JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on APRIL 5th
from 7–11pm. RSVP

The South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk is a self-guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring exhibitions and special performances.

• Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 South First St. map

  
  

  Artist’s Reception: Death Will Tear Us Apart, Mike Egan (Pittsburgh, PA) solo exhibition

  Death can find us in many forms through our lives. Whether it’s the death of a friendship, a marriage, a relationship or the physical death of someone close to us. Death can come to us as a skeleton, a devil or even a blood thirsty wolf. In his newest body of work, Egan shares his story about these characters who may be heart broken, filled with rage, spitting out lies or happy to have friends nearby for support. He has seen the many faces of death and has found the strength to come back to life.

  Mike Egan received his BFA from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Shortly after he went on to receive a diploma in funeral directing and embalming from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. While working in funeral homes for five years, Egan developed his own style of painting. Although he is no longer working in funeral homes, his time spent working as a funeral director/embalmer still greatly influences his paintings today.

  
  Little Accusations, charcoal on paper, 40″ x 48″

  Currently on view in galleryONE: Deciphering the Ash of Effigies
  Joseph Loughborough (UK) solo exhibition

  MUSIC: Comfort Slacks

• Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery – 499 South Market St. map

  
  

  Inspired Clay A juried exhibit of 28 sculptural works by 24 artists of the Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild, including prize-winning pieces by Lisa LaRocca, Nancy Niles, and Doris Fischer-Colbrie.

  Show debut and reception for the artists in conjunction with South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk, 7-11pm Friday April 5th!

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  Join us for two new feature exhibitions at KALEID Gallery:

  
  

  CHILD-SIGHT new works by Leah Jay

  There is a magic in the vision of children: puddles are lakes with glinting mermaids, dancing spirits rise from the boles of trees, and a hint of magic clouds the world … As adults the innocence of “child-sight” often dims, but we can rekindle it – through the medium of our dreams and by setting our imaginations free.

  As an artist I explore those worlds, bringing you back to a land of timeless, innocent joy. By pouring wet paint on a surface, I allow an unpredictable flow to inspire my hand. Eddies of paint free my imagination – to recall and realize magical landscapes and creatures in this mass of color. Over this fertile ground I can choose from every tool in my toolbox – brush, chalk, pencil, pen or charcoal – always striving to channel pure emotion and energy from my work.

  I’m inspired by childhood memories; fairy tales; nature in all its forms; line and color; faces and music; the lighthearted and the fantastic. My influences are those whose own visions rekindle childlike delight and wonderment: Sulamith Wulfing, Brian Froud, Alphonse Mucha, Susan Seddon Boulet, Tove Jansson and Kay Nielsen.

  

  Light and Soul Experiences in Natural and Cultural Landscapes
  solo exhibition by LAuruS Myth

  Ancient temples have been left behind almost like a dormant seed which can help us to understand our potential. Even today, the modern temples are places where people can form a community and celebrate spiritual culture. Anything from nurturing the earth through gardening, appreciation of connections, and the care and concern for others’ and their spiritual path, are all practices of spirituality. All of these actions represent the feminine energy that has been dormant in past centuries. This series depicts the fusion of sacred spaces, temples, and earth technologies. I hope to plant the seed of fertility through my work exploring spiritual connection to the earth.

  About the Artist: Patterns, symbols, vibrations and experiences from the realms of nature, technology and spirituality are celebrated elements of LAuruS Myth’s work. Born in 1987, in San Jose’s Silicon Valley, LAuruS is a prolific emerging artist who expresses the constant search inward and outward for a collective power. She graduated in 2009 with a BFA and was presented with an Award for Excellence in the Arts. Her inspiration comes from world travels and intimate interactions with other cultures. Finding a deep connection to every culture she permeates, LAuruS celebrates the varieties of culture through her paintings and hopes to evoke a worldly sense of unity.

• MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 South First St. map

  
  Jose ArenasKeepsake, acrylic on wood, 2012

  We are pleased to present Latino Art Now, MACLA’s 15th Annual Latino Art Auction.

