The Slutty Eye: Water Works

I have to confess that I usually approach Western Bridge with irritation. Located way the hell down Fourth Avenue South, tucked away from street view, and marked only by an artfully inconspicuous sign, the gallery doesn’t want you as a visitor if you’re not one of the smart kids who already knows about it. But this indifferent attitude is also one of Western Bridge’s charms. While SAM and the Henry want you to become a member, attend events (break-dancers on the mezzanine!), and generally be their buddy, the privately funded Western Bridge wants nothing. It’s even harder to stay mad at the gallery when it mounts a show like “Underwater.” The refreshingly dorky concept here is art with water in it: photos, videos, and paintings of waterfalls, swimming pools, and fishing. That’s it. Like the gallery itself, the show—drawn from the collection of gallery owners Bill and Ruth True, and featuring favorite artists such as video weirdo Tony Oursler—asks for nothing. With no arty puzzles to solve, and not even any wall labels to read, you’re free simply to enjoy the infinitely ingenious ways there are to depict the surfaces and reflections of water. (Jeppe Hein’s melting Ice Cube, 2005, is shown.)