Visual Arts – Openings & Events

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Saturday, April 11, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Saturday, April 11, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Sunday, April 12, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Sunday, April 12, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Monday, April 13, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Monday, April 13, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Tuesday, April 14, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Tuesday, April 14, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Wednesday, April 15, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Wednesday, April 15, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Thursday, April 16, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Thursday, April 16, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Friday, April 17, 2015

Jana Brevick Her first solo exhibition showcases work ranging from jewelry to environmental installations. (Running concurrently is The New Frontier, celebrating the new maker movement in craft and design.) Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue, WA 98004 $12 Friday, April 17 – Sunday, August 16, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Friday, April 17, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Saturday, April 18, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Saturday, April 18, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Sunday, April 19, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Sunday, April 19, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Monday, April 20, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Monday, April 20, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Tuesday, April 21, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Tuesday, April 21, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Thursday, April 23, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Thursday, April 23, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Friday, April 24, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Friday, April 24, 2015

• 

Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Saturday, April 25, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Saturday, April 25, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Sunday, April 26, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Sunday, April 26, 2015

• 

Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Monday, April 27, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Monday, April 27, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Tuesday, April 28, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she??s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Tuesday, April 28, 2015

• 

Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Wednesday, April 29, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Wednesday, April 29, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Thursday, April 30, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Thursday, April 30, 2015

• 

Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Friday, May 1, 2015

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Maimouna Guerresi The former M.I.A. Gallery, which often features African art and photography, has moved south and changed its name to match that of its French-Somali expat owner. The old space was one of my favorite stops on the First Thursday Art Walk, but now it’s even closer to the action (and also next door to James Harris, a good neighbor to have). Inaugurating the new digs will be a selection of photos from the Italian/Senegalese Guerresi, whose studio scenes have a highly ritualized, almost theatrical aspect. The images in Light Bodies are less individual portraits of women than idealized renderings of high priestesses (or even saints, though the iconography is mostly Islamic). Colorful robes, chadors, and headdresses are elongated and enlarged, taking an almost architectural form; hats become minarets. Female bodies fall away, or become black voids, suggesting a kind of sublimation from flesh to spirit. The devotion is solemn, mystical, opaque: We’re not sure what specific texts are being read or icons worshipped. Guerresi’s often-looming figures are like peaceful giants from myth, figures removed from our petty, earthly concerns. In interviews, she’s cited the influence of the poet Rumi and Sufi mysticism. “Expressing cosmic beauty heals the diseases of the soul,” says Guerresi, who’ll attend the opening. BRIAN MILLER Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, 608 Second Ave. Free opening reception Friday, May 1, 2015

• 

Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Saturday, May 2, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Sunday, May 3, 2015

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Eloquent Objects Although the tendency would be to view this selection of Southwestern art as a Georgia O’Keeffe show (with 22 of her paintings on view), the intent is to bring the New Mexico still-life tradition out of the desert and to our mossy climes. Thus another 40-odd works will represent her peers and heirs: Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Gustave Baumann, Eliseo Rodriguez, and a dozen more. Flowers, cow skulls, cacti, and the Painted Desert are surely represented here, but there’s a meditative way of seeing that’s equally important to the arid inspiration. The desert strips away everything excess (recall Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence saying he liked the desert because “It’s clean”), always a useful lesson for artists. This touring show is making its only West Coast stop in Tacoma. TAM has more works by O’Keeffe (1887-1986) in its permanent collection (some added with the recent Haub family bequest), though she’s the main draw here, and her influence extends far beyond Santa Fe. We’ll see that reach in a concurrently running companion show, The Still Life Tradition in the Northwest, featuring local names like Morris Graves, Norman Lundin, and Doris Chase. (Through June 7.) BRIAN MILLER Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402 $14 Monday, May 4, 2015