  In MACLA’s Gallery: View the very best of contemporary Latino art from the Bay Area and beyond. Over 50 Latino artists represented through paintings, prints, photographs and mixed-media. In MACLA’s Castellano Playhouse, special guest performances starting at 8pm.

• San Jose Jazz at Pagoda Restaurant & Bamboo Lounge – 170 S Market St. map

  Fairmont Hotel, S 1st Street side, at the Hotel’s back entrance
  8:30pm Free Admission

  
  

  The Shotgun Wedding Quintet

  Formed in 2003, The Shotgun Wedding Quintet has worked to create an illicit blend of hip-hop and jazz that’s rooted in tradition, but is ever looking forward. Each member of the band is a multi-instrumentalist, making use of samplers and looping-techniques to create a wall of sound as band members shift from instrument to instrument, building continuous layers of music and rhythm. As a result, this 5-piece ensemble creates the sound of a 10-piece group equal parts big-band and boom-bap.

  The Shotgun Wedding Quintet is comprised of Dublin (emcee), Adam Theis (bass, synth bass, trombone, tuba), Joe Cohen (sax, organ, synthesizer, piano), and pDubL (on drums, sampler). The group’s newest album Tales From The Barbary Coast is currently available. This collective was a hit performance at Summer Fest 2011.

• San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map

  
  Chamba Rumal, showing the Raas Lila – the dance of the cowherd Lord Krishna with the gopis or cow girl herders 20th Century Chamba. Cotton, silk embroidery, 21.5″ x 21.5″

  
  Junco Sato Pollack, Kesa Study Series -Kinhin # 5, metallic threads on pieced, layered polyester fabric, 2012

  On view: Folk Indian Textiles from the Collection of Carol Summers and Meditation in Space and Time: Junco Sato Pollack Sutra Chant Hangings and Stitched Mandalas

  

  Performance: Abhinaya student Ishani Joshi performs The Thillana. A joyous piece containing intricate rhythmic patterns and sculputuresque poses. The concluding lyric of this vivacious finale praises the Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, the universal mother, who resides everywhere in the form of Om, and grants auspiciousness to all.

  Fiber Salon activity: Marginal Embroidery – Who says you need an embroidery pattern to make something awesome? Just like scribbling on a notepad during a phone call, embroidery can be off-the-cuff and lackadaisical. Use your scribble-skills to create a unique fabric accent for pillows, tote bags, or for a wall decoration. All you need is the will to doodle and some simple embroidery skills.

• San Jose Stage Company Courtyard – 490 South First St. map

  
  

  Billy Sheen is an electro-Indie Synth pop trio based out of San Francisco Bay Area consisting of local artists Jesse Huelsenkamp aka G.Willikers(of Rebelskamp), Justin Huelsenkamp aka Tributaries (of Rebelskamp), Benji Renard aka Box and tone/Benji the not, and of course the legendary iconic Billy Sheen of Iceland. A mixture of electronic, tongue and cheek, gothic, melancholy, pop-eighties sound done in a modern mystique of class and style.

• Seeing Things Gallery – 30 North Third St. map

  
  

  Seeing Things Gallery is proud to announce its South First Friday Art walk show for April 5th is Friendly Fire.

  The event features collaborative art pieces by Jason Adams and: Chet Childress, Bigfoot, Jai Tanju, Russ Pope, Duane Peters, Joe Brook, Josie Perez-Romandetta, Sid Enck Jr., Dan Drehobl and Noah Olmstead of Vintage Letter Press

• Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map

  
  artwork by Jay Rudland

  Residues of Time

  Each image in this group photography exhibition confronts the transformative nature of time and its impact on human perspective. Yesterday’s villain can become today’s hero as assuredly as last night’s scraps become this evening’s delicacy. The opposite is also true, as beauty inevitably decays.

