JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT on August 1st 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.

In addition to the monthly Art Walk featuring 20+ participating venues, August 1st comes with STREET MRKT, our nighttime urban faire featuring 40 local artists and live music out on the street in the SoFA District (on South First St. from San Carlos to San Salvador) and in the People’s Park at South First & William St. Free and open to the public.

NEW EXHIBITS…

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

  

  Artist’s Reception: A Human Race a solo exhibition of new work by street artist Zero Cents (Tel Aviv, Israel)

  Zero Cents (b.1986) is an American-born Israeli-based artist living and working in Tel Aviv. For the past 9 years, the artist has been working both in studio and on the streets, painting murals and creating site-specific installations. The artist’s work deals with observations on people surrounding him: the lovers and fighters, the party-ers, the thinkers, the dancers and the damned.

  Through his work, the artist documents the energy the human race creates, the wisdom, morals, values (or the lack of them) that they pass on. While conducting this research, he communicates the subjects’ movement and energy on a variety of surfaces–from found wood to city walls–using various mediums and techniques without judgment. Using these components as a metaphor for forgiveness, Zero Cents shows the human race as it is, in the most authentic and honest way he feels possible.

  Zero Cents has exhibited in group shows around the world and solo exhibitions in Tel Aviv. A Human Race at Anno Domini is his first solo exhibition abroad.

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  KALEID Gallery is pleased to present two new feature exhibitions by resident artists Kushlani Jayasinha, and John Kurtyka.

  
  

  Artist’s Reception: States of Being solo exhibition by Kushlani Jayasinha

  From one perspective, there are a variety of specific influences in Jayasinha’s work: Sri Lanka; Theravada Buddhism; a civil war; Physics; an eye for beauty taught by grandparent’s mountainous blooming gardens. There are journeys through quantum mechanics; writing software; parenting children; making a cosmopolitan home in the Bay Area; painting whole-heartedly. At the moment of painting, these multitudes drop away – then the heart, the hand, the brushes, the canvas, the whole truth of this moment of living, the paints, the colors, and the seeing are one, connected to this never failing present. Witnessing this unity, we viewers learn how we respond, how our body/mind take seeing colors and form and how our heart reverberate with the essential meanings of a moment cast onto canvas with no reservations: human truth for all to see.

  Employing an exciting variety of styles, ranging from earth-colored tones showing our organic loamy roots through bright flashes of passion into peaceful oceanic reveries, where all the extremes are united and accepted as they are, Jayasinha’s art creates a faithful embodiment of her specific moments, and thereby a faithful integration of our joint lives. The painterly attention given to these inner forms hitting the canvas are thrilling; her art is abstract but not inhuman – they challenge us all to embrace our full humanity, not skimming over this or that abyss, but plunging in. Some viewers find the colors and forms to be evocative of landscapes; landscapes which are full of human story and feeling. If you are open to the possibility of love, and have the courage to face what is within and around us, then we invite you to follow Jayasinha on her honest journey through our many states of being.

  
  

  Artist’s Reception: INCLINATIONS solo exhibition by John Kurtyka

  Using evocative form and color, John Kurtyka experiments with visual metaphors. His artwork ponders and plays with some of our most serious social and psychological obstacles.

  A seasoned draftsman, painter, and muralist, he gradually moved over to digital media. At first uploading drawings into the computer to experiment with color. After that he became enamored with vector drawing on the computer which allows him the flexibility to try out the free flow of ideas that come to him as he works.

  A resident of the Silicon Valley, Kurtyka’s artwork has been shown at venues that include the Euphrat Museum in Cupertino; the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art and the San Jose Museum of Art. As an artist in residence, he creates lessons and brings visual art activities to children in public schools. He holds an MFA from San Jose State University.

