It’s the last First Friday Art Walk of the school year, and all the students are worrying about exams, but for all of us who’ve seen the inside of a classroom for the last time, it’s smooth sailing.
It’s the last First Friday Art Walk of the school year, and all the students are worrying about exams, but for all of us who’ve seen the inside of a classroom for the last time, it’s smooth sailing. So this weekend, enjoy art for all the people who won’t be able to because they’re in the library reading through dusty tomes by candlelight like Bob Cratchit. Or however it is that kids these days study. By the way, those of you who are reading this instead of studying for finals should also come out tomorrow night, because why waste a perfectly good Friday night on work? It’s no fun–believe me, I have plenty of firsthand knowledge. Don’t be like me–hit up the First Friday Art Walk this week, and enjoy life while you can. Here are some of the things you’ll see happening around town this weekend:
Ghostprint Gallery: I Am You
Someone #2, Oil on Canvas 6 x 6 inches, 2014
This month, Ghostprint Gallery presents I Am You, new paintings by Lacey McKinney created during her residency in Australia.
The concept for this series of paintings emerged during McKinney’s artist’s residency in Fremantle Australia in 2013. She observed that most visitors to the gallery were invested in the autobiographical nature of the representation: “People always want to know the “who” related to representational figurative painting. So, I started making them faceless, blurred or with many faces; to counteract the way we cling to a defining identification”. Her added intention in this work is to present the phenomenal body as an evolving entity, altered by moving through time, quite unlike the simple autobiographical statement of the “selfie”. The faces in her paintings reflect these multiple moments of existence producing an ambiguous sense of identity. By questioning identity as an absolute state, McKinney challenges the conception of self and describes these paintings not as portraits but rather “anti-portraits”.
I Am You premieres on Thursday, May 1 from 6-9 PM, and again on First Friday, May 2, from 6-9 PM, at Ghostprint Gallery, located at 220 W. Broad St. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Gallery 5: Communication Arts Senior Show
This month, Gallery 5 will feature the senior show for the VCU Department Of Communication Arts.
This show is the culmination of everything we’ve learned in our time here at good ‘ol Franklin Terrace, so on display we’ll have a little bit of everything. From digital painting, concept design, comics, graphic design, oil portraiture, figure drawing, and 3-d modeling, we’ve pretty much got it all. So join us and feast your eyes (art!), your ears (live music!), and your tummies (delicious finger food!) …and if you still need convincing for some reason, maybe consider the wise words of Professor Tyler Darden: “it’s just a big party.”
The Communication Arts Senior Show premieres on First Friday, May 2, starting at 6 PM and featuring live music from Heavy Midgets, Swordplay, and Energy 2000, at Gallery 5, located at 200 W. Marshall St.
Quirk Gallery: Tenley Beazley, Jonathan Hirsch, Brandon Peck
Quirk Gallery features three openings this month: Tenley Beazley’s Pastoral And Beyond in the Main Gallery, new works by Brandon Peck in the Shop Show, and new works by Jonathan Hirsch in The Vault.
With my latest body of work, I continue to pay homage to the wonders of nature through the examination of the individual elements. By isolating the details, deconstructing, and reassembling both visually and physically, I am able to communicate my version of nature in all its glory. Rather than trying to recreate something that is already so perfect, I seek to draw attention to the glorious details that are often overlooked.
In Pastoral & Beyond I hope to capture these details in all of their masses – a wildflower meadow, the edge of a white birch grove, a whirl of butterflies, the entangled branches of a newly flowering tree. Nature’s open spaces assault our visual senses with texture, color, depth, line, obscurity and detail. In hopes of communicating this wonderful visual assault, I have attempted to push my paper ‘canvas’ beyond what it typically houses, layering a mix of materials to visually achieve these landscapes of nature while still maintaining the details.
As with all my works on paper, the aesthetic outcome is as important to me as is the process through which I achieve the outcome. Aesthetically, I hope my works are pleasing but somewhat challenging, drawing the observer in to decipher what is obvious and what is obscure. Through my process of layering, I continue to discover new ways to combine actual elements from nature with a combination of materials — some obvious partnerships, and some not so obvious – challenging the paper beneath as well as my own familiarity with the materials.–Tenley Beazley
All three of these shows will open with an Artist’s Reception on Thursday, May 1 from 5-8 PM, followed by a First Friday reception on Friday, May 2 from 5-9 PM, at Quirk Gallery, located at 311 W. Broad St. Art will remain on display through May 31.
