November 2014 First Fridays

Support the art community in Richmond and head out to the November 2014 First Fridays art walk.

November 7, 2014; 1:06 PM • by Jennifer Nesossis

Here is a rundown of what to see during First Fridays this month:

“The Bottom Needs A Shadow,” a collaborative installation by Thomas Burkett, Alexander Hayden, and Aaron Koehn, brings together objects to address ideas concerning the adaptive life of a city, an economy, a geography, a body of water, and a species.

“Cruiselandia,” a new exhibition of paintings by Ryan Browning. Browning describes how his paintings are influenced by role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, board games like Risk, and the ever-changing cityscape of his current home Doha, Qatar..

Art 180, in partnership with Sunburst Projects, presents an exhibition spotlighting visual art made by young people with HIV/AIDS living in Kisumu, Kenya. The opening reception will take place during November’s First Fridays from 6-9 p.m. with an art activity to support the young people in Kenya.

Candela Books + Gallery is releasing its fifth book, “Black Forest,” to coincide with an exhibition featuring 27 photographs from 17 contributors chosen from the book’s pages. “Black Forest” is a collection featuring the work of more than 50 contemporary photographers, including Roger Ballen, Arthur Tress, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Elijah Gowin, Louviere and Vanessa, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Irina Ionesco, Julie Blackmon, Gilles Berquet and many other internationally known photographers.

“Subjective Odds: New work in objet trouve by Mike Coleman and Jeremy Satterlund” features found object montage work from Mike Coleman and Jeremy Satterlund. Coleman, a long-time resident of Richmond, uses hand blown glass, erotic imagery & light to create uncertain drama while Satterlund, relies on text taken from old books to augment the contemplative foreboding of the textured forms and somber hues of his singular work.

“RVA as Seen Through the Pinhole,” is an exhibition of black and white photographs by James W. Draper, Jr., produced using the techniques of pinhole photography.
A pinhole camera and imagery to record will be included in the exhibition, and visitors to the cultural center can try it out.

“Yolk,” an exhibition of new work from Chen Wang, Christian Gregory, Brooke Inman, Ian Gamble, Olivia Lewis, and Jesse Burrowes.

“Tracing the Origin” includes the work of MyungSook Ryu Kim. MyungSook’s work is an experiment of transferring traditional East Asian art forms onto the Western canvas. She has innovatively adapted the Asian themes of nature, earth, heaven, flowers, and ancient Chinese characters.

“Out of Sight,” an exhibition of paintings and ceramics by Jeanie Keys. The subjects Keys chooses to portray show their “inner nature,” rather than referencing the outer world, and are expressed through her subjective mood. Most particularly in her more recent work, they become independent of naturalistic colors and shapes, conveying sensation before likeness. Each work will be named “Untitled” in order to leave the viewer free to interpret it independent of the artist.

“Indigenous Art” by Stacey Littledeer & Mar Makay, in the Rear Gallery from 6-10PM.

The fine folks at mOb & Storefront for Community Design will be performing a food-based project directed by contemporary artist J. Morgan Puett from Mildred’s Lane, and exhibiting the results of an education program run by one the mOb students, called Kids Curate.

A collection of paintings from Dave Moore, a VCU Painting and Printmaking alumnus and longtime Richmond resident.

“Through the Gates,” features a series of photographs from Peter Beliaev, a Richmond freelance photographer.
New Normal Apparel will be printing and selling tees with selected photographs from Peter’s collection.

In this 9th year of Sparkle Plenty at Quirk Gallery, curators Mary Fleming and Ashley Buchanan challenged 9 artists to create 20 pieces in 2 months. They wondered if putting the timeline in the forefront of everyone’s mind, would it cause any artists to use materials they’ve never used before? Would it cause them to go outside their comfort zone? Come find out. Like last year everything is cash and carry. The Shop Wall show and Vault also feature new exhibits by Shelly Klein and Mickael Broth.

In the Gellman Room & Dooley Hall: “Reconstructed” – mixed media artwork that explores the idea of finding balance amidst chaos by Richmond artist Melanie Kluender
In the Dooley Foyer: “Landscapes” – different vistas from Maine, Virginia, and Spain by Richmond artist Laura Heyward
The library’s permanent collections include works by David Freed, Helen & Alvin Hattorf, and Anne Newbold Perkins.

“Don’t Go In the Hot Tub,” a group show by Brianna Rigg, Allison Wiese and Joe Yorty. Composed primarily of sculpture, or of two-dimensional artworks that flatten the object, “Don’t Go In the Hot Tub” explores how the patina of domesticity, travel, leisure, and labor, rubs up against the physical reality of the body.

“Grapes and Hops,” a gallery exhibit by Christopher Mize, Virginia’s Wine Artist
“Body Mapping” highlights the stories of eight UK HealthCare transplant patients.

20th Annual Museum Stores of Richmond Holiday Shoppers’ Fair features fifteen of the best local museum stores under one roof. To celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary, the fair will host a birthday party on Friday evening (5:00–8:30 PM) with cake and refreshments—including Virginia wine—as well as 20 percent off all merchandise.

“Missing Richmond,” by Edwin Slipek focuses on Richmond’s blocks and alleys. “Missing Richmond” is part of the 2014-15 Tucker-Boatwright Festival of Literature and the Arts.

15th Annual “Art2go, Artistic Gifts Exhibition of Small Works, Miniature Art, Sculpture and Fine Art Crafts” in the Main Gallery, with a new collection of Handmade Jewelry and Artisanware in the Gallery Shop. The 15th Annual Holiday Exhibition “Art2go” is a mixed media group exhibition of invitational and open call art work and artisanware perfect for giving. This new offering of 200+ small canvases, prints and photographs, sculpture, jewelry, mixed media and ceramics is from more than 3 dozen mostly local artists.