There's a way to feel warm even on a snow- covered day in Reno. Visit the Nevada Museum of Art and see "Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey." By the third photograph, you'll be delighting in the relative warmth of a Sierra winter.

Joan Myers, in several trips to the subcontinent, traveled by foot, plane, helicopter and snowmobile to settled (not many of those) and remote (all the rest) locations, taking photographs. The collection on display here, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, covers a broad range of subjects. Antarctica is, after all, more than just ice.

There is, however, plenty of ice in the photographs. One color image (most are black and white) captures the majesty of an iceberg, going within to show the ocean waves pounding through a passage. In another image, a man stands within a crevasse, dwarfed and vulnerable within the chasm.

Antarctica is clearly a harsh and unforgiving land, as evidenced by photos of a whale's bones, abandoned huts and most disturbingly the frozen carcass of one of early explorer Ernest Shackelton's dogs. There is also an interior shot of his 1922 hut at Cape Royds.

Knowing your Antarctica history, the existence of which was not even confirmed until 1899, would help with a few of the photos. To know the saga of the Swedish ship Antarctica, which was crushed by ice, would illuminate the photo of the ruins on Paulet Island where the sailors survived the winter. Thousands of Adelie penguins occupy the space now, a place where some of their ancestors provided the nutrition to keep the sailors (all but one) alive.

There's a little whimsy with a signpost at Neumayer Station, arrows pointing every which way to hometowns (Davis is 3,086 km), and scientists skiing the ice at McMurdo Station. But the continent is never to be taken lightly, and the scenes of McMurdo and the scientists based there show the seriousness of the research.

You can also understand why it's said that if a plane were to drop $5 bills and fresh oranges at the site, the occupants would rush for the oranges (which along with other fruit is referred to by them as "freshies").

"Wondrous Cold" is on display through April 3.

Also on display

Around for a shorter time are the landscapes of the Edgar F. and Ella C. Kleiner Collection. The geography of these paintings is more familiar. Over 30 years, the Kleiners have accumulated depictions of the American West. Many of the artists represented here are still living, but many of the landscapes have undergone significant change. The California coast, for instance, is in constant flux, and the Truckee River and Tahoe's Zephyr Cove have been altered by both nature and development.

Many of these paintings (on display through March 13) will enter as a bequest into the museum's permanent collection. There is not a lot of drama to the landscapes, but there is plenty of sweep and they provide a pleasing interlude.

"Expressive Luminescence: Watercolors by Timothy J. Clark" is a perfectly named exhibition of a representation of the artist's work. Clark follows in the footsteps of the classic painters of light, capturing both the indoors and the outdoors, ordinary and special, and depicting his scenes at a particular moment.

"10:00 P.M. Closed," for example, is of a Chevron station, a familiar sight (although what appears to be a 51-cent-per-gallon price may seem alien to most viewers) depicted in bold strokes. A companion piece, "1:00 A.M. Open" brings a Shell station to life.

There are a multitude of interiors (spot the artist behind the foliage in "Self-Portrait in the Garden") ranging from a simple breakfast table to the Serra Chapel studies from Laguna Beach. Clark has his work in many permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery. This exhibition runs through April 24.

Meanwhile, the Nevada Museum of Art is preparing for this weekend's launch of its new major exhibition, "Leo Villareal: Animating Light" (to run through May 22). The artist uses computer programming to control thousands of LED bulbs to create different environments.• The Nevada Museum of Art is at 160 West Liberty St. in downtown Reno. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays (until 8 p.m. Thursdays). Admission is $10 general, $8 student/senior and $1 children 6-12. Every second Saturday, like this coming one, is free. (775) 329-3333 or nevadaart.org.

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