Henry Art Gallery

Free for UW students to enter and to be a member. They say they're events happening. Wish there was more art inside? They give away free pencils and pins :-) very friendly staff too.

Students and educators get in for free. There were three different expositions going on. Some of them, two of them I did not get. One was about the use of products that are a one time use and there is no reuse, reduce, recycle. There was another one with tires where you could seat and video of people walking around. Not my kind of art, but I could understand what their message was. The last one was a Mexican artist and poet. I liked the windows and the I enjoyed the art he had out. It was a bit too bare, not enough pieces but it was nice. I will come back when they have other artists.

I can't believe Seattle gets away with having such bad art museums. The permanent exhibit James Turrell Skyspace closed for at least a month becauss they are installing a temporary exhibit next to it. We drove an hour to see the James Turrell exhibit and it was closed. Instead we could see photos of buttholes. We were told next time to call to make sure the permanent exhibits would actually be open. How annoying.

I expected more. I will say the space is beautiful and the layout was welcoming. Next time we will go and hopefully visit the Cafe. I will be back i just think the art wasn't what I was looking for. The best things featured this time were the downstairs sweaters and the beautiful blanket? Displayed.

I enjoyed visiting this art gallery. It was a really nice place to take a break and check out some art. Very thought provoking.

I don't think the small size is a big deal on account of it being free for most visitors - or at least educators & students. I will say that it *reeks* of contemporary aggrandizement that one often encounters with modern art. It's one thing to have a placard talk about a work's history and major symbolic points, another for the artist to wax endlessly about how "transformative and vulnerable" the art is. If the curators are to be believed, the art at the gallery is world class, jaw-dropping, and timeless. ...But for everyone else, it's just regular ol' art! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Definitely recommend during your UW campus visit. Exhibition itself changes every season. So, you can visit back once a while. It usually show cases pieces from multiple artists. So, you will definitely enjoy the diverse collection. Accessible by bike (Burke-Gilman Trail and has bike rack), light rail (15 mins walk) and nearby bus stops Cost: $0-$20 (recommended donation)

Always a favorite. We go here often. Quiet, beautiful, and interesting. Extremely affordable (donations).

We were in the neighborhood checking out the Cherry Blossoms. Walking around the campus ran into the Henry Art Gallery. Check it out if you're into contemporary art. It's located on the other side of Meany Hall in the University of Washington campus and has all sorts of cool stuff to check out, like paintings, sculptures, video installations, and performance art. They always have new and exciting exhibits featuring artists from all over the world. The displays are really thought-provoking and explore a bunch of different themes, so there's always something interesting to think about. The building itself is pretty cool too. It's made of a bunch of different materials like concrete, steel, and glass, and it lets in a ton of natural light. Walking through the galleries is a chill and relaxing experience. Their special exhibit was the "Thick As Mud" which was quite revealing and subjective. Besides the exhibits, the museum also hosts a ton of fun events and workshops.

Real small. You'll probably spend an hour max here. Has three exhibits at a time. One of which wasn't much to look at. Donation to enter (0-20 recommended). Had the same artist we saw at the Sam six months ago. Wouldn't say it's worth going out of the way for but might be a cheap rainy day thing for a local.

Great, thoughtful and thought-provoking artwork, social commentary and more. First Thursday of the month is free! Sometimes not all spaces are accessible or have exhibits, so you may find that you make it through relatively quickly, even after reading and contemplating most of the pieces. A highlight is the architecture of the building, itself! Make sure to read the thoughtful quotes above the doorways, too.

This is not for the faint of heart. Many of the exhibits are fillers and fluff, but there a few pieces in here that outshine most modern installations. Depending on the time you're visiting, and the artists that are showcasing, you could stumble upon some real modern art, but if you're unlucky, you could just be walking into a student portfolio that needs a lot more than just a trust fund.

