Openings & Events

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Idleness At last, a celebration of sloth! Man Ray and Duchamp are among the inspirations for this group show, also featuring work by Gretchen Bennett, Matt Browning, Tacita Dean, Claire Fontaine, Ripple Fang, Anne Fenton, Tom Marioni, Bertrand Russell, Edwin Shoemaker, Nicholas Bower Simpson, Mladen Stilinovic, and Andy Warhol (no slacker he). Opening reception 5-8 p.m. Mon, Nov. 24. Jacob Lawrence Gallery (UW Campus), art.washington.edu. 10 a.m.-5 p.m Tues.-Fri. Noon-4 p.m. Sat. Ends Jan. 17.

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Malick Sidibe & J. D. ’Okhai Ojeikere The two important African photographers are represented in a show called Back to Front. The great portrait photographer Sidibe has been featured in the gallery before. He apprenticed in a photo studio in Bamako, the capital of Mali, just as colonial rule was coming to an end. Once he could afford a camera, he went freelance, soon becoming Bamako’s top party and studio photographer of the ’60s and ’70s. It was a giddy, heady time—the French were leaving, rock and roll was being discovered on LPs and transistor radios, men and women were allowed to mingle at dances, where the girls wore miniskirts and the guys sharp suits and ties. Sure, there’s poverty and drought outside the frame of Sidibe’s bright-flash images, but these are celebratory shots of people who want to celebrate (or dance or show off their new motorcycles). Ojeikere, who died in Febrary, was one of Nigeria’s most acclaimed photographers, who often focused on the hypnotic braids and abstract whorls of elaborately styled hair. BRIAN MILLER M.I.A. Gallery, 1203 Second Ave., 467-4927, m-i-a-gallery.com. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Opens Thurs., Nov. 20. Ends Jan. 3.

Ongoing

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Zack Bent

Lean-out, Lean-to is an installation inspired by a chance encounter with a truck canopy in Spokane. Bent takes that structural form and adopts it into a “monolithic chamber of secrets.” Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 634-0919, jackstraw.org. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Feb. 6.

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Julie Blackmon She stages and photographs small children in ominous suburban scenes, full of innocent energy and implied menace. G. Gibson Gallery, 300 S. Washington St. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 587-4033, ggibsongallery.com. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Nov. 29.

BAM Biennial: Knock on Wood Again, there’s a very materials-focused emphasis to this biannual group show. Clay and fiber art were featured in 2012 and 2010, respectively; now it’s the chisel-and-mallet set’s turn to display their creations. Some of the three dozen artists featured you know or have seen before at BAM (or local galleries), like Rick Araluce, Whiting Tennis, and W. Scott Trimble. The juried selection offers every variety of woodworking from the Northwest, ranging from indigenous Native American carvings to smartly modern furniture that might fit into your SLU condo. In addition to a juried award, there’s a popular balloting system whereby visitors can select their own favorite pieces. Unlike the Frye’s current crowdsourced #SocialMedium show, here you cast your voting on regular old scraps of paper—appropriate, of course, since they were originally made of the same material the artists are using. BRIAN MILLER Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770, bellevuearts.org. $5-$10. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sun. Ends March 29.

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Borderlands Julie Alpert, Susanna Bluhm, Cynthia Camlin, Elise Richman, and Katy Stone unite for a group show exploring the concept of borders and boundaries, both conceptually and formally. SOIL Gallery, 112 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 264-8061, soilart.org. Noon-5 p.m. Thu.-Sun. Ends Nov. 29.

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City Dwellers A dozen contemporary Indian artists are represented in this show originating entirely from the private local collection of Sanjay Parthasarathy and wife Malini Balakrishnan. Scenes and icons from Mumbai to New Delhi are represented via photography and sculpture, from an all-native perspective. India is ridiculously photogenic, from its colorful idols and deities to the slums and beggars. It all depends on what you want to see. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3121, seattleartmuseum.org. $12–$19. Weds.-Sun.

Ends Feb. 15.