September 16-January 7:

Craft Art Western New York 2006

Burchfield-Penney Art Center

1300 Elmwood Avenue (878-6012)

This biennial favorite is in its 10th incarnation, showcasing the region’s leading artists who work in clay, wood, fiver, metal and glass. The juried show includes 57 works by 55 artists, selected from submission by 135 past and present residents of Western New York. Every two years this exhibit, sponsored by the Sylvia L. Rosen Endowment for Fine Arts in the Craft Media, fuels new arguments about the divisions between “craft” and “fine” art.

September 29-October 23:

Mary Begley—Nature Scapes: Abstract Paintings

Kepa3 Gallery

31 Barker Street (884-2606)

Buffalo painter Mary Begley will exhibit her recent work at Kepa3 Gallery, one of a number of promising art spaces bringing new life to Buffalo’s Midtown. Begley holds a BFA from Buffalo State and an MFA from UB; she is a past recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in painting. She is also lable manager for Righteous Babe Records. “These are not your typical landscapes and they are not ypical abstractions,” she says of her work. “They lie somewhere in between and rely heavily on the interpetation of the viewer.” There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 29, 6-9pm.

October 6-January 7:

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

1285 Elmwood Avenue (270-8292)

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space is the first comprehensive solo exhibition of the conceptual artist’s work in North America. One of the most influential American artists to emerge in the last 15 years, Zittel investigates contemporary life in Western societies. Her three-dimensional work draws on architecture and geography to explore the psychological, biological and economic aspects of domestic and urban existence. The show opens on Friday, October 6; Zittel will talk about her work at 6pm. There’s a reception for gallery members that night, 7-10pm.

October 6-January 27:

Joseph Miller: Figures, Power and Vulnerability

Castellani Art Museum

Niagara University (286-8200)

Joseph Miller, an associate professor of art at Buffalo State, pursues his art in a manner that emphasizes drawing and a concern for naturalism. Works included in this exhibition are dark, humid and timeless, giving the viewer the foreboding feeling that an event is about to happen or has recently happened, without alluding to actual evidence. Miller’s show is part of the Castellani’s new TopSpin series of solo exhibitions. The show opens with a reception and artist’s tour on Thursday, October 6, 5-8pm.

October 26-November 16:

A Painting Nature: Selected Works from the Estate of Carl W. Illig (1910-1987)

Dana Tillou Fine Arts

417 Franklin Street (854-5285)

The late Carl W. Illig is a “rediscovered” painter best known for capturing outdoor scenes, following in the tradition of Charles Burchfield, Carl Peters and his teacher and colleague Emile Gruppe. The East Aurora native did not start painting in earnest until 1950, when he was 40 years old, but by 1956 the former carpenter and factory worker was a full-time artist. Soon thereafter he took part in restoring Alexis Fournier’s murals at East Aurora’s Roycroft Center. This is a rare opportunity to see a collection of the artist’s work. The show opens with a reception on Thursday, October 26, 5:30-9pm.