We enjoy visiting museums wherever we go but this was not it. The layout of the exhibit and the descriptions of the art pieces were confusing. We toured the whole place in 30 minutes. As some reviews have said, you are left wondering if that was it. The exhibits are too far apart from one another and don't quite translate well from one room to the next. The whole experience was disrupted by confusing video footage - not art for us. I mean, to each their own. The fiance got in for free since he is a student but I think we paid $10 for my entrance fee. Definitely not worth it.

Either this place is the worst or I completely missed the mark. Employees at the front desk were awkward to the point where I wasn't sure if I was in the right place. There were hardly any exhibits to see and I was left wondering, "Was that it?" Super disappointing, even for free Admission on first Thursday. Would never recommend.

Very cool exhibits, and all worthy of discussion. Layout of the place is great with many rooms for installations and a large open space downstairs for bigger exhibitions. I personally enjoyed Caitlin Berrigan's Treatise on Imaginary Explosions Vol II which had many different cool components, including an interactive sound immersion experience, artifacts, video, and fabricated prop jewelry with video screens in them. Super cool stuff. The quotes about art which adorn the space are also really nice and add a great framework to certain pieces as you enter or exit certain rooms.

I get the complaints about The Henry: why does a university art gallery charge admission -- most don't -- and why is the admission charge so high for such a small gallery? First impressions count and these are valid questions. With that said, I gladly paid the admission fee for one reason only: James Turrell's 'Light Reign' skyspace installation. I think he's the most revolutionary artist -- if he's really an artist because I haven't figured that out yet -- alive today. The man works with light and our perceptions of space. It's a colossal task and his works address it with such elegance and immediacy. The Henry doesn't allow photos of the interior of Mr. Turrell's installation and, frankly, photos don't do it justice. You have to be willing to slow down when you encounter a Turrell work. As I sat in the elevated pod that is 'Light Reign', I watched some visitors enter, look up at the ceiling of an open sky and exclaim 'I don't get it' before walking out a moment later. I could have stared at the sky for hours in this oval-shaped room. The remaining portions of the gallery were given over to Ann Hamilton's 'the common SENSE'. In every art gallery/museum, the visitor is admonished to refrain from touching the works of art: dirty fingers result in dirty and damaged art. In this exhibition, not only is the visitor encouraged to touch the pages on display, the visitor can rip out the pages he/she likes to put in a commonplace book -- look up the term -- to read. As The Henry was my last stop before scurrying to the airport, it was fun to take my assembled pages with me to read on the plane. A visitor has to take chances and not every art environment can be an ideal experience every time. For such a small university gallery -- and one with a hefty admission charge relatively speaking -- I don't know that I'll forget this visit. I loved it.

I've been wanting to go to the Henry for quite a while! The pictures of all of the gray balloons people were in posted to this Yelp entry was the main selling point but I realized that the exhibit may have moved on by the time I got there, which it did. Exhibits that come here are on display here for a year. In it's stead however there was a very cool exhibit of women's hosiery and leggings stretched into all kinds of unusual positions as well as some experimental art films here too. On the main floor there was the White Snow exhibit which was a hypnotic melding of Snow White and Bambi as well as other Disney characters in a massive fusion to each piece. It was very beautiful and unusual! Of course the main staple here is the Skyspace! This exhibit seems to be a permanent fixture here and it is very beautiful! Photography is allowed inside the art gallery except for inside the Skyspace but I can see that someone didn't adhere to those rules and posted a picture of it on Yelp from the inside. Lol! Oh well... Entry fees are $10 a person except on Sundays where admission is free. They also have a free day on the first Thursday each month. The gallery is on the UW campus so parking may be pretty tight but going here on a Sunday is less so and stickered parking on campus is relaxed. It's definitely an art gallery worth going to!

