Fulcrum Gallery is getting weird. OK, they've mostly been weird for as long as they've resided in the little shop on Martin Luther King Way. Or if not exactly weird, at least more willing than most galleries to show works that are not exactly Norman Rockwell or Thomas Kinkade. But their latest show - "Visions From the Other Side (Surrealistic Portraits, a Group Show)" - is particularly weird. We're talking the H.P. Lovecraft of visual art as represented by the works of Larkin Cypher, Kelsi Finney, Jeremy Gregory and Keith Carter and, as a second show, "Nightwatchman, Photo Installation by Sharon Styer."

That's a lot of creepy stuff for one little gallery.

Most Tacomans should know Gregory, a former Foundation of Art nominee, for his comic "True Grit," and many may remember his installation with portraits of sex offenders in a previous Fulcrum show.

I've not seen much of Cypher's work, but I like what I've seen. A press release says Cypher "summons the creatures of land, air and imagination to populate the internal landscape of the mind... with dark whimsy." What more can you ask for?

Carter and Finney are equally intriguing.

Gallery owner Oliver Doriss describes the show as a "collection of anthropomorphic portraits done in the classical style (which) blurs the lines of reason. These surrealistic visions evoke an imaginary world where animal, vegetable, mineral make friends and converse as if neighbors discussing the weather. Nothing is left unexplored and anything is to be expected."

Styer takes dark and brooding photographs of urban landscapes, mostly Tacoma at night if the images on her website are any indication, as well as photos of performers and other characters of the night.

Contrasting Styer's photographs with the art of Cypher, Gregory, Finney and Carter is a wonderful idea. I can't wait to see this show, and rest assured, I will review it for the Weekly Volcano.

There will be an opening Reception Thursday, May 17^, from 6-9 p.m. The show will run through July 14.