5 Art Shows to See in Seattle This October
Ceci N’est Pas Une Pipe D’un Homme
The title translates to “This Is Not a Man’s Pipe,” a gendered riff on French surrealist René Magritte’s famous painting. This group show focuses on femme glass artists like Patricia Davidson and Karen Buhler. The latter’s intricate, whimsical works—like a diver captured at three points in her descent, before she plunges into rippling water—will make you forget the medium’s poster boys. Center on Contemporary Art, Opening Reception 6–9
Cicelia Ross-Gotta
For three years, one of Cicelia Ross-Gotta’s family members has lived in a motel. In this exhibition, Feel Just Like Home, Ross-Gotta embroiders the motel’s online reviews onto swatches of cloth: “Needs to be demolished”; “I’d rather sleep under a bridge than stay here.” In doing so she examines the fuzzy line between housed and homeless, creating a slowly stitched and considered rejoinder to some of the web’s nasty, brutish, and short discourse. Gallery 4Culture, Opening Reception 6–8
Sedimentary
In Sedimentary, two painters take on that oldest subject—landscapes—with brio. Julie Himel works in thick oily strokes, so the canvas becomes its own topography and nature scenes appear in strobing, prismatic color. Meanwhile Sarah Winkler spikes acrylics with crushed minerals. The resulting pieces look like collages of every earthly layer, from mountain and sky to striated soils. Foster/White Gallery, Opening Reception 6–8
Introductions
The inaugural exhibition in the new J. Rinehart Gallery works as a summary of its 15 artists. Daisy Patton’s paintings may be the showstoppers, but the whole exhibition is vibrant—full of mesmerizing, layered works. J. Rinehart Gallery, Opening Reception 5–8
June Sekiguchi
This solo show, The Pulse of Water, takes inspiration from the Mekong River in Laos and its mysterious undercurrents. Kaleidoscopically cut wooden sculptures merge with light and projection to create an immersive (get it?) installation. ArtXchange Gallery, Opening Reception 5–8