I am an alumna of the University of Washington, but last week was my first time visiting the Henry Art Gallery. I would have given it 5 stars except for the following reasons: 1) the chairs in the cafe are FREEZING cold... they are made exclusively out of a metal that retains cold extraordinarily well... it is the middle of summer right now... brrrrr... I can't even imagine how cold the chairs would feel in colder months of the year... the lady next to me also commented on how cold the chairs are... they feel nearly as cold as ice! 2) the food selection in the small cafe is the stuff of vending machines (most art galleries have better cafes), and 3) I was underwhelmed (yet also, I must admit, intrigued) by the display on interesting lines and shapes... created out of nylons. Female nylons. The things that no one wears anymore. With the crotch piece and the foot pieces all totally intact. Stretched out into shapes and lines. There are so many good things about this place, though, that I would love to return again! I attended for an event, "The Untuning of the Sky: Moon-Gazing in the SkySpace." As part of the event, I joined a participatory poetry reading located within James Turrell's Skyspace, "Light Reign." The oval-shaped smallish room has a nut-brown wooden bench built into its entire perimeter, and nut-brown wooden walls extending up to a white ceiling with a black and white gaping oval opening in the middle of the ceiling so that you can watch the sky. It felt exhilarating to be sitting INSIDE of the work of art. The room really is a work of art. It's beautiful and unique and I've never been in any other room like it. It's a very simple concept yet there is also a lot of thought that went into its creation. :) The staff was so welcoming and friendly and helpful. Interacting with them was a highlight of my visit. Especially given that this particular event was so crowded, they all handled themselves like champs. Not one of them lost their cool or their kind, friendly smiles. They should all get gold medals for excellent service. The room adjacent to the Skyspace was so lovely - with its high arched beautifully light rose-gold/burnt-beige ceilings and walls, it reminded me of ceilings and walls in Spain and France. I could have hung out in that room for a long time just appreciating its beauty, but it's intended to be more of a room to pass through, either on your way to the Skyspace, or on your way to certain exhibits. Due to attending 3 of the fabulous offerings at this event, I didn't get a chance to look at as many exhibits as I would have if I'd gone solely for the purpose of perusing exhibits, but I enjoyed most of the exhibits that I did have the chance to see. Side Note: the several-story round staircase leading up to the Henry from 15th is pretty fun. There are some great spots on the staircase to pause to admire the sky and to take in the lovely buildings of the University, particularly at dusk. I'd love to go back to the Henry to explore it further, and I'd recommend a visit to the Henry for anyone looking for a unique, interesting experience. Just bring a thick sweater if you plan on sitting down in the cafe, and don't try on the nylons. ;)

A genuine showcase for classic superstars of the art world, the new and provocative, and everything else in between. It's a reasonably priced and beautifully curated little museum (more a true museum than just a gallery--there are multiple spaces and multiple types of hangings and installations). The staff is minimal, and there is no gift shop, but the art on display is good for you. Parking is somewhat limited and frustrating, but the neighborhood vibe is fun and there are halfway interesting choices for food and drink nearby. Plus, you can wander around an extraordinarily beautiful university campus packed with tons of interesting architecture just steps away. The exhibits change regularly, so go whenever anything catches your eye. I can't really post anything here that will always apply, since their ambitions are so far-reaching in terms of programming. But it's a wonderful space, excellently run, and will always be worth your $10. At least until they raise the price of admission. Check 'em out. That Light Reign deal is sweet.

So, apparently, the HAG can be a great place for a UW student* to chill out in a dark room and watch a slide-show.... or in a big gym-like room and watch one of three movie-like things on screens.... but in either case, it's all FREE, and I like that price. (*It's also free for: Henry members; UW faculty, and staff with ID; High school & college students with ID; Children 13 years and under.... everyone on the first Thursday of the month.... otherwise it costs $10 for general public, $6 for seniors (62+). I haven't really gone "oooh" or "aaah" about anything here, but they do have a variety of odd shows come through here and I'm guessing they might appeal to those who love modern art and projection screen art..... or are feeling very, very spacey. Me? I can enjoy that kind of art... but give me a choice and I'd MUCH rather look at well-done photographs, paintings, and most things that are 100+ years old. One display that I recently enjoyed was a picture slide-show (of people/things in a city in Europe) in a dark room that only had the screen and a slightly lit-up bench. I ended up laying on the floor and enjoyed feeling like I had completely left the campus/U-District. The only disappointment was that I felt like this particular slide-show was made of just random point-and-shoot pictures that someone took without much thought while walking around the city. I don't know if it was supposed to be like that, but.... I couldn't really bring myself to be wowed by it. From my very few experiences I don't think I would ever pay to go here, but I might come for special event nights and I'll definitely come back while it's still free.