• Phantom Galleries – 95 South Market St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents: California new works by Alexandria Kerekez

  “I followed the current toward the bay from my birthplace along the Sacramento River. California has befriended, mentored, and shared its bounty with me so charitably, I am honored to dedicate my life and work to its celebration. This collection of work reflects my adventures and time well spent with California.” -Alexandria Kerekez

• Silicon Valley Music Festival at Sliding Door Company – 355 South First St. map

  
  

  The Silicon Valley Music Festival is thrilled to celebrate returning artist, Anna Maria Mendieta to perform once again as part of the South FIRST FRIDAYS’ event at The Sliding Door Company. Ms. Mendieta is a renowned harpist based out of San Francisco, who enjoys a career as a soloist, orchestral musician, recording artist and teacher. Ms. Mendieta is the principle harpist with the Sacramento Philharmonic and has performed as a soloist and as a member with many symphony orchestras and chamber music groups across the country.

• Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map

  
  art by Wadl with Zenning

  Opening Reception: Flesh Frosting

  “Flesh Frosting” is that sweet fabric spice many choose to cover themselves with. Multimedia artist Shaun Benak presents a juried exhibition of T-shirt designs that brings together an intensely varied community of artists that create images for this public yet very personal realm.

• ZERO1 Garage – 439 South First St. map

  
  

  The Operature by Anatomical Theatres of Mixed Reality (ATOM-r)

  This summer, we’re handing over the ZERO1 Garage to innovative performance artists who are pushing the boundaries of digital culture through our BRING IT! Performance Art Series. Come out for August South First Fridays and experience “The Operature,” by Anatomical Theatres of Mixed Reality (ATOM-r). Experience a one night live performance and augmented reality poem that engages themes of forensics, anatomical science, and spectacle. Participants can further explore the material and discover virtual layers of text and imagery through use of a special smartphone application. The Chicago Tribune describes the performance as “an ingenious curio cabinet of carefully selected language, props and movement”

• Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  
  artwork by Moira McDonald

  Opening Reception: Repetitive Stress – we have all experienced it…

  Art Ark Gallery presents a group of twelve South Bay artists who address this dilemma head on. The exhibition “Repetitive Stress” is both provocative and stimulating, revealing a variety of conceptual emphasis, aesthetics, and creative responses to that all too common issue – ‘stress’.

  Participating artists: Theta Belcher, Ryan Carrington, Brittney Cathey-Adams, Yvonne Escalente, Lyssa Eustaquio, Malia Landis, Moira McDonald, Lauren O’Connor-Korb, Chauncey Rasmussen, Biagio Scarpello, John Stewart, and Wesley Wright

  The opening reception features live music by cellist Freya Seeburger.

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

  Join us August 1st as Discover San Jose announces its official transformation into San Jose’s first ever “Permanent Pop-Up Store.”

  
  

  Jason Oliver, “Wire Roots.” Jason makes one-of-a-kind trees from wire using recycled and organic materials. Standing alone as an art piece or put to any number of uses, the unique twists and turns of thousands of yards of wire are transformed into individual replications of nature’s most majestic creations.

  
  

  Special Guest. vocalist Christopher Michael , the “Sober Junkie.” After his parent’s divorce, Christopher Michael was introduced to music and theater while living with his father. It was there he developed his musical talent as a vocalist, influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Marvin Gaye, and a wide array of hip hop artists. “Music has raised me”, Christopher says. Although very gifted, he let his demons get the best of him and fell into a spiraling period of addiction before realizing he had a true gift and wanted to use it to help people who have gone through hard times just like he did. For two years Christopher fought his way back from addiction, and acquired his own studio where he started formulating his own style of music. Today, he is on tour promoting his debut album, Sober Junkie. . “I’ve never written anything that doesn’t pertain to personal experiences” he says. “It tells who I am”. This is Christopher Michael, the “Sober Junkie.”

• First to Market Restaurant – 399 South First St. map

  
  

  First to Market presents mixed media works by Colin Jaramillo.

• Pho69 – 321 South First St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents Definitely Not Digital: an excursion into the abstract and surreal by artist Tom Dytko.

