of perception using an array of speakers suspended from the ceiling. Opening Reception: 7 p.m. Fri., July 26. Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 634-0919, jackstraw.org, Opens July 26, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Sept. 6.

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Long Shot 2013 Hundreds of photographs will be on sale to celebrate PCNW’s 20th anniversary at this gala fundraiser. Food and drinks are part of the fun. Photo Center NW, 900 12th Ave., 720-7222, pcnw.org, $25-$250, 6-9 p.m. Sat., July 27.

Museums

Austere Beauty: The Watercolors and Prints of Z. Vanessa Helder The late local painter (1904–1968) was a pioneering female presence in the Northwest art scene. Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., 253-272-4258, tacomaartmuseum.org, $8-$10, Opens July 27, Tues.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Oct. 20.

Creating the New Northwest: Selections from the Herb and Lucy Pruzan Collection The Wrights and the Shirleys are renowned as Seattle’s biggest collectors, but if you take a step down the tax brackets, how many have heard of Herb and Lucy Pruzan? The Seattle couple recently promised nine works to TAM, which is in turn displaying a large slice of their art collection, called Creating the New Northwest. Over 100 pieces are on view (some also promised to SAM), which doesn’t even represent the Pruzans’ entire holdings. The Pruzans were on a budget as a young couple in the late ’50s, but they were determined to shop local. That means their collection lacks premium names like Tobey, Callahan, or Graves, which makes this show a Northwest survey of a different sort. Not second-rate—it’s more a reminder of depth over time, proof that our postwar art scene had more than Tobey, Callahan, and Graves to offer. The show’s grouped more by affinity than according to a strict timeline or division of styles. But as the Pruzans’ tastes changed and evolved—from landscape paintings to glass works, for instance—you’ll see what TAM curator Rock Hushka terms “a subtle chronology as they trained their eyes.” It’s notable that the Pruzans kept acquiring new works by emerging Northwest artists, instead of going back later to buy proven, investment-grade painters. BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum. Through Oct. 6.

Empowering Women: Artisan Cooperatives That Transform Communities See how art is changing the lives of women around the world through this traveling exhibit that offers an intimate look at the work and traditional arts of ten women-run co-ops. Burke Museum of History and Culture (UW Campus), 543-5590, burkemuseum.org, $7.50-$10, Mon.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Oct. 27.

Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion Boldface names in this fashion show include Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake. Related works by Gilbert and George and Cindy Sherman will also be on view. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3100, seattleartmuseum.org, $11-$17, Thurs., 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Weds., Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Sept. 8.

The Ghost of Architecture Videos, sculpture, photography, and more are inspired by the building trade, with works by Edward Burtynsky, Christian Marclay, and others. Curated by the Henry’s Luis Croquer, with new gifts by local collectors including William and Ruth True (some previously seen at the old Western Bridge gallery). Henry Art Gallery, 4100 15th Ave. N.E., 543-2280, henryart.org, $6-$10, Weds., Sat., Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thurs., Fri., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Through Sept. 29.

The Hudson Flows West

The Hudson Flows West showcases work from the historic Hudson River School. These depictions of nature as the sublime have come to represent a combination of American ideals including manifest destiny. Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., 622-9250, fryemuseum.org, Free, Tues., Weds., Fri., Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Through Sept. 22.

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Industrial Effects Photography from the Industrial Revolution and beyond includes images by Berenice Abbott, Edward Burtynsky, Lewis Hine, and Alfred Stieglitz. Henry Art Gallery. Through Sept. 1.

Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest This show explores the connections and striking differences between Australian studio glass and the glass work of the Pacific Northwest. Museum of Glass, 1801 E. Dock St. (Tacoma), 253-284-4750, museumofglass.org, $5-$12, Weds.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 12-5 p.m. Through Jan. 5.

Benjamin Moore

Translucent is a selection of the his work, featuring traditional vessel forms and contemporary designs. Museum of Glass. Through Oct. 6.

Maneki Neko: Japan’s Beckoning Cats Examining the rise of the “lucky cat” from “talisman to pop icon,” this exhibition highlights selections from a collection of 155 figures in wood, stone, paper, and ceramics, owned by the Mingei International Museum of San Diego. Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770, bellevuearts.org, $7-$10, Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Aug. 4.

Out [o] Fashion Photography: Embracing Beauty: Curated by NYU’s Deborah Willis, this survey show is packed with great images from over 50 disparate artists. You get tantalizing bits—but never enough—of Winogrand, Warhol, Nan Goldin, Imogen Cunningham, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Andre Kertesz, Lee Friedlander, our own Edward S. Curtis (for ethnographic value) . . . the list goes on and on. Willis’ keywords, in person and in print, tend toward construction, diversity, and complexity. The Native Americans whom Curtis admiringly posed in ahistorical dress and settings now appear to us in carefully constructed images: formal and dignified. There’s no less work involved for Curtis than Winogrand’s on-the-fly aesthetic of chic and casual. Cecil Beaton’s 1930 glamour portrait of Marlene Dietrich—a famous perfectionist about her image—suggests even more work, and retouching, in the studio and darkroom. It’s all an act. It’s all an art. Artifice. No photo is ever natural, no matter how much we associate the medium with truth. Yet in a show with so many distinguished, familiar names, there are discoveries to be made. There’s a fascinatingly dense 1948 crowd scene, Muscle Beach, by Max Yavno, a California photographer unknown to me. It’s a giddy postwar moment full of action and faces, bodies glistening in the sun. The shutter has frozen what seems a story in motion. BRIAN MILLER Henry Art Gallery, . Through Sept. 1.

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Buster Simpson: Surveyor Diverse work by the Pacific Northwest artist who added an ecological dimension to site-specific public art in the ‘60s and ‘70s is on view. Frye Art Museum. Through Oct. 13.

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James Turrell: Skyspace

Skyspace stands on two concrete pillars in the Henry’s erstwhile sculpture courtyard. On the exterior, thousands of LED fixtures under the structure’s frosted glass skin create slowly shifting colors, making the pavilion a spectacular piece of public art every night. Inside, the ellipse of sky seen through the chamber’s ceiling suddenly appears to be very, very close, a thin membrane bulging into the room. Wispy bits of cirrus clouds passing by appear to be features on the slowly rotating surface of a luminous, egg-shaped blue planet suspended just overhead. Emerging from the Skyspace, I find the night wind and the light in the clouds come to me through freshly awakened senses. A dreamy, happy feeling follows me home like the moon outside my car window. DAVID STOESZ Henry Art Gallery.

Under My Skin: Artists Explore Race in the 21st Century This group show is intended to spark dialogue about how people talk about ethnicity. Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., 623-5124, wingluke.org, $9.95-$12.95, Tues.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Nov. 17.

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Patti Warashina: Wit and Wisdom The Northwest ceramics artist receives a career retrospective running back 50 years to her student days at the UW. Bellevue Arts Museum. Through Oct. 27.