JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk on December 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.

The First Friday Art Walk on DEC 5th is a wonderful opportunity to get your holiday shopping done! while supporting local artists, essential art venues and our creative economy! Come out with the family & friends and kick off a wonderful holiday season!

NEW EXHIBITS…

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  
  Artwork by: (left) Joe Barajas, (center) Dennis Korkh, (right) Tanya Varga

  Opening Reception: HARK! Annual Holiday Exhibition & Sale

  60+ Artists from KALEID Gallery and invited guest artists from our broader art community participate in this exciting festive event.

  Multiple works by each artist will be available at holiday gift giving prices. Hundreds of one of a kind paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and jewelry will be available beginning First Friday December 5th at 7pm through January 16, 2015. These one of a kind works are first come, first served-all works may be taken home at the time of purchase.

  Participating Artists: Murphy Adams, Fernando Amaro, Jamie Azevedo, Lino Azevedo, Shannon Amidon, Erica Atreya, Darius B’Alexander, Joe Barajas, Mariana Barnes, Christine Benjamin, Sandi Billingsley, Steven Borelli, Bryson Bost, Lacey Bryant, Nicolas Caesar, Mark Damrel, Elvira Dayel Charis DeRemer, DonBon, Masako Esparragoza, Carolann Espino, Michael Foley, Ike Greca, Michele Guieu, Katie Gutierrez, John Hageman, Jeff Hemming, Kushlani Jayasinha, Denis Korkh, Nicole Linde, Joshua Marcotte, Nadja Martens, Mark Martinez, David Media, Lisa Mejia, Thérèsa Merchant , Woody Miller, Mike Montoya, Thomas Morrow, Avery Palmer, Gianfranco Paolozzo, Joe Perea, John Paulson, PeeMonster, Al Preciado, Sam Raske , Steven Reece, Blaise Rosenthal, Valerie Runningwolf, Karen Carlo Salinger, Yelena Shabrova, Maggie So, Lalima Srivastava , Ben Shutz, Tally Sherry, Kori Thompson, Tanya Varga, Victoria Vaz, Yumi Velma, JoAnne Yada, and Celeste Young

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

  
  Alex Rubio, Calaca, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 24 inches.

  MACLA presents, Chicana/o Biennial, an exhibition and public forum to reflect on the critical edge and aesthetic interventions within contemporary Chicano art.

  Work by Carmen Argote, Dignidad Rebelde, Wayne A. Healy, Celia H. Rodriguez, Alex Rubio, Shizu Saldamando, Patssi Valdez, and more.

  
  

  Los Leones’ rich and unique sound pushes traditional cumbia into the electronic realm, expanding the genre’s scope and attracting new followers. Join us in welcoming them during South First Fridays in the Castellano Playhouse at 9:00 pm.

• Pho69 – 321 South First St. map

  
  

  Opening reception: Phantom Galleries presents Through the Ground Glass photography exhibition by SJSU Advance Photography Students at Pho69 Restaurant.

  The prints in this exhibit were created by students in photography instructor Barbara Boissevain’s Advanced Photography class at San Jose State University who spent the semester in a traditional wet darkroom.

  The students explored a range of subject matter including everything from classical approaches to the landscape to studio portraiture. They also explored a range of camera formats including large format 4″ X 5″ cameras as well as medium format cameras. All the prints in the exhibit were printed in a traditional wet darkroom from film negatives.

  The title of the show was chosen because students spent a significant amount of the time this semester looking “through the ground glass” of their 4″ X 5″ view cameras where the image appears on the back of the camera upside down and backwards–presenting a unique and challenging learning experience for photographers who have grown-up in the digital age. The students in this class met this challenge head-on and have created a body of work that is of a high quality both technically and conceptually.

  Participating Photographers: Barbara Andrews, Karen Borg, Nathanael Bryant, Meliza Celeridad, Ryan DiBiase, Christopher Dubois, Hirania Gonzalez, Desirae Guerrero, Yuanlei Huang, Jason Montoya, Megan Nunes, Ben Reha, Casey Ruiz, Lauren Saba, Matthew Velia, Sarah Wells, Robert Wilcox, and Jialun Zhang

• Seeing Things Gallery – 30 North Third St. map

  
  

  Opening reception: The 7th Annual Frida & Friends Fuzzy Blanket Drive & Silent Art Auction

  Friends and artists have been asked to donate a pet inspired piece of art for this auction. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the San Jose Animal Shelter. All bidding for art pieces will start at $10. Please come by, bid and see how inspired we are by our four legged friends.

  Frida’s friends at the shelter would be so happy to have a warm item this winter. We are collecting clean blankets and towels for them the night of the event.

• Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map

  
  art by Jay Ruland

  Opening Reception: WORKS Benefit Art Auction

  More than 100 works of art have been donated by a wide range of our region’s established and emerging artists for the Benefit Auction on 12/13/14. Now it’s your turn to support Works by building your own art collection in Silicon Valley’s most accessible, eclectic, and exciting art auction!

  Join us for opening night of the Auction exhibition on South FIRST FRIDAY, December 5. The exhibition remains open every day from 2 to 6pm until the Auction night of fun, food, and collecting regional art on Saturday, December 13! All art is also available for instant win at 110% of retail before auction night.

• Sliding Door Company – 355 South First St. map

  
  

  San Jose State University Choraliers

  The Choraliers is a smaller, advanced chamber ensemble comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from San Jose State. The choir performs a wide variety of repertoire at the highest level of the choral art. The Choraliers perform nationally and internationally as well as within California and the SJSU community.

  
  

  Phographer, Edward Nowak

  I’ve built a career in industrial sensors and controls, a field that I greatly enjoy. But my passion for photography was kindled in high school when I joined the camera club, used a 35 mm film SLR for the first time, and learned how to use the dark room. As a young man I acquired my own gear and studied everything I could about making good photographs. My passion waned for many years until about two years ago when I decided to seriously explore digital photography. My passion has bloomed anew, and it’s been very satisfying to apply modern imaging technology to the fundamentals I learned long ago. I seek to make images that evoke a positive emotional response, that are genuinely pleasurable to look at, and that are technically proficient. And since I have a good mechanical aptitude and I’m particular about details, I also love making my own large prints in both color and black-and-white. I live in a high rise condo in downtown San Jose, from which I have photographed several gorgeous sunrises and dramatic sunsets. As one person commented in reaction to one of my online photos, “Who knew that San Jose could look so good?” It’s very satisfying to be able to share my vision of the natural and manmade beauty we have here.

  
  

  Artist, Supraja Kolluri & Shishyia Art

  “Shishya”, a Sanskrit word for students, symbolizes the wealth of knowledge and skills one can gain through formal education. ShishyaArt creations is Dedicated to benefiting underprivileged children in India by helping them obtain an education. All profits from each painting sold are donated to ventures in Inda that are striving to give impoverished rural children a strong education to ensure bright futures. Shishya Art Creates encomapss many forms of art, from paintings to other decorative items like picture frames.

• South First Billiards – 420 South First St. map

  
  

  Community Service Pop Up: 2×2 works on wood panel

  Draw on the wood board post on Instagram hash tag #work_spaces

  Participating Artists: Force129, Nifty, Wisper, Mesngr, Sean Boyles, Color, Dsea, Debate457, Ruby, Viejoel
  Dj venom347 in the mix

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

  

  Featured Artist: Sueli Almeida, Crafty Vovi

  Sueli Almeida grew up in a household of crocheting. She’s been crocheting since she was a little girl, but says it all started with her grandmother. No one loved crochet more than her grandmother did. After watching her mother and grandmother crochet, it only seemed natural for her to pick up the art form as well. Although she started with hats for the grandchildren, they were so popular that she started making them for her friends and family as well. Come by and pick up Sueli’s adorable, fuzzy, warm beanies as they are truly something everyone will love!

  Special Live Music Guest: K. I. Nicholas

  K.I. Nicholas is more than a talented guitar player and singer, he is a multi-faceted musician who plays several instruments as well as composes his own music. Over the years, K.I.’s music has moved through Reggae, Soca, Calypso, African, African Jazz, Caribbean Fusion, Rock and the Blues to a style that is all his own. His latest CD “Through the Storm” is available at Discover San Jose so come by to pick up your copy while you enjoy his live preformance!

  Local Foods BY: Sweetdragon Baking Company

  Hway-ling started Sweetdragon Baking Company intending to make pies but took a detour after the owners of a food truck asked if she could make peanut brittle for them to sell. She was not excited by the idea and had never made candy before, so she reviewed lots of recipes, candy-making texts and YouTube videos– she even consulted a Ph.D chemical engineer who told her that with so many variables affect candy making, the only way to determine whether something would work was to “try it and see.” After lots and lots of experiments (family and friends kindly ate the failures), she came up with some recipes that hit her flavor and texture goals. One of her first was a black sesame brittle—inspired by her grandmother, who didn’t eat sweets except for a black sesame seed filled bun that she made herself. In 2013, the sesame brittle won a Good Food Award and she hasn’t looked back. Today she also offers a variety of cookies and caramels as well. Tis the season to treat yourself and others to some yummy goodness!

