Has Umber Studios saved us from Valentine's Day once again? Or is Saturday's opening just a snowball dance in disguise? Last year, the plucky south Minneapolis gallery pulled the holiday inside out, not so much shunning the sex-and-romance of the day as inverting it, finding lust in darker, brooding work by a crew of cutie pies with teeth. The gallery was packed. Beers were drunk. And the bathroom floor was strewn with brittle candy hearts. It was hot. DC Ice and Torey Bonar are back this year to show work, but gallerist Jessica Helvey has also invited some boys. Joel Schwarz stands out with a mixed-media piece featuring a tiny couple making out at the base of a dense, black canvas. The oblivion is pleasurable, a despair you could nest warmly in on a certain February night.

Free opening reception 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday 2/13 at Umber Studios.

Long known for streamlined modernist design, Sweden is updating that tradition with a show of new products by 17 young Swedish women. Evidently men previously dominated the field; now the gals are edging in with sleek glassware, sexy furniture, smart knits, minimalist ceramics, clever lighting fixtures and more. Specializing in environmentally savvy materials and consumer-friendly price points, the designers are riding a fresh wave of appreciation for understated elegance. The exhibit is presented in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy and the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design.