This place is amazing.... bring your out of town family, go here with a date, bring a few friends... it is good for all occasions. Some of the art may not be OK for kids with more conservative parents but overall I think it is kid-friendly. There is so much art to see. Make sure you give yourself enough time to see everything at least once. Some of the art was interactive and confusing in a good way! The Skyspace is really nice and the Laurie Anderson book exhibit was very unique. During the holidays there was a pop-up art store. one thing that was awful: The building was like 95 degrees and I ended up getting really hot and sweaty and then walked home and got sick for 10 days with a bad flu. I blame how hot it was here but the art is SO AMAZING that I am not taking a star off.

FLASH YOUR U-PASS! I swear maybe times have changed but back in my UW days this place was the hit. Flash your u-pass and get in free. I would always pass by it everyday for all those years attending college. And I'd drop in once in awhile. You know how your always in a binde to find a great place to study on campus and you want it to be a quiet place because your trying to cram for mid-terms or finals. I use to hate going to odegaurd because it was nothing but a kicking it spot, especially for my kind. So i came to the Henry Art Gallery, walk around and enjoy the art and exhibits, and then go to the cafe and read a little here and there. I know I don't have much to say about the art because I've only seen a few exhibits in my UW lifetime but i loved my experiences there.

I haven't been to this gallery since I was a UW student because it was free. Adult entrance fee was $6. It's quite small and the exhibit was about chuck close. I'm not sure how often they change the exhibits. There's a skydeck room that was pretty cool. Bottom floor was closed when I went. Four star is because the staff there were very pleasant.

We went to the Henry Art Gallery on Thurs 7/2/09 because it was open until 9pm and FREE. Parking - they have a lot underground but they wanted $10 which we didn't want to pay. We found street parking after 6pm which was FREE. It's a small art gallery - no pics allowed. They had a jazz band playing when we went in the Sculpture Garden - wish we stayed longer to hear it - oh well. Bathrooms available. Website: http://www.henryart.org/

We had a great time at the Henry this afternoon! It is free on Sundays, so it's a fun low-cost way to entertain kids on a rainy day. It was easy to find street parking nearby. Our daughter is three and she really enjoyed it. Note that you have to put your backpacks/bags in a locker (they give you a quarter to "rent" one), because you can't bring them in. It's a fairly small museum, but it was the perfect amount of time with a kid in tow, any longer and our daughter would have been bored. Love the Cecilia Vicuña exhibit happening right now - you can walk into the colorful wool "forest" which was a big hit with our crew. There is a cafe inside but we didn't go in so I can't vouch for it - looks like they have coffee and snacks. Near the lobby they had some kids books set up with bean bag chairs so we spent some time reading and coloring postcards that were part of an interactive art project. Afterwards we had a nice walk through campus since the rain let up, all in all it was a great way to spend an afternoon!

I have seen some killer shows at the Henry. They created a noted show on genetics, it's use and misuse, Gene(sis). They have filled the galleries with birds for weeks. Giant cross sections of the sea floor by Maya Lin. A seminar on ancient modern art, happenings in the 1960's, like the E.A.T.'s Open Score http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/open-score/. The great light artist James Turrell had a beautiful light installation and has left behind one of his famous light rooms. http://www.henryart.org/exhibitions/show/205 Not every show in contemporary art can be a hit, nor your, or my, personal hit. But the Henry hits many more than it misses. It's not a general purpose art museum, like SAM. It has several gallery spaces dedicated to a single artist or a small number of artists in a batch. The signage is good. Though I was lucky to have some great and fully engaged student jobs, the Henry's weakness is that the student attendants really aren't trained to talk about the art. You are on your own there. Check the website for the current show to decide to visit. It will always be educational, and occasionally stellar. One of the smartest West Coast university galleries, easily the rival to LA & SF university-connected contemporary galleries.