• TechShop San Jose – 300 South Second St. map

  

  Opening reception: Life Looking for Life by David Canavese

  Keep your wits about you as you inspect life-forms brought to you by San Jose-based artist David Canavese.

  You’ll probably have many questions. Do these creatures reproduce via DNA, like earth life does? What sorts of environments do they occupy–a swamp on some massive “Super-Earth?” Tiny caves on the myriad bodies of an asteroid belt or gas giant’s ring? How are the different life-forms you see related to each other? Can you suss out this new “tree of life” that’s completely separate from our own?

  Don’t forget your spirit of adventure, and your sense of wonder!

CONTINUED EXHIBITS…

• Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  
  Image by: Jonathan Chi

  The More the Merrier V Salon-Style Art Exhibition

  This year’s show features the work of 50 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 Thomas Howell on violin and enjoy the food, fun and festive atmosphere!

  Participating Artists: Amy Beans, Andy Wallace, Bob Rose, Carly Slade, Carmina Eliason, Cynthia Cao, Diana Nakano, Dotti Cichon, Elizabeth Patrician, Gilbert Gonzales, Hema Sukumar, Jackie Mast, Jamila Rufaro, Jennifer Alexander, Joey Agcopra, Jonathan Chi, Joseph Skowrinek, Judy Roberto, Karen McCann, Karin Taber, Kathleen McDonald, Kathy Kong, Kim Brown, Larry Harrell, Leah Jay, Liene Kikute, Lyssa Eustaquio, Maria Sherby, Marina Povalishina, Masha Schultz, Michael Bashista, Michael Perkin, Moira McDonald, Monica Gonzales, Monica Valdez, Nathan Cox, Pamela Mooney, Rita Poutivskaia, Roberto Fierro, Robin Dahlberg, Sandy Cipriotti, Shone Chacko, Sonia Garcia, Stacey Laskin, Stephanie Metz, Stephen Jacklyn, Thomas Morrow, Tim Walters, Travis Ng, Trudy Levy

• ZERO1 Garage – 439 South First St. map

  
  Image credit: Karolina Sobecka// The Cloud Collection, image courtesy of Balance and Contrast

  Karolina Sobecka// The Cloud Collection

  The Cloud Collection is an exhibition featuring three ongoing projects by Brooklyn-based artist Karolina Sobecka that explore connections between clouds and information technology by combining scientific information with more whimsical and experiential approaches. Come see video and photographic documentation of its journey, while exploring projects such as Cloud Machine, a personal device for weather modification, the Cloud Collector, a device for collecting cloud moisture, and CloudServices, a proposal for using the atmospheric clouds and the microorganisms in them as the material for data transfer and storage. From cloud seeding to cloud tasting to DNA donation, Sobecka’’s playful experiments ask serious questions about our faith in human technological ability.

• 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!

• Cafe Stritch – 374 South First St. map

  

  No Zen Intended solo exhibition by Kevin Tschaen

  Art is non-representational, sometimes abstract, and very much musically influenced. My works on paper explore fluid, melting shapes juxtaposed with sharp and rigid brush strokes–much like the ebb and flow of jazz. Visions in spaces large and small, most of the work is purely gestural–a natural and raw flow from feeling to paper. With vivid colors that jump from the page and then continue to blend and layer, these pieces are alive and vibrating with energy and movement. Take it as you see it, feel it, dream it.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  
  

  Jonathan and Joella Kermit are back at the Downtown Yoga Shala Gallery with their fifth joint show. Joella has been experimenting with plant materials to dye and make botanical impressions on silk scarves while Jonathan continues his work with recycled wire and laminated paper.

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

  Our Community Arts Mosaic brings together artwork collected from around the South Bay area, brought together into one vision. We asked everyone from beach-lovers in Santa Cruz to the homeless of San Jose to show us their version of the world, or what they would like to see. Bringing these pieces of the world together shows our shared experience and what we aspire to: imagination is the first step to change.

• Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map

  
  Artwork by Laura Callin Bennett

  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

  
  

  H2Ography: Undersea Images by Dave Conner

  Dave started taking photos underwater almost as soon as he began his dive career a short 15 years ago. Rapidly advancing to the ranks of a dive professional, Dave occasionally works as a Divemaster for a charter dive boat in Monterey Ca where he enjoys working with other divers and in general being an ambassador for the sport sharing his love and enthusiasm of it with all he comes in contact with. His true love underwater, however has always been in photography. What started as a vehicle for “Show and Tell” of his adventures to friends who weren’t involved in diving rapidly progressed to an all out effort to improve his skills and find the perfect shot (for which he’s still looking).

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

  Anno Domini’s exhibition schedule has ended for this year and we will re-open First Friday, February 2015.