On the first Thursday of every month, Seattleites flock to the streets of Pioneer Square for the city's central and oldest art walk, which offers opportunities to stroll, sip on wine, and attend as many gallery openings as possible. But, in most cases, the shows are up for longer than just one night, and the historic neighborhood is a great place to check out art any day of the year. So, below, we've compiled the most promising exhibits that are having opening receptions on April 4—complete with a Google map at the bottom. You can also find more options on our First Thursday calendar, including one-night affairs like Alexis L. Silva's Much of Nothing. For art in other neighborhoods, check out our complete visual art calendar.
Don't undervalue insects! There are 91,000 species in the US alone, says artist Amber Chiozza, and their diversity benefits nature. Many species, like wasps and ants, achieve awe-inspiring feats of architecture. Chiozza's prints, books, and drawings elaborate on these stunning structures and their makers.
These gorgeous iridescent abstracts, resembling unearthly landscapes, are actually extreme macroscopic panoramic photographs of 30-microns-thick slices of meteorites. That's right, rocks from space! They're the result of a collaboration between UW geochemist and meteoricist Dr. Tony Irving and nerdy photographer Neil Buckland. Don't miss your chance to gaze on these miniature natural masterpieces.
Waterston has had exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer/Sackler Galleries, the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford, and the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu. His mixed-media paintings are "elemental" in the sense that they abstractly evoke spirits and natural forces.
Friedlander crafts natural-dyed silk wall hangings on which she stitches designs that somehow seem purposeful, elaborate, and childlike all at the same time. These are shown alongside mixed media works and Donald Cole's tiny mountains, painted with sumi ink on matchboxes.
Now 97 years old, Hansen has been making deceptively naive, neo-expressionist art for decades. At first glance, they may seem crudely childlike, yet they play with unstable compositions, complex lines, and deliciously earthy colors. Keep an eye out for his longtime alter ego, Kernal Bentleg.
As the title might suggest, these sculptures by Ruffner (whom former Stranger art critic Jen Graves called "the most irrepressible spirit in Seattle art") combine animal and plant forms.
Castle was born deaf in 1899 and was not truly recognized for his talents until the 1950s. As a young artist, he worked with soot, spit, and homemade implements.
Artist and former City Arts section editor Amanda Manitach curates this "salon-style" exhibition by CoCA members, which continues the gallery's focus on women artists and women's issues.
This group show explores the tactility of the artistic process, featuring fabric-based works by Mary Ann Peters, quilted paper works by Claire Cowie, deconstructed linen objects by Brad Winchester, and a photograph by Vik Muniz. James Harris Gallery adds, "The act of threading a needle is mundane and requires great concentration and effort. It is also a small step in starting a larger project, which will eventually end in unity of one or more pieces. In their creation, these works transform the ordinary into beautiful, informative, and poignant objects that comment on social, political and conceptual issues."