Joe Bar
Known for superior Crepes and Coffee, the Cafe features Cornish graduate Benjamin Hanawalt. The exhibit explores the collision between fully realized images and flat color patterns. The rooms are awash with twelve new oils by this young local artist. The oil paintings reflect an interest in old Hollywood film stills, nature photography, and geometric patterns.

"This project began as a series of small collages and works on paper that consisted of 'found' imagery, swatches of color and basic geometric patterns. Over the course of 2003-2005, these rough ideas were slowly translated into a group of sixteen oil paintings, twelve of which are on at Joe Bar.
My source material has included film stills, newspaper clipping, flags, puzzles, fashion magazines, vintage National Geographic, technical diagrams, and personal photographs.
Throughout the various stages of completing these paintings, the following artists' work has been a source of inspiration: Sigmar Polke, David Salle, Robert Rauschenberg, Peter Blake, James Rosenquist, John Cassavetes, and Michelangelo Antonioni."
Benjamin Hanawalt
Visit the Cafe on the web at www.JoeBar.org 810 E Roy, Seattle, WA 98102 Store hours are weekdays 7:30 am to 9:30 pm and weekends 8:30 am to 9:30 pm.

Kobo Gallery
Kobo first opened its doors in 1995 featuring the work of small studio artisans of Japan and the functional work of Northwest artists. Exhibits are scheduled 6 times each year showing carefully selected examples of fine craftsmanship and design. There is a desire for a quality of life that is defined not by the accumulation of things but rather a paring down to the essentials. In a world of limited natural resources, they hope to provide a hint of inspiration, respite and a reminder of the human hands that go into making the things. Kobo, which translates from Japanese as "artist's workspace," specializes in both traditional and contemporary works, offering a selection of objects and functional forms in clay, fiber, metal, wood, bamboo, textile and paper.

Next month will be The Kobo Teapot Show, Nov 13 – Dec 30, 2005. The Gallery will showcase a select group of ceramic artists from Japan, the Northwest and Austria. Featuring the teapots of Richard Brandt, Damian Grava, Gary Georger, Amy Wood, Randy Sills, Tim Foss, Ryuzo Toda (Hida Takayama), Toshikazu Suzuki (Tokyo), Barb Campbell, Motoko Hori, Sandra Dolph, Sequoia Miller and Matthias Kaiser (Austria). Gallery Hours are Tue – Fri 12 – 7pm, Sat 11 – 7pm, Sun 12 – 6pm 814 E Roy, Seattle, WA 98102 • 206.726.0704 • fax 206.860.0213 visit the Gallery on the web at www.koboseattle.com

OK OK
OKOK presents new works by Seattle artist Kyle Wendt from October 21st to November 16th. Wendt is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. His work can be described as a sort of comic cosmology that celebrates alchemy, innocence and chaos. Over the past couple years he has worked on creating numerous chapters in one continuous visual narrative. This narrative has been broken up into zines, most notably The Book of Night. Inhabited by robed dollheads, land salmon, and mysterious fauna, Wendt creates a perilous world that begs to be explored.

The artist was born and raised in the Seattle area where he continues to reside along with his wife, Elizabeth. He graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2003 and continues to draw, paint, and obsess over his website which is entitled www.kyleekylo.com The Book of Night is a self-publishing project which he plans to continue as a series of installments beginning this Fall. He uses the skills he gained from Jim Koss' Books class to produce a series of elegant, bound, beautiful artworks which are seductive in their clean simplicity. A limited edition print has been created using the OK Ok silkscreen press which reflects his unique style. A drawing is up for raffle with the proceeds going to a local arts education non-profit. View a photo gallery of the opening here
Visit Ok Ok on the web at www.okokinc.com. 709 Broadway East, Seattle, Store hours are 11 am to 7 pm Tuesday through Saturday and Noon to 5 pm on Sundays.