Here's a peek behind the curtain: To bring readers top art recommendations in the Seattle area, I rely on a giant Excel sheet from which I chart out the next few months in visual art. Untangling trends and connective threads from this chaos is always a delightful reminder of the region's artistic abundance.
Next year promises to be thematically and materially rich, with a varied slate of museum and gallery blockbuster shows by local and international talents, heaps of "soft art," fun events -- music! miniature golf! tattoos! -- at galleries and much more.
Ai Weiwei everywhere
If you don't know Ai Weiwei from his Lego "paintings," perhaps you remember when he filled a museum hall with millions of porcelain sunflower seeds or dropped an ancient urn. The acclaimed Chinese dissident artist, who makes sociopolitical art with a pop bent (or is it the other way around?) is a longtime crowd-pleaser.
In addition to the career-spanning "Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei" (March 12-Sept. 7) at its downtown location, the Seattle Art Museum also shows Ai's large Lego work at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (March 19, 2025-March 15, 2026) and 12 of his monumental bronze zodiac heads at the Olympic Sculpture Park (May 17, 2025-May 17, 2027).
These works will be shown across SAM's various Seattle locations; prices are $19.99-$32.99; find out more: visitsam.org/weiwei.
Local blockbuster shows
Abstract expressionist James Leong (1929-2011) returns to Pioneer Square -- where he lived and worked from the early 1990s until his death -- for a two-part retrospective.
Jan. 2-Feb. 1 and Feb. 6-March 1; Chatwin Arts, 323 First Ave. S., Seattle; free; 206-420-1141, chatwinarts.com
For "Portmeirion," Seattle sculptor Dawn Cerny cozies the museum with rugs, curtains and humorous, large-scale functional furniture pieces fashioned from modest materials like plywood and cardboard.
Jan. 25-June 22; Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., Seattle; free; 206-622-9250, fryemuseum.org
Few are as enmeshed in Belltown as Seattle's Buster Simpson. In the tentatively titled "THEN BELLTOWN NOW," the famed public artist centers on "40-plus years of Belltown as urban laboratory," and takes visitors on a tour of First Avenue.
Feb. 14-March 8, tour at 2 p.m. Feb. 22; Slip Gallery, 2301 First Ave., Seattle; free; slipgallery.com
The blues in Cappy Thompson's dreamy enamel-on-glass paintings plunge deep and ripple far. An expert in medieval techniques such as enamel-painted and wheel-engraved glass, the acclaimed artist shows her mastery in "Thinking of Angels."
March 8-April 19; studio e gallery, 609 S. Brandon St., Seattle; free; 206-762-3322, studioegallery.net
Holly Ballard Martz, preeminent political provocateur and clever repurposer of found objects -- bra straps, lead weights, punching bags -- takes on society's incessant pressure to stop (or reverse) signs of aging in "Past Perfect Future Tense."
April 3-May 17; Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave. S., Seattle; free; 206-624-0770; gregkucera.com
In "Venus is Missing," award-winning Seattle artist, curator and force-of-nature Tariqa Waters showcases a new immersive environment home to at least one powder-pink spaceship.
May 7, 2025-Jan. 5, 2026; Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., Seattle; $19.99-$32.99; 206-654-3100, visitsam.org
Ceramic sculptor George Rodriguez plays with our fascination and relationship with pooches in the joyful "CLAP CLAP Clap Clap Clap clap clap clap clap DOG SHOW!"
May 1-24; Foster/White Gallery, 220 Third Ave. S., #100, Seattle; free; 206-622-2833, fosterwhite.com
Since graduating from Cornish College of the Arts about six years ago, Seattle's Anthony White has cemented his art star reputation. In "Two Truths and a Lie," he takes on themes of magic, performance and sorcery. (Make sure to see Derek Bruno's show while at Greg Kucera Gallery!)
May 22-July 5; Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave. S., Seattle; free; 206-624-0770; gregkucera.com
Renowned glass artist Preston Singletary designed sets and props for Pacific Northwest Ballet's upcoming production of "The Sleeping Beauty" (Jan. 31- Feb. 9) and will show new work later this spring.
