Cliff Notes
Each week, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Hayashi Wilder, Emily Small, Jade Ichimura, and Renée Reizman pick the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast.
Peter Ferguson: The Magic Gunship
Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA
December 12, 2025–January 10, 2026
Have you ever wanted to step back into one of your dreams? Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle’s Belltown will open with a new show featuring Peter Ferguson’s dream-like paintings, along with two other artists, Jean Labourdette and John Brophy. Peter Ferguson, originally from Montreal, Canada, is a painter who specializes in drawing imaginative worlds with curious characters and creatures. His paintings often take a turn into dark fantasy, depicting snapshots of an unfolding narrative.
In his paintings, Ferguson removes evidence of the brush on the canvas by smoothing the brushstrokes until they lie flat. The softness of the colors seemingly blends, creating an almost cloud-like sensory atmosphere. Without the texture of paint and with the added gloss of a varnish, his paintings delve further into the dreamworld by removing the painterly touch of reality. As the Winter solstice and the darkest days of the year approach, Ferguson’s paintings conjure scenes from the shadows and remind us why we once feared the dark.
Reflection: Where do you go when you dream?
A Room for Animal Intelligence
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
November 28, 20256–November 1, 2026
Intelligence is not just the ability to solve high-level, integrated calculus problems. Intelligence can be the ability to communicate, navigate, or even create. The Seattle Art Museum’s newest exhibition, A Room for Animal Intelligence, asks museum attendees to consider other ways living beings demonstrate intelligence. In this exhibit, 100 animals showcase their stories of ability, adaptation, and survival, demonstrating how they use intelligence to live on this planet.
However, this exhibit comes with a twist. The curator has given a voice to these beings by including labels written from the animals’ perspective. Instead of showcasing a purely zoological perspective, as if you were stepping into an exhibit of natural history at the Smithsonian, the SAM invites you to make personal connections with the animals through art and conversation. Humans have had a considerable impact on the environment and habitats, forcing animals to adapt to our changes. Furthermore, to salt the wound, we often view animals as below us, diminishing any sign of intelligence that does not reflect our anthropomorphic view of the world. A Room For Animal Intelligence provides a space for the animals to talk back and consider their role and our role in the world.
Reflection: How do you define intelligence?
—Jade Ichimura