JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on December 6th
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

  Gallery will be closed on FIRST FRIDAY.

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

  
  

  Higher Fire Holiday Show

  Now in its 4th BIG year! Excellent bargains and variety make the Hi-Fi Holiday Show a wonderful opportunity to purchase local artists’ work for unique holiday presents! On First Friday, sample sumptuous holiday treats while browsing, and create your own Gingerbread-Person (non-clay, edible variety)!

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  
  Floating Book by Shannon Amidon

  HARK! 12th Annual Holiday Show & Sale + Artists’ Holiday Party

  It’s that wonderful time of year when 60+ artists offer their signature works of art at especially affordable prices for holiday gift giving!

  Participating artists include resident KALEID artists as well as an invited group of talented regional artists. Hundreds of works of art will be our main feature exhibit for this holiday season, all ready to go home with you at time of purchase!

  Join us for the artists’ holiday party and sale kick off during the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk on December 6th, 7pm-11pm. Wear your UGLY holiday sweater for photo opps and a chance at GREAT prizes! EcoMonster will be here as well hosting a Snow Globe making station ($10./ includes all crafting supplies).

  HARK! Artists
  Michael Accorsi, Murphy Adams, Jaclyn Alderete, Fernando Amaro, Shannon Amidon, Erica Atreya, Darius B’Alexander, Deb Barba, Omar Barba, Mariana Barnes, Christine Benjamin, Laura Bennett, Sandi Billingsley, Julie Bilyeu, Steve Borelli, Bryson Bost, Lacey Bryant, Nicolas Caesar, David Canavese, Shone Chacko, Jesse Cupp, Jean Davis, Jarid Duran, EcoMonster, EricaA, Carolann Espino, Tulio Flores, Donny Foley, Michele Guieu, Katie Gutierrez, Jeff Hemming, Kushlani Jayasinha, Felipe Jimenez, Oscar Knutsson, Leeonista, Katrina Marie Loera, Matthew Lopez, Josh Marcotte, Nadja Martens, Kimy Martinez, Mariya Milovidova, Sara Mordecai , Avery Palmer, Gianfranco Paolozzi, John Paulson, James Pollard, Al Preciado, Sam Raske, Steven Reece, Jen Renzel, Blaise Rosenthal, Valerie Runningwolf, Matthew Seigel, Yelena Shabrova, Maggie So, Lara Sophia, Steven Suiter, Courtney Thiesen, Kori Thompson, Amanda Triplett, Tanya Varga, Andy Wallace, Michelle Waters, JoAnne Yada, Yumi

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

  
  Yolanda Guerra, Celia Cruz, Miracle Tortilla Series, 2013. Digital print on fabric, embroidery.

  MAIZE Y MAS: From Mother to Monster?

  This group exhibition explores the unique heritage of maize in the Americas and illustrates this crop’s journey from pre-Columbian times to today: once a sacred staple associated with a mother/virgin figure, today an engineered product which many compare to a monster.

  Work by Yvonne Escalante, Yolanda Guerra, Fernando Mastrangelo, Viva Paredes, and Jorge Rojas.

  Capoeira of San Jose 8-9:30pm: Enjoy this Brazilian martial art that combines dance, acrobatics and music.

• Phantom Galleries – 376 South 1st St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents Dysfunctional by Andrew Agutos

  “My canvases are windows into an ideal world imagined in my head. Architectural, geometric structures are surrounded and covered in patterns referencing pop art, abstract expressionism and graffiti. Remixed Warhol-camouflage, iconic cartoon imagery and colors from the fashion world are presented in a synthetic space much like the internet. Organic forms are layered with angular shapes, creating environments that are comfortable, chaotic, inviting and unknown.”

• Phantom Galleries – 95 South Market St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries present Astra Inclinant, non Necessitant by Jesse Cupp

  Jesse explores the vastness of space in abstraction, from varied vantage points. Some works depict nothing but the all-encompassing firmament; other show space from a more terrestrial point of view, perhaps a familiar scene from your life.

  Culturally, we often have extreme relationships with the stars, giving them far too much power or not nearly enough. Some believe they offer unerring predictions of our lives and futures, and leave their lives to fate, resigned to the inevitability of all events. They are afraid to enact change in their lives, for they already know their own efforts are useless. Others live in a world of artificial lights and gadgets, never looking up to the heavens for perspective. These consumers hold fast to the idea that they are the masters of their own fate, control their own destinies, and cling to the self. To look into the night sky, raw and unveiled by urban light pollution, would strike terror into the heart. A single human life pales in comparison to the eternal brilliance of the stars, becomes little more than a mean wraith’s fleeting shadow. These Egoists are afraid to leave even a little of their lives to fate, for doing so would shrink the importance of the self.

  What makes a healthy view of the stars? Reflect upon them, balance the fact of their towering, fearful greatness with the feeling that you, in all your smallness, do matter. The stars make up the universe, but you make up your own universe. Reflect on yourself, and balance the fact of the agency you exercise in your own life with the feeling that external forces can and will affect your life in ways beyond your control. Discover the relief of giving up some of that control to friends and family, and embrace your human connections. Fall back to the middle ground, where life is less certain, but has more truth. The stars incline; they do not determine.

