What better time to look at art than when the city is dressed in lights, and it feels like the whole of Seattle is on vacation? Many galleries are already closed for the holidays, but there are a few choice exhibits to check out in the weeks before and after Christmas.

Katy Stone at Greg Kucera Gallery
Seattle artist Stone shows a new collection of large-scale, vibrantly colored wall sculptures. In steel and aluminum, the forms are reminiscent of the organic patterns in nubby tree bark and wind-smeared cloud formations. Stone has transitioned from using filmy, plastic Duralar, but the feel of her work remains consistent. The exhibit is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10:30–5:30 until Christmas Eve.

Vignettes: Victoria Yee Howe
This Friday, December 23, Sierra Stinson hosts Vignettes in her Capitol Hill apartment. It’s the one date this month the young up-and-coming curator will open up her home for a three-hour art exhibit and reception (7–10pm). Victoria Yee Howe’s show, Insatiable, is described on vignettes.us as “an edible installation of all-consuming consumption during one night of disintegration.” Sounds like a party to us.

Carolina Silva: Here Forever at Gallery4Culture
One of the strongest exhibits on view right now is Silva’s installation of drawing and sculpture at Gallery4Culture. It features a room full of fat tinsel suspended from the ceiling, drifting in the draft created by wandering visitors. Her strongest piece echoes a work seen at Lawrimore Project a few months ago. A ring of diminutive clay hands reaches upwards from a platform on the floor. Lumpy and imperfect, the hands strain toward an unknown destination. Silva’s show is on view through December 30; Gallery4Culture is open Monday–Friday, 9–5, but is closed on Monday, December 26.