INNOVATION ROAD: CAROLYN SWISZCZ
Ongoing: Long the poet of desolate strip malls and down-market emporiums, Twin Cities painter Carolyn Swiszcz has included more distinguished structures in her show of prints and paintings at Franklin Art Works. Besides a droll group of "Patios" in four seasons -- desperately drab corrals of plastic chairs in wintry and autumnal landscapes -- the show includes portraits of Walker Art Center, Hope Lutheran Church and 3M's headquarters rendered against a Hockney-esque blue sky. She's used rubber stamps to depict Walker's dimpled metal skin, 3M's windows and the tacky bricks of a Roseville real-estate office. Clever, as always. (Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Feb. 21. 1021 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. Free. 612-872-7494 or franklinartworks.org.)
MARY ABBE
Mindful Meander
Opening Saturday: Harmonious color, graceful shapes, translucency, the weight and gesture of paint: All these sleights of hand come into play in the new watercolors of Twin Cities artists David Malcolm Scott and Amy Crickenberger Oeth. Scott's lyrical images transcribe nature, especially close-up vistas of endangered grasslands, into whispers of lightly layered paint. As seen here, Oeth's planes and daubs of color coalesce into lighthearted designs that lift the spirit and flutter prettily in the mind. Both are charming diversions from ice-slicked streets and sharp winter winds. (7 - 11 p.m. Sat., free opening reception, Rosalux Gallery, 1011 Washington Av. S., Mpls. Ends March 1. Free. 612-747-3942 or www.rosaluxgallery.com.)
