First Friday RVA, January 2014: New Year, New Art!

by | Jan 3, 2014 | ART

The holiday season is over, the new year is here, and the RVA art scene rolls on full-force with the first First Friday of 2014!

The holiday season is over, the new year is here, and the RVA art scene rolls on full-force with the first First Friday of 2014! So shake off the holiday doldrums and get ready to hit the Art Walk and see some great new art from up-and-coming local artists! Here’s some of what you can look forward to tonight:

Gallery 5: Feels Good

This month, Gallery 5 presents Feels Good, a group show featuring new work by Jess Norris, Christian Gregory, Emily Anne Hall, Chris Page, Lizzie Sampson, and Daniel Crawford. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, beginning at 6 PM, at Gallery 5, located at 200 W. Marshall St. The reception will feature musical performances from The Silent Type, Half Bascule, Antiphons, and Spandrel. Feels Good will remain on display throughout the month of January.

Love RVA: Sleep Paralysis

This month, Love RVA presents a collection of new work from Kevin McGee entitled Sleep Paralysis. McGee is an RVA resident and VCU alumnus, and this is his first solo show. “There are not many words to explain Kevin’s approach to art. They are truly pieces you need to see for yourself.”

Sleep Paralysis opens with a reception on First Friday, January 3, from 5:30-10 PM, at Love RVA Gallery, located at 202 W. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display throughout the month of January.

Visual Art Studio: Artistic Gifts & Reflections Of Our Soul

This month, Visual Art Studio presents two shows, Artistic Gifts and Reflections Of Our Soul.

Artistic Gifts will feature new artisan ware and work by local artists. The exhibit will include work by Visual Art Studio owner Anne Hart Chay and her daughters, as well as Terri Powers, Chris Semtner, Dodie Ortland, Dave Meuller, Susan Hribernik, Frederick Chiriboga, Emily Saez, Fred Weatherford, Sarah Alicia, and more.

Reflections of Our Soul features new handcrafted jewelry and decorative hand sewn purses by The Passage, husband and wife Joel and Teresa Howard–also known as TH Collectibles, for one of several lines in their collection. They have been showcasing their beautifully crafted pieces around Richmond for over 30 years and at Visual Art Studio for over 12 years.

Artistic Gifts and Reflections Of Our Soul will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, from 7-10 PM, at Visual Art Studio, located at 208 W. Broad St. Exhibitions will remain on display throughout the month of January.

Richmond Public Library: Palimpsest, Caustic Merges, Vincenzo Lupinetti


Jess Pruett, Shame, mixed media

Richmond Public Library presents the opening of three different shows at its Main Branch this First Friday.

Gellman Room – Impressionistic photos with a palette of delicate color and line and a portfolio of images found on walls, windows, and sidewalks to create a unique body of work by Charlottesville artist Vincenzo Lupinetti

Dooley Foyer – “Palimpsest” – carved wood panels and rubbings on paper condensing abstractions of time and society into artifacts by Richmond artist Jason Clark

Dooley Hall – “Caustic Merges” – collages portraying the meeting place of the human condition and the chaos of the modern world by Richmond mixed-media artist Jess Pruett

All three exhibitions will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, from 6-9 PM at the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library, located at 101 E. Franklin St. All exhibitions will remain on display through March 4.

ADA Gallery: Iconoclashes

This month, ADA Gallery presents Iconoclashes, new work by Eric Berglin and Clement Valla.

Given access to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, Erik Berglin and Clement Valla used an auto batch-processing program intended for making panoramic images to “stich” together up to six different works at a time, creating these photographic works automatically and randomly.

Iconoclashes will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, at 6 PM at ADA Gallery, located at 228 W. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display throughout the month of Janaury.

Steady Sounds: WORK from Nicholas Crider

This month, Steady Sounds presents an exhibition of new work by local artist Nicholas Crider. The exhibition will open on First Friday, January 3, beginning at 5 PM, at Steady Sounds, located at 322 W. Broad St. It will remain on display throughout the month of January.

New Normal Studio: Your Failure Iz My Happiness

New Normal is a new gallery joining the First Friday roundup for 2014. Their first show is Your Failure Iz My Happiness, featuring new work by Boris Bernard, who will have $5 prints available. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, at 7 PM, at New Normal Studio/Apparel, located at 212 E. Clay St. The exhibition will remain on display throughout the month of January.

Glave Kocen Gallery: Size Doesn’t Matter


Rob Browning, “Twins in Field” 16″x 20″ Oil on Canvas

This month, Glave Kocen Gallery presents their seventh annual small works invitational, Size Doesn’t Matter. The exhibition features over 150 works by 38 different artists. Size Doesn’t Matter will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, from 6-9 PM at Glave Kocen Gallery, located at 1620 W. Main St. Art will remain on display throughout the month of January.

Uptown Gallery: It’s Elemental, My Dear Watson


Janet Vissher, October Creation

This month, Uptown Gallery, located at 1305 W. Main St, presents It’s Elemental, My Dear Watson, their annual all-members show, which this year focuses on elements of design. Viewer interaction is encouraged. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, January 3, beginning at 6 PM, at which artists will speak about their work. Art will remain on display throughout the month of January.

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PLEASE NOTE: Several local galleries who normally participate in First Friday will be having openings next week instead, including Ghostprint Gallery, Elegba Folklore Society, 1708 Gallery, Art 180, Quirk Gallery, Candela Gallery, and Reynolds Gallery. Check them out next Friday!

Artists! Galleries! Would you like your future First Friday events covered in these monthly articles? We might hear about your event anyway, but why leave it to chance? Email your press releases to andrew@rvamag.com.

Marilyn Drew Necci

Marilyn Drew Necci

Former GayRVA editor-in-chief, RVA Magazine editor for print and web. Anxiety expert, proud trans woman, happily married.




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