• ZERO1 Garage – 439 South First St. map

  
  

  Experience research in action as the ZERO1 Fellows take over the ZERO1 Garage for April’s South FIRST FRIDAY. Learn more about socially engaged artistic practice through a video screening organized by ZERO1 Fellow Cecilia Galiena. Participate in collaborative storytelling exercises with Fellow Daniela Steinsapir, and explore place-to-place networked communication with Fellow Paula Levine. The ZERO1 Fellowship is a platform for artistic experimentation that recognizes the artist as the ultimate provocateur, risk-taker, and untapped resource of innovation. Working in collaboration with partner companies, cultural institutions, and academic research centers, ZERO1 Fellows are charged with developing lines of artistic research and cultural production in response to a specific innovation challenge. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the ZERO1 Fellows and participate in artistic experimentation and creative problem solving first hand.

• Cafe Stritch – 374 South First St. map

  

  featuring art by Erin Salazar

  “The art that I make is rooted in the balance and juxtaposition of the accidental and the intentional. I came from a dirt town riddled with drugs and poverty and it is my intention to elevate the necessity of DIY customization and integrate that into the learned, academic, fine arts world. Visually, I allude to the fine line work of custom pin-striping commonly found on the hoods and side-panels of hot-rod cars. In a second body of work, I heavily employ the use of more “feminine” tactics, using lace, buttons, and thread as a vehicle to uplift my modest upbringing. This work is almost always on flat black, because “Primer Is Finer”, baby.”

  I graduated SJSU in Year 10 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, emphasis in Drawing and Painting. I am the Owner, Manager, & Sole Proprietor of Wreck Creation Studios, with which I re-purpose clothing, paint skateboard decks, and paint murals with a “fine arts” emphasis.”

  

  Music by Plantain

  Plantain is the musical vessel of James Fenwicke (Mumlers, Continuous Peasant), Andy Paul (Mumlers), Robert Eck and Brad Pejack. Part summer fun, part winter hibernation odes, Plantain began in San Jose in 2008 and released their debut album “Fall of a Candy Empire” on vinyl record last July. They play loosely concise, eclectic folk songs that incorporate many instruments from banjo, trumpet, and marxophone and bring to mind the Velvet Underground, Candlebox, and Real Estate.

  Also Jeff Brummett from Doctor Nurse/ Dinners will be DJing for the night.

• Caffé Frascati – 315 South First St. map

  First Fridays is Caffe Frascati Opera Night presented by First Street Singers, with the Bay Area’s finest opera singers performing your very favorite classical arias and duets live in the cafe!

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  
  

  Join us after Candlelight Yoga (5:30-6:45pm), as we open our doors to the downtown community and art patrons starting 7pm, for the South First Fridays Art Walk, a self-guided nighttime tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring eclectic art exhibitions and special performances. All art venues are FREE & open to the public.

  Downtown Yoga Shala is proud to be one of the venues on the art walk. We are happy to feature the artwork of one of our members, Tracey Ariga! Don’t miss the special live musical performance by Cado starting at 7:30pm. You won’t want to miss this!

  Anthony Trayer and Tracey Ariga come together for the first time to mesh two styles of painting for the Mind, Body, Soul exhibit.

  Anthony was born and raised in the South Bay, where he has been surrounded by and has embraced the cultural diversity. He is an artist that exudes passion and captures this and his cultural surroundings in the various styles of his work. In the late 90’s those who had an appreciation for Graffiti in the South Bay all knew Anthony’s work. It started with simple written words that turned into elaborate wall paintings. Where there was and still is a lot of controversy around Graffiti, this was a way for Anthony to express himself freely. His past and current experiences with life have led to the creations we see today.

  Tracey captures the essence of the feminine in her work. Her paintings are meant to evoke an emotion, more importantly than the content itself. Her work is inspired by nature and the energy force found within all of us.

  “The challenge is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else”.

• Eco Monster – 30 North Third St. map

  
  

  EcoMonster participates in the South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk with the Fruits and Vegetables Art exhibit by Géraldine Adams.

  Géraldine Adams, a San Jose based French Artist and illustrator, is passionate about food and Kitchen Art. The Fruits and Vegetables Art series is a botanical, retro style looking collection, inspired by vintage educational French school posters. It offers a large selection of original hand drawn illustration reproductions featuring seasonal fruits, vegetables, plants and herbs posters in different sizes. The show presents for the first time in San Jose her handmade, archival quality, signed giclée prints.

• Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

  

  Phantom Galleries presents From Chaos new original works by Dylan Kelly // Chaos938 Studios at Good Karma Vegan Cafe.

  From Chaos is a collection of brand new artwork by South Bay artist Dylan Kelly, painting under the alias Chaos938 since 2003. Using reclaimed wooden panels, spray paint & acrylics He creates a vibrancy and texture with each piece that is very unique.

  This colorful show embodies new paintings, with limited edition screen prints, and a photo retrospective of the many aerosol murals created this year in the bay area by the Artist. All prints are signed and numbered collectables.

• LGBTQ Youth Space – 452 South First St. map

  

  All I See, Are Trees, That Will Be, displayed for the last month of this themed gallery… We will be displaying our appreciation for trees for the last time in April’s South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk. Trees are apart of our everyday lives, they help us breathe in times of need. One of our community’s own Artist Pikachu created From Hardships to Acceptance, a clay piece that describes the negative and positive experiences that queer youth face. All made out of flour clay, tempura paint and paper this is A MUST SEE piece.

• The Metro Gallery – 550 South First St. map

  

  Seven Trees photography by Daniel Valencia

  Born in San Jose, CA, Daniel Valencia is a photographer that has had a camera in his hands since he was eight. He has photographed literally everything, and I know that many people say that they photograph everything but this guy really has photographed everything and I don’t mean that in a good way. For a while he hadn’t found a style or consistent subject matter, he was unstable and unsure. Nevertheless I have watched his work evolve and mature, from skateboarding to street photography, from capturing the human condition to journalistic work. This body of work though is about his home, his neighborhood, Seven Trees. The socio-economic status of the area and the socio-psychological effects on its inhabitants. This is his work and with this work he will one day innovate photography, if he already hasn’t. ~Edgar Godinez

• Pho69 – 321 South First St. map

  
  Neverwhere, oil on paper, 2012

  Phantom Galleries presents artist Roan Victor at Pho69 Restaurant.

  The California natives symbolize, with conscious effort, the natural growth of imagination and inspiration from mundane things around us. In some of the work I also tried to personify the plants according to their characteristics. ~Roan Victor

• Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map

  
  art by Kori Thompson

  Psycho Donuts in downtown San Jose is a quirky donut shop and art gallery. The gallery displays top local artists and has an ongoing exhibit featuring the work of John Renzel, Lacey Bryant, Nicolas Caesar, Murphy Adams, Christine Benjamin, Michael Foley, Michael Borja, Valery Milovic, Carlos Villez, Eric Joyner, Laura Callin Bennett, Michelle Waters, John Hageman and Robert McColley!

• Studio Climbing Gym – 396 South First St. map

  
  

  The Studio Rock Climbing Gym presents new works by Terenia Offenbacker.

  “Art for me is a constant search for new ways of expressing my self and the core of my being.”

  My creative part was dormant for over 25 years after very serious injury in car accident. I never worked with collage or mixed media before but these mediums brought me closer to express my self with out worry about fine lines, also helped me build a confidence to use brushes again. Trough out the years I drifted from papers to recycled die cuts, all forms of old hardware and found objects. My main goal is to recycle anything is discarded and make art of it, its feel good to recycle.

  I balance my mixed media work with oil paintings mostly of my family members and friends. My figurative work is base on my admiration for Amadeo Modigliani. I love his simplicity and I try work in similar style with my own mixed media twist.

• TechShop San Jose – 300 South Second St. map

  

  Check out the TechShop San Jose lobby where we will be hosting the gallery opening of Darius B’Alexander, our first Resident Artist! TechShop members will also be setting up their tables in the conference room to sell their DIY work!

• Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  
  Image: , by Tara Odorizzi

  Glyph an exhibition that explores the relationship of text and art across a wide variety of media, from painting to installation to book arts.

  Opening Art Reception Friday, April 5th 6-9pm, with live music by Mark Davis on keyboard and Julian Borrego on bass