The Gallery At UNOS: The Art Of The Scar
A scar is seen by many as ugly and something to be concealed. For transplant recipients, a scar is a mark of beauty and of life. Fifteen transplant recipients teamed up with 30 Clover Hill High School Photography Club students to show off their scars. The unique project resulted in this exhibition of photography, acrylic paintings and mixed media. It’s The Art of the SCAR.
The Art Of The Scar will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 5-7:30 PM, at The Gallery At UNOS, located at 700 N. Fourth St, featuring refreshments by the Bull & Bear Club. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Visual Art Studio: Choices & Nature’s Bounty
This month, Visual Art Studio presents Choices, new pastels by G.E. Hayob, Nature’s Bounty, new paintings by Anh-Van Truong, and Guatemalan Life, new photographs by Anne Hart Chay. These shows will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, beginning at 6 PM, at Visual Arts Studio, located at 208 W. Broad St. The evening will feature a hoop dancing performance by Spiral Richmond Arts Collaborative, under the direction of Ruckus Raising, and BBQ by Franklin Crump of GFC Catering. Art will remain on display through June 13.
EDIT: What If You Lived Anywhere Else?
EDIT: is pleased to host the debut show of our artist in residence, Benjamin Winans! Come see his exciting new series of paintings, challenging the viewer to think about those people who risk their lives… to go grocery shopping, or to church; others who live in areas far more dangerous than the safety we so often take for granted in America.
What If You Lived Anywhere Else? will open with a reception on Friday, May 2, from 6-9 PM, at EDIT Gallery, located at 8 E. Broad St. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Art 180: Into The Future
ART 180 is pleased to announce its first exhibition spotlighting visual artwork made exclusively by high school seniors in the Richmond area. The multi-media show celebrates teens’ creativity as they make the leap to the next phase of their lives.
The Into the Future show aims to share and honor the experience of students reaching the culmination of their high school years. “We are eager to support the creative expression of young people throughout the area, not just those participating in ART 180 programs,” said Betsy Kelly, ART 180’s program director. “Every young person has a voice that contributes to the life and learning of our community.”
Into The Future will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 6-9 PM, at Atlas, Art 180’s Art Center For Teens, located at 114 W. Marshall St. Art will remain on display through May 30.
ADA Gallery: Hamburger Head
Trunks, ink and watercolor on paper, 22 x 30″, 2013
This month, ADA Gallery presents Hamburger Head, a selection of new works by Chris Norris.
In this show we see before us the artist’s observations of a fractured life and explorations of his own self-worth through the lens of a fictionalized alter-ego character that he calls the “Hamburger Head.”
The work in this collection is visually challenging-it incorporates the suggestion of authoritative order, yet these systems are disrupted with shocking and vibrant, discordant color. The almost psychedelic use of line and color forces the viewer from a place of comfort to one in which they must confront the works to make their own coherent interpretations. Each new meaning extracted is a new myth created between the artist and the viewer.
These opaque invented narratives go to further the artist’s intention of ‘telling tales that have a point but no conclusion.’ He uses the layers of imagery allegorically in an attempt to touch upon certain small truths of human existence. As the viewer is drawn deeper into the loosely defined bounds of the reality depicted in these pictures, the boundaries of what makes up this existence must be examined as well.
Hamburger Head will open with a preview reception on Thursday, May 1, from 7-9 PM, followed by a First Friday reception on May 2, from 6-9 PM, at ADA Gallery, located at 228 W. Broad St. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Sediment Arts: Possible Futures
Sediment is pleased to present Possible Futures, an exhibition of works by first year VCU Photography and Film MFA students Alex Arzt, Alex Matzke, Josh Thorud, and Tony Smith.
Possible Futures will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 6-10 PM, at Sediment Arts, located at 208 E. Grace St. Art will remain on display through May 17.
New Normal Apparel: Starry Eyed
New Normal Apparel presents Starry Eyed, a solo show by Richmond artist Patty Sikorsky. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 7-10 PM, at New Normal Apparel, located at 212 E. Clay St 1B. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Candela Gallery: Habitation
Candela Gallery presents Habitation, a selection of new work by Pamela Pecchio.
In Habitation, Pamela Pecchio utilizes the photograph as an insightful documentation of the physical and psychological spaces we call home. Recognizing both the poetry and the mundanity of our everyday surroundings, Pecchio continues, for over a decade now, to investigate “the habitat of the home, where we are able to let down our guard and express our most idiosyncratic habits,” taking special care to highlight our complex relationships with objects, color, light, space, and landscape. Though this series of photographs is devoid of actual people, the collected objects and imagery of the home offer a particular kind of portrait, as the dweller remains present in their inhabited space.
