Great Draws -- Works By Escher, Russian Children Are Attention- Grabbers Worth A Second Look

Art review

"Escher in Seattle," original works by M.C. Escher, Seattle Center Pavilion, reopening at 9 a.m. June 8-19. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sundays noon-6 p.m. ($2 and $4; each paid admission includes free ticket for return visit; 443-1922). Student work from the Escher Drawing Competion, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Harrison Street Gallery, Seattle House, through June 18.

"Wings: Children's Expressions of the Russian Soul," paintings and other artworks by Russian children 3-16, Anne Gould Hauberg Gallery of Pacific Arts Center, Seattle Center; Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays noon-5 p.m., through July 10 ($1 and $2; 16 and under free; Tuesdays free; 443-5437). -----------------------------------------------------------------

From troikas to tesselations, Seattle Center is offering two fascinating art exhibitions aimed at kids and families this month.

Both shows are filled with the kinds of images that grab your attention and tease you back for a second look. And both have been packing in the repeat visitors.

"Escher in Seattle" is a comprehensive overview of the life work of the great Dutch artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972). Escher is best known for his "tesselations," those repeating patterns that cover an entire page, sometimes metamorphosing from fish to fowl in the process. Bridging the gaps between art and math, Escher's work engages the eye and the imagination.

Nearly 2,000 people a day, many of them students, flocked to the Escher exhibition before its closure to make way for the Folklife Festival. Popular demand, plus the fine artwork submitted for the student Escher-like artwork contest, have led producer-curator Rock J. Walker to reopen the Escher exhibit this coming Wednesday for an extension through June 19 at the Seattle Center Pavilion. (The student winners will be announced June 12.)

Vibrant colors are the hallmarks of the student contest work, and, says Walker, "Some of them are as good as Escher himself." The artist has been an obsession of Walker's for the past 30 years; Walker has taken this exhibition to seven other cities "just for the common good." You can see the student art as well as 250 Escher pieces; there's a learning center, and a gift shop with everything from T-shirts to Escher ties.

Brilliant images from "Wings: Children's Expressions of the Russian Soul" are likely to linger in your memory, both because of their startling maturity and their intriguing subjects. Brought to Seattle because of the connection between Dr. Juliette Engle of the MiraMed Institute and Dr. Elean Bolotskikh of the Art Institute of Moscow, these images of Russian life were drawn to show American children what it's like to live in Russia.

Kate Hartley, exhibitions manager, draws one painting out of its frame to show how it was composed on the back of a leftover printed poster. Getting art supplies is extremely difficult, which is why proceeds from sales of the artwork will benefit the students as well as MiraMed's ongoing efforts to bring medical supplies and training to the former Soviet Union.

Look at the proudly curved necks of the horses dashing through the snow in Sveta Smirnova's "Russian Winter," a painting that's incredibly sophisticated for a 13-year-old. I kept returning to 10-year-old Zenja Uvarova's "The Cranberry Picker," bundled up against the cold and gazing out on the world with a cheeky grin. You're likely to remember a variety of other subjects, from circuses and pirates to landscapes and religious scenes that would have been verboten only a few years ago.