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

  
  

  Fiberart International

  This internationally renowned exhibition is considered the premier platform and benchmark for the latest movements and innovations in the ever-evolving field of fiber art. Pushing the boundaries of fiber art, the exhibit showcases works that are both conceptually groundbreaking and visually stunning. The show, which is a west coast premiere, features 40 works from a diverse group of 37 national and international artists, both acclaimed and emerging, and explores a wide spectrum of textile practices.

  
  Cathy Breslaw, Forever Plaid, 2009, Industrial mesh, mixed media, layering and weaving, 17” x 16”

  Translucence: Cathy Breslaw
  Southern California artist Cathy Breslaw’s recent work uses a unique material— an industrial mesh sourced in Shanghai—that she layers, manipulates, and combines to create ethereal abstract hangings.

  Interpretations
  The premier exhibit for our exciting new exhibition program, FiberSpace is Interpretations, which features fourteen cloth panels created by members of the Art Cloth Network. The Art Cloth Network is a nationwide organization of professional artists who focus on the creation of Art Cloth – cloth transformed by adding or subtracting color, line, shape, texture, value or fiber to create beautiful, evocative, and seductive pieces of art. Theses artists believe that cloth in and of itself is beautiful, can invite contemplation, and engage and compel viewers via process, story and tactile appeal.

• Seeing Things Gallery – 30 North Third St. map

  
  

  Lay Low by Frances Marin

  Lay Low is a show of new work by Frances Marin. The body of work is a peek into Frances’ brain; the dreamt-up hideaways, corners and nooks she has sought out since childhood. Living in a world of incessant chatter, amongst urban sprawl and the unrelenting hum of activity, she’s strived to create the antithesis. The work is the culmination of months spent hiding out, delving into these places and seeing what can be brought out.

• Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map

  
  art work by Erica Atreya

  Eat, Drink, Be Merry!

  Works presents the annual exhibition of art from its membership, a survey of work from around our region and across the spectrum. Eat, Drink, Be Merry coincides with “Around the Table” exhibitions and includes some of our community’s most respected artists along side new and emerging talents.

• ZERO1 Garage – 439 South First St. map

  
  

  Patent Pending

  Patent Pending, is a group exhibition that uses patents as a starting point to investigate the relationship between artists, ownership, and invention. This exhibition will feature artworks by contemporary artists that have either resulted from, or led to, a patent that the artist has either received a patent for or is patent pending. Participating artists are Maggie Orth, Catherine Richards, Phil Ross, Daniel Rozin, Scott Snibbe, and Camille Utterback & Romy Achituv. As inventors and innovators, artists change the way we look at and interact with the world. Like the entrepreneurs and inventors who have defined Silicon Valley, many artists have patented interfaces, processes, and creations with broad uses beyond their art practice. Patent Pending continues ZERO1’s exploration of the relationship between artists and invention and goes behind the artist’s experiences navigating the patent system to reveal the complexities of owning and sharing ideas in contemporary times. Patent Pending was inspired, in part, by the changes in U.S. patent law that went into effect on March 16, 2013 and repositioned the United States patent filing system from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system, as well as in response to plans to open a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Silicon Valley. Throughout the exhibition, as a means to explore the role of patents in creative communities, ZERO1 will bring together the arts, entrepreneur, and legal communities in dialogue around what the changes to the U.S. patent system mean for inventions and inventors in Silicon Valley and beyond.

• Cafe Stritch – 374 South First St. map

  

  No Walls Between Us: An Exhibition of Jazz Photographs by Kathy Sloane

  Work culled from over 30 years of jazz photography by Kathy Sloane, including images from her 2011 book Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club.

• 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!

• Discover San Jose – 150 South First St., Suite 103 map

  
  

  This month, Discover San Jose features KATHRYN HEDGES, whose whimsical tea light art and holiday ornament creations are inspired by the geometry of industrial design and nature, combining modern and Victorian elements. Her portfolio also includes jewel-toned acrylic earrings and necklaces, cut from a rainbow of cast acrylic sheets, using original designs or adaptations of historical motifs. Her Steampunk work includes “Hat Tricks” embellishments and decorations fashioned after gears, keys and gearflakes cut from up-cycled cardboard and finished with metallic paints. Come by Discover San Jose for a unique offering of Holiday gifts from Katherine and more than 30 local artists.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  
  

  Abstract Organics by Sarah Reynolds

  My inspiration is found in the raw, biomorphic forms found in nature – the movement of water, and the warm, earthy tones of sand and soil. Exploring the shared qualities of both geology and human biology. Creating a sense of movement and energy in a subtle, elusive visual field.

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

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents The Lucidity of Travel photography by Gary Singh at Good Karma Vegan Café.