Among all of the art gallery and museums I have visited, I am not too impressed by the Henry Art Gallery. I have never had the urge to visit this gallery despite the fact that I walk by here so often. Finally, one day, I decided to at least take a quick visit and check it out. It is $10 for general admission and $7 for students. It is free for the students/faculty/staff at the University of Washington. The art gallery seems small. Its collection is not too impressive and nothing really stands out. The air seems to be stuffed and there does not see have enough air circulation. During my visit, they were also doing a construction/installation for an upcoming exhibit so that was super loud. I could barely stand more than a few minutes downstairs and decided to leave right away.

Super weird sex fetish wood carvings of snow white. Free every first Thurs of every month.

I came here once or twice when I was a student at UW, but this last time was a totally new experience for me. There wasn't much to see since it's a small gallery, but the highlight was probably the room filled with 37,000 balloons. You have an opportunity to walk through and experience wonder, claustrophobia and fear... it's pretty fun and crazy when you first walk in and experience all the balloons in your way and your hair flying everywhere because of the static, but after awhile, you kind of just want to get the hell out of there - so go in but be prepared to struggle a little finding the exits. It was cool and made for fun photos though!

I don't have a problem paying $10 to get in the door: love art. I majored in art. Support the arts! Here's what I do have a problem with: Walking in, paying, browsing and then being asked by some smug college student: "Mam, do you know our policy against large bags... please check it at the front desk." Me: "Okaaaay.." walking back through the exhibits to the receptionist who, when I tell her I need to check my bag, has the same 'Hmm.. but that's not really a big bag... okaaay" look on her face that I did. Whatever. Fine. Bag checked. As we continue our viewing, the same smug gal who asked me to check my bag continues to follow us through the remaining exhibits. Closely. So closely that at one point, my guy says, "She's still following us..." to which I reply, "Yeah, she's clearly got NOTHING better to do than to follow us around this place. What am I gonna do; put one of these pictures in my handbag.... Oh wait, I can't because I checked it." And she stops following us- mainly because we booked it downstairs to the new video exhibition "Adaptation". Once there, we tried to find a film that we liked... hell, something that we could event tolerate. It was all WAY over my head- like it usually is. *sigh*. I did like the Liz Magor exhibit though. A lot. While I didn't enjoy my experience here, I did like the Richard Misrach: On the Beach and Roman Holiday. They're fabulous and fantastic. Go see them if you can tolerate the above. My advice to you: Don't take a big handbag... or even a small handbag. Hell, if I were you, I'd go naked... and then I can't even be sure that they won't leave you alone as you meander.

The Henry is a fantastic place to visit and an even more fantastic place to work. One of my absolute favorite things to do in Seattle is to attend the exhibit openings at the Henry. You just can't beat an open bar and expensive cheese plates while surrounded by fascinating works of art. The museum embraces innovation in both the content and design of its exhibits. One of the first exhibits I saw at the Henry upon beginning the museology program at the UW was their highly original 150 Works. This exhibit took a wide cross-section of the Henry's permanent collection and displayed the pieces in an extremely unorthodox fashion. Rather than mounting the artwork on the walls of the gallery space, each piece was placed on an individual metal stand and arranged in chronological order across the middle of the room. By standing at the front of the room viewing the most recent pieces, you could look back as though through time and see an overlapping collage of all the works that came before spreading into the distance. Since my experience visiting that exhibit, I have been nothing but impressed. Despite occasionally including wall text that is uncomfortably small to read and despite having a collections management database that is at least 10 years past its expiration date, the museum excels at presenting contemporary art exhibits without a lot of the pretentiousness one normally associates with the contemporary art field.