  “The use of technology to create visual art today has raised the bar for artists working with traditional media. A good digital artist can create images and videos to stimulate the senses in ways those working with the traditional mediums can only dream. As such, we are challenged to create static images that are not easily replicated using technology, to not copy reality, but still solicits and toys with an individual’s eye and thoughts, perhaps stimulating the imagination or stirring an emotion.”

• South First Billiards – 420 South First St. map

  
  

  Art Lifer by Alfredo Reyes and Debbie Doherty with music from DJ Mystik Mike.

• Spartan Pop Up Gallery – 320 South First St. map

  

  A group exhibit of 30 artists by San Jose State University’s Fine Art students and alumni.

• TechShop San Jose – 300 South Second St. map

  

  TechShop San Jose presents artist Steve Haman.

  “The foundation of my ongoing creative journey is my desire to express my soul. I grew up drawing and always loved to look at art as a little kid. My art making serves as a form of meditation and stress reduction technique. I draw much inspiration from nature, holistic healing, and metaphysical properties of life. I share my art to encourage others to question themselves, the world, and our potential for divinity as humans. I strive to construct environments which encourage the audience to dig deeper into different forms of consciousness, especially heightened or altered states of consciousness. The beauty of the human mind and body has compelled me to make a lot of my work.” –Steve Haman

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

  TBA

• Seeing Things Gallery – 30 North Third St. map

  The Gallery is Closed tonight.

• Cafe Stritch – 374 South First St. map

  TBA

CONTINUED EXHIBITS…

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

  
  Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL, Cosmos Codex, in-situ mural at MACLA
  Aguacero photo credit: Marina Romani

  

  COSMOS CODEX Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL

  Stick around for South First Friday to view our current exhibition, “Cosmos Codex,” featuring the work of Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL and enjoy a Puerto Rican Bomba performance by Aguacero in the Castellano Playhouse at 8:30pm.

• 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

  
  

  “San Shui” — An Exhibit by Russell Altice Case

  All of these works were completed in my studio from source material collected on sight. Buena Vista is the hill my wife and I live on in San Francisco and is our home. The landscapes in this exhibition all have the curious title of San Shui, “good view”. My wife and I moved here from Taiwan where we lived. All in all we lived in Asia for seven of the last fifteen years. 山 水 Shan means mountain and Shui means water in Mandarin. The two words together are the generic term for landscape. Implicit that painting is incomplete without the pairing of opposites. There must be a hard and soft, form and flow, cool and warm elements for a landscape to be a “good view”.

  Russell Altice Case started out at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago working with Elizabeth Rupprecht, a direct student of Hans Hoffman. Later, he worked with William T. Williams, a student of Al Held and also a student of Hoffman. His work within this lineage was informed by spatial and color field formal construction with lots of squares flying around. Though retinal painting became how his paintings “looked,” Frank Stella’s Working Space had made a strong case for perspective and volume and so like Kerry James Marshall, Russell decided to hang the objects back on Cezanne’s grid. Russell finished his formal studies with Lennart Anderson in NY, a student of Edwin Dickinson alongside Al Held at the Art Student’s League, and he is delighted to live in a city that hosts Dickinson’s masterpiece “The Cello Player.”

• Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map

  
  Art by Michael Foley

  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 Nicolas Caesar, Murphy Adams, Christine Benjamin, Michael Foley, Michael Borja, Valery Milovic, Carlos Villez, Eric Joyner, Laura Callin Bennett, John Hageman and John Cloud!

• Studio Climbing Gym – 396 South First St. map

  
  

  Petrified by Andy Wallace

  An exploration through Andy Wallace’s most impactful art over the last four years. A last attempt to reach an audience who appreciates painting before a full submergence into three dimensional building.

• 

  A nighttime DIY urban faire that brings together 40 local artists, creative indie vendors and a live music stage out on South First Street (between San Carlos and San Salvador streets and in the People’s Park at South First & William streets.