  In The Old Patagonian Express, Paul Theroux writes: “Travel is at its best a solitary enterprise. … What is required is the lucidity of loneliness to capture that vision which, however banal, seems in your private mood to be special and worthy of interest.” I have never met Theroux, but I did share a few stories with another iconic traveler, Tim Cahill, who facetiously told me: “As long as it’s outside your own house, it’s travel writing.” That is my attitude. One can “travel” just as much in one’s own neighborhood as he can anywhere else. The images in this show are from home and abroad.

  Gary Singh is an award-winning journalist and a Pushcart-nominated poet with a music degree who paints and takes photographs.

• The Metro Gallery – 550 South First St. map

  
  

  Metro Gallery presents Nature Unraveled Photography By Dharmesh Desai

  Dharmesh Desai is an artist with a long lingering passion for photography, travel and the outdoors. He is known for his rustic journeys where curiosity and a self-taught, impeccable eye for detail allow him to capture the beauty that surrounds him. Dharmesh has framed moments and images of places, things, and beings in some of the most beautiful parts of the world.

  Ever since Dharmesh can remember, he has always had profound respect for nature. He would venture to wilderness camps every chance he got, and be marveled with his surroundings. He wished he could share these breathtaking sights with others but didn’t have the resources.

  Then in 1997, his first year living in Utah, Dharmesh took a trip to Bryce Canyon National Park and brought along a disposable camera. He printed pictures at Walmart and showed one of them to his friend and respected colleague Matt D’Alessandro. “I always admired Matt’s photography, so I picked my favorite picture to show him – just to see what he thought. He said I had a good eye and that made me think twice. It was my ‘ah ha moment’…” recalls Dharmesh. After that, Dharmesh bought a real camera and hasn’t looked back.

  Dharmesh Desai lives in San Jose, CA. He is a Software Engineer and lives with his partner Claire Umeda and her daughter Eva. When he’s not rocking the keyboards at the next hot startup in Silicon Valley or slowly making his way up and down the 101, 280 and 87, Dharmesh enjoys spending quality time with friends and scoping out his next photo-centric adventure.

• Pho69 – 321 South First St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents Rocks, Waves & Clouds by Matthew Seigel at Pho69.

  In tradition of Asian scrolls, these paintings capture impermanence of idea or location. A low tide walk along Maine’s rocky coast. As memory of visiting father recedes, imagery continues in new directions.

• Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map

  
  art work by Eric Joyner

  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, John Hageman and Robert McColley!

• South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

  
  

  On the UP features artists Lucia Blea, Steven Benson, Mario “MGer” Guitron, Nick Giannini. Photographers: Randy McKendry, Georges Monceaux. And music by Chris Reed, w/ special guests Aivar, DJ 7e!shak

• Studio Climbing Gym – 396 South First St. map

  
  

  The Studio Rock Gym presents photography by John Eric Paulson.

  John Eric Paulson’s images are often cityscapes of Europe with the colors of the Russian painter Kadinsky and the detail of Estes, a photographic realist.

• TechShop San Jose – 300 South Second St. map

  

  Artist and Fabricator Wilson Chao will be displaying replica weapons and props made from popular fantasy worlds. The level of craftsmanship is superb and astounding. For Wilson, making replicas gives him complete control over the details and the scale of the projects he works on. Simply put by Wilson: “Making these weapons provide me with a way to share what I like about fantasy.”

• Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  
  Donkey by Silvia Taylor

  Closing reception 6-9pm: The More the Merrier IV: Salon-Style Art Exhibition & Sale

  This year’s The More the Merrier IV Salon-Style Art Exhibition will showcase the work of 51 bay area artists working in variety of mediums and styles. In the tradition of the French salon-stye exhibition design, participating artists are encouraged to install as much art as they can within their allocated space. The gallery will be packed with art to dazzle the eyes and stimulate the senses. The majority of artwork on display will be priced under $200 and art may be purchased directly off the walls on the evening of the art openings. Come to see the art, meet the artists, mingle with friends and family, listen to live music performed by local musicians and enjoy the food, fun and festive atmosphere!

  Participating artists: Carol S. Aaron, Alan Bayudan, Andrew Bayudan, Laura Bennett, Mary Berry, Marconi Calindas, David Canavese, Shone Chacko, Jason Challas, Nauhxa Chavira, Dotti Cichon , J. Duncan Cook, Nathan Cox, Susanna Davy, CarolannEspino, Roberto Fierro, Peter Foley, Sonia Garcia, Gilbert Gonzales, Larry Harrell, Karen Holaday, Colleen Hubbard, Gloria Huet, Laura Kachelmeyer, Barbara Kirst, Malia Landis, Christine Latta, Elaine Lujan, Karen McCann, Gwen Mercado-Reyes, Peter Moen, Andrew Muonio, Christine Oliver, Avery Palmer, Michael Pauker, Gianfranco Paolozzi, Elizabeth Patrician, Lee Petty, Nora Raggio, Valerie Raps, Chauncey Rasmussen, Aimee Santos, Dana Seeger, Rtystk Shavers, Mashaal Sheik, Joseph Skowrinek, Robbie Sugg, Silvia Taylor, Zoe Todd, Roxanna Walker, Jeff Wilson, Gayle Yankee, Emily Yin

  With Live Music by: Dirty Cello.