I go to UW so I get in free. If you don't go to UW, then you don't get in free. I like art, so this place excites me. If you don't like art, this place won't excite you. When you go, make sure you sit in the wooden room that looks to the sky, whether you smoke weed before going is up to you. The big installations on the bottom floor never disappoint.

I just adore the Henry. Not only does it have a rock solid permanent collection which it is always bringing out in new and innovative ways, but the variety of visiting artist displays are just fabulous. I'm a big fan of film installations, and the Henry has consistently wowed me. The cafe is cozy. The Turrell is a wonderful peaceful dreamy place to hang out. And their events are always fun with good music and great food. A membership at the Henry is always money well spent.

A small gallery located on the Washington University campus. You can park in the visitor's lot - it costs $15 upfront, but if you park for less than 4 hours, they will give you a partial refund. I was there for about 1.5-2 hours and they gave me back $9 when I left - not bad for parking. There were three small galleries and they change every half year or so. The Paul McCarthy White Snow sculptures were the best thing there, filling up an entire room with larger than life wooden sculptures influenced by Disney's Snow White animated film. If you're a fan of modern art, you should definitely go. The price isn't bad - $10 for adults and free for Washington University students.

Great little gallery. I saw a Mapplethorpe-polaroids exhibit there last year. Pretty cool. I was also impressed by the rest of the gallery. Really a great space.

henry art gallery has some good shit, they always seem to have the coolest exhibitions. they're not very stringent in checking id's to grant free admission. why charge admission i don't know, there is nary an artist who truly works from the ground up nowadays. it's great, pretty extensive gallery and if i were a student at uw, i would probably come all the time.

The Henry is a place where you can share a room with the art; unlike other larger institutions where you sometimes feel like you are the superfluous item in the room. I love the Turrell piece and go in every time I visit. The front desk staff is not always as friendly as I want them to be.

Museums are hard to rate. Different collections and installations are brought in and out. Today, I give the Henry Art Gallery 5 stars. When what I really wanted to do was break down and cry, being in the James Turrell Skyspace gave me a moment to recollect and decompress. The highlight of light and lines was elegant simplicity that felt sanctifying. Then I was able to wander downstairs to admire Polly Apfelbaum's floor display "Flying Parts". Dyed velvet pieces strewn and overlayed on one another that glowed with brillant vibrancy and texture. Mesmerizing and rejuvenating all at once. It was in these moments that I heard I need to make more time for art.

Relevancy is in the eye of the beholder. The Henry Art Gallery does well by a collection of art work that is limited largely to contemporary and, secondarily, modern art (art up until 1945). In a city that is at least a century and a half behind its Eastern, Midwestern counterparts (Boston, Philadelphia, New York...Kansas City, Chicago) and even Western counterparts (San Francisco) in terms of collections of Western art, the Henry is obviously at a disadvantage--although that may not make much of a difference to the University of Washington student population. Recently, of course, both the Seattle Art Museum, and to a lesser extent, the Frye Art Museums have started to focus on contemporary art as well. Though I was a member for a couple of years, after the renovation, I did not renew my subscription, as contemporary art has never been particularly interesting to me. (The only exhibition I really recall was one from their photography collection of early 20th century Paris. The Turrell Skyspace, with its oculus, is--granted, one where one can "space out" by looking up at a blue patch of sky--a snore). But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in the past two years, a series of art lectures, by U.W. art historians, on Western art (up to modern art) has been taking place at the Henry. The art gallery is not really a teaching resource, as it would be at, for instance, the University of Michigan, Smith, or Princeton, as the breadth of the collection is so limited. I learned tonight that the U.W. art history department appears to be exploring the possibility of creating a program in American art. I attended an excellent lecture on Winslow Homer by Allan Braddock, a curator, at the Georgia O. Keefe Museum in Santa Fe. The Baci Cafe is fine, as is the auditorium, about the size of that of the Frye and slightly smaller than Pletscheff Auditorium at SAM. When I could not open the storage locker where I had stored things, the pleasant staff persons went out of their way to help me get it open. The galleries themselves do not ever seem to be very crowded except at exhibition openings. In the summer, there is outdoor seating facing 15th Ave. N.E., which makes for a relaxing spot on campus in the early evening if one is in the University District (the gallery closes at 8 p.m.). Admission is steep for non-UW people ($10), but every Thursday is free to the public (which is generous, considering how SAM makes only one day a month free of charge to the public).