There will be a preview reception and artist’s talk for Habitation on Thursday, May 1 from 5-8 PM, followed by a First Friday reception on May 2 from 5-9 PM, at Candela Gallery, located at 214 W. Broad St. Art will remain on display through June 28.
103 E. Broad: POWERWASH (VCU Photography Department Senior Showcase)
Not sure if this is a new gallery, a pop-up venue, or what, but this month at 103 E. Broad, the VCUarts Photography Department will present their Senior Showcase, POWERWASH. It will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 5-9:30 PM at 103 E. Broad St. For more info, click here.
9WG Studios: Art In Shambles
This month, 9WG Studios presents Art In Shambles 25th Anniversary Exhibit.
Join Richmond cartoonists David J. Bromley & Phillip Bowles at 9WG Studios – their second exhibit in three months – the comics just keep coming! Fresh from their Everyone Likes Pizza exhibit at Richmond Public Library, the artists are thrilled to rejoin the Art Walk with 9WG. This is a special anniversary show celebrating the comic book venture launched in RVA back in 1990. Art In Shambles #1 is now a clollector’s item and in the special collections division of VCU’s Cabell Library. Evolving into a comic strip, it became a regular feature in Punchline Magazine and also appeared in Throttle and ARTiculate Magazines.
These new works are paintings and posters – join the fun and laughs as VCU’s most irreverient MFAs poke fun at their own profession! Scenes include artists & models, the studio, sidewalk sales, and art museums, while the timeline covers the Renaissance to the modern day. The upstairs gallery will feature a mini-retrospective of some of the original works by David Bromley and Jim Hall. You will not want to miss the silliness or the satire!
Art In Shambles’ 25th Anniversary Exhibit will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 5-8 PM, at 9WG Studios, located at 9 W. Grace St. Art will remain on display through June 30.
Corporate And Museum Frame: Original Beauty
Corporate & Museum Frame is excited to present Original Beauty: Portraits and Fallen Pastorals by Richmond-based artists, Joseph Johnson and Spencer L. Turner, which use traditional tropes related to beauty to explore race, media culture and the erotic. Johnson’s photos, taken ten years ago, feature several nude African American women in classic poses of beauty. His lens, both direct and sympathetic, ties his models into a centuries-long dialogue about the nature of aesthetics and the cultural filters that can obscure and pervert our sensibilities.
Turner’s work explores the distortions created by the nature of our hyper visual media culture and the struggle to create meaning in a time of such cultural upheaval. Couched in the language of Romanticism and referencing a famous literary relationship of influence between John Milton and William Blake, Turner’s photo montages challenge viewers to critique the way in which they consume information and suggest a reassessment of values in the post-internet age.
Original Beauty will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 6-8 PM, at Corporate & Museum Frame, located at 301 W. Broad St.
Henry Street Gallery: Fantasy, Myths & Magic!
This month, the Henry Street Gallery presents Fantasy, Myths & Magic, a selection of new works by Anthony Thomas, in the front gallery, along with a group show in the rear gallery. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 6-9 PM, at Henry Street Gallery, located at 422 W. Broad St.
Brazier Gallery: Love Stories
This month, Brazier Gallery presents Love Stories, a collection of new works by Kristin Clark. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 6:30-8:30 PM at Brazier Gallery, located at 1616 W. Main St. Art will remain on display through May 31.
Page Bond Gallery: Recent Still Life And Selected Work From The Naxos Series & Print
Poem, Tim O’Kane, 2014, Oil on panel, 27 x 25 1/4 inches
The Page Bond Gallery is pleased to present Recent Still Life & Selected Works From The Dream Series “Naxos”: New Paintings by Tim O’Kane and Print: A Group Exhibition of Prints featuring work by John Baldessari, Nell Blaine, Will Cotton, Shepard Fairey, Helen Frankenthaler, Mary Heilmann, Ellsworth Kelly, Wolf Kahn, Kenneth Noland, Richard Serra, Pat Steir, Donald Sultan, and Sue Williams.
Recent Still Life & Selected Works From The Dream Series “Naxos” & Print will open with a reception on First Friday, May 2, from 7-9 PM at Page Bond Gallery, located at 1625 W. Main St. Art will remain on display through May 30.
—-
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.