April 3-26; Traver Gallery, 110 Union St., #200, Seattle; free; travergallery.com
A scenic ferry ride away, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art presents a retrospective of the influential James W. Washington Jr. (1909-2000), a member of the famed Northwest School known for his spiritual stone carvings.
July 4-Sept. 17; Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island; free; biartmuseum.org
Soft and sensory
These soft shows reveal a collective desire for comfort.
At Belltown's Slip Gallery, the interactive "Echoes Within" invites people to wear and smell sculptures and touch textiles (Jan. 10-Feb. 1); Brian Cypher showcases work shirts reconstituted into paintings at studio e gallery (Jan. 11-Feb. 22); Josh Faught's "Sanctuary" at the Henry Art Gallery features a monumental tapestry dotted with found objects and mementos (March 8-Aug. 3); Shift Gallery shows Amanda Triplett's abstract embroidery from salvaged fibers (April 3-26); and you can find Mel Carter's tactile installations at Gallery 4Culture (June 5-26).
Cut-and-paste
The art of collage feels cut out for these splintered times. Gallery 4Culture shows Ric'kisha Taylor (Feb. 6-27) and Diana Falchuk (March 6-27), who cut and paste with a variety of materials to reflect on racial and cultural identity and more.
The Northwest Collage Society has its spring show at Georgetown's Fogue Studios & Gallery (March 6-29); in May, head to neighboring galleries Slip and Slide for the second annual "Collage-O-Rama" (May 9-31).
Another highlight: Jite Agbro's solo exhibit at Patricia Rovzar Gallery (July 2-26). The Seattle artist collages print paper and sometimes fabric into (and onto) dreamy wood panels that raise questions about perception and projection.
Transformation
In various shows this year, artists tackle corporeal change, motherhood and gender transition.
Molly Jae Vaughan reflects on her experience of transitioning and being transgender in America right now in "Transition as Performance, Life as Resistance" at the Hedreen Gallery (Jan. 15-March 29).
In "m/other" at Pioneer Square's METHOD Gallery, Emily Tanner-McLean showcases new video and multimedia work featuring her pregnant body (Feb. 6-March 15).
In the wake of an injury, AlexBranch traps herself in ice; Pablo V. Cazares' gender transition echoes in artworks wherein he wraps himself in life-size chrysalises. Their work is on view in "the cocoon tightens" at The Vestibule in Ballard (Feb. 12-March 15).
Climate change
In vibrant watercolors at Ghost Gallery, Erin Kendig explores the changing seasons and climate (Feb. 11-March 9). Artists evoke the beauty/terror of disappearing glaciers at Slip and Slide galleries (April 11-May 3). Acclaimed artists Chris Jordan, Melinda Hurst Frye and Lauren Boilini take on the natural environment at J. Rinehart Gallery (May 1-28). And Karey Kessler and Tali Weinberg use found materials and textile to address "the quiet loss of possible worlds" at The Vestibule (May 3-31).
Fun art events
To balance out the eco-anxiety, here are some exciting, interactive events at visual art spaces that show art doesn't just hang on the wall -- it happens everywhere.
Participate in taking a piano apart and making art with the remnants at Side Rail Collective's "Piano Breakdown" (Jan. 11, 4-8 p.m.).
Foster/White Gallery is welcoming folks to its Pioneer Square gallery with a slate of fun events, including a free guided meditation (Jan. 11, 11 a.m.) and a flash tattoo pop-up, with designs based on Casey McGlynn's paintings (Feb. 6, noon-8 p.m.; registration opens at noon Jan. 7).
In Belltown, visitors to "Smash Putt" can play on miniature golf courses designed by local designers and artists at Base Camp Studios 2 (Feb. 14-May 24). And if that's got you tired, relax and kick back in the Frye Art Museum's new "Parlor," a part-lounge, part experimental-installation with custom décor and furnishings by Jayme Yen (March 2025-2027).