The Henry regularly rotates their art collection and the current exhibits are definitely worth checking out. My personal favorite was Bruce Nauman's collective of neon signs. Some of Nauman's pieces are interactive and the one that really fascinated me was titled Parallel Room. Parallel Room has two doorways in which you enter through an ever narrowing hallway. So from the start it feels awkward and uncomfortable. Then once inside the actual room, you are bombarded by super bright neon lights. The first time I stepped into the room I had this overwhelming sense that the air was heavy, like smoke was being pumped in for effect. But later, when I stepped in again with another person, I realized the heaviness of the air was just an optical illusion. What I slowly began to noticed when the other person was in the room with me was that he was starting to turn green before my very eyes. And the more I stood there and stared at his face, the greener it got. Trippy. Turns out the neon lights in the room are lime green and so bright that they, for all intensive purposes, eliminate the rest of the color spectrum. So if you're wondering what you'd look like as the Incredible Hulk, but don't want to bother with the pesky face paint, go here. Other pieces in Nauman's work were whimsical, violent, and funny. The neon sign that switched between the words Violins, Violence, Silence made me giggle. I really enjoyed the chance to see something new and different. One more exhibit I have to mention is Carsten Hller's Neon Circle. A circle built out of a repeating series of long straight neon lights that flicker at various intervals, it completely fascinated me. With room to step inside it presented me with a challenge I won't soon forget; to remain standing while staring dead head at it. Oh Henry, I can't wait to see what you bring to town next.

Well worth the hike. And where else in Seattle is every art opening guaranteed to end in dance party? Where? You oughtta throw your money at this place like there's no tomorrow. Go Henry Go!

I enjoy going here from time to time. I do NOT enjoy the rude college student at admissions. I know. I know. They are just college students and don't have customer service skills. HOOOLLLDD OOONN! many college students are superb with their skills. The space, long time collection and surprise new items are the best and closest to Wallingford. One is transported in mind to more etheral worlds and has the opportunity to marvel at skill and grace of artists.

Always something great to see here. I loves me a good art party. Coming up: Make Your Own Life: Artists in & out of Cologne Opening party Friday, January 19th. 6-11pm http://www.henryart.org/ex/makeyourown.html From their site: Make Your Own Life takes a look at the mythic proportions and art historical significance of the alternative scene based in Cologne in the late 80s and early 90s. Long an important city for art and commerce in Germany, during these years Cologne fostered a group of artists that bucked the establishment to raise important questions of artistic identity and institutional critique. For artists like Martin Kippenberger, Jutta Koether, Albert Oehlen, and Cosima von Bonin, art became a place to carve out their own terms of participation within the social, political, and economic constraints of the art world, where they could make their own lives the basis of their work, as Kippenberger exhorted. This exhibition assembles the work of these figures alongside their American counterparts who exhibited in Cologne with them---Mike Kelley, Andrea Fraser, and Christopher Williams, among them. The art on view encapsulates a critical, independent ethos and encompasses a wide range of stylistic and conceptual bents through an array of media from painting to rock music. Today these artists have become the not-so-distant forebears for a current generation forging creative personae that continue to break away from art world expectations and set new standards. This ongoing trend is represented through the work of Lucy McKenzie, Bernadette Corporation, Reena Spaulings, and others who have achieved critical success while retaining their countercultural stances.

The Henry is one of the best galleries in Seattle and one of the best places on the UW campus. They consistently have a variety of exhibits ranging from the classic to the avant-garde. They bring lots of really cool shows to the UW community. Past exhibits include a collection of Roy Lichtenstein prints, Gene(sis) , Maya Lin's recent work, and a collection of Jasper Johns lightbulbs. They do some pretty amazing installations and always have a few videos to watch. Now, I'm not saying that I like everything I've ever seen here but they always put on interesting shows.

Decent art gallery. I went on one of the free first Thursdays and enjoyed it, but was glad I didn't pay for the experience. Lots of interesting modern art pieces, but there really wan't enough variety to keep my attention and interest. Probably only spent around 45 minutes going through the whole gallery.

It was my first visit to this place and I enjoyed it! The Open House event was very busy- full of people. I viewed a lot of art pieces. I'm not going to sit here and spill my every thought/opinion on the pieces I looked at! We had had free wine which was a plus. I thought that it was an overall grand experience. Don't compare it to SAM and youll enjoy it as well :)

Thankfully we went on a free day, because this gallery is awful. The exhibits are sparse and not very interesting. Perhaps this place is too artistic for us, but we were disappointed with its offerings.

Free for students!! Beautifully laid out exhibits. I went when they had polka-dot, comic art looking artist (dang, for his name). They also had lots of floors of other art. It place looks small from the outside, but had many floors inside and is quite large. There is even a cafe with a neat menu of sandwiches, salads, and coffee.

Nice museum, the skyspace is cool. I only came here when i was an UW student because it was free, but i probably wouldn't pay to go otherwise. They do have some cool exhibits though - i saw the misrach show here and it was really great!

The Henry Art Gallery is on my list of things to do with out-of-town guests. It is a great place to wander, and their material is usually fresh and interesting. The Skyspace installation is not to be missed. I am, admittedly, much more at home in a natural history museum than in an art museum. The Henry, however, does not have the pretentious air that some museums try to foster. Visitors are not warned at entrance "stand back, this is great art." Some of it is good, but no one would find all of it interesting--you can wander and find the things you like. And if you don't find anything, try again next month and you'll see something different. It is free to students from any high school or college (with ID) and kids. The $10 admission for everyone else is a bit more than one might expect, but it is still a good way to spend an afternoon.

Nice exhibitions on display, though kinda obsure and abstract. That's what art essentially means, isn't it?

Not only were there like 6 rooms of stretched out panty hose, the staff followed us around like we were going to steal them! The white snow sculptures were kinda cool and creepy. All and all tho save your time and money. LAME

The Henry is misleading and should not have the words "Art Gallery" after it. It could be the Henry Center for some progressive and regressive un-inspirational ideas that are suppose to be interactive but the interactive people don't show up - but they charge admission anyway. You are better off splashing in the rain, or looking at the public art or the stairs in the Foster school which is more exciting.

The Henry seems much better at rotating exhibits than many other places and there's ALWAYS something different to see even if you go every few months. The Skyspace is awesome in a contemplative and humbling way and must be visited. Contemporary, cutting edge AND traditional rub elbows in fun ways here.

I saw the James Turrell exhibit there and it was pretty sweet. I haven't been back for anything else, but they did a great job with that exhibit.

I enjoy coming here during my class breaks when I get a chance. It's usually not too crowded and quiet. For the most part there'll be good exhibits that catch my eye every time I go in. I haven't been to any of their events yet, shame on me! I really enjoyed their poster sale and the James Turrell Skyspace is a lovely place to escape to. The staff are usually pretty nice and welcoming.

Perhaps it was just a slow month. I visited all the exhibit rooms, but saw little that inspired me or evoked an emotional response. If anything, most works were beautifully matted and framed. One annoying commonality was that most of the works had explanations posted next to them. Explaining art! Go figure. It's like explaining a joke: if you have to explain it, it's not a joke. For example: a series of small black and white photos of a street, taken in sequence, each taken when the photographer blinked, along with some hand-written notes. Or, a series of three large color prints of trees or forest (not obvious), each increasingly out of focus, "not evoking a point of focus." Or, a series of framed LP records of sound effects, interspersed with small black and white photos. Sorry, none of this did much for me.