JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk on October 2nd from 7–11pm. RSVP

The South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk is a self-guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring eclectic art exhibitions and special performances. All art venues are FREE & open to the public.

NEW EXHIBITS…

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

  
  

  Opening Reception: “Orbital–Cut Up and Rewired” Dale VN Marshall (UK) solo exhibition

  Dale VN Marshall returns to Anno Domini for his second solo exhibition which documents a reflective journey through the painted object.

  Marshall has cut up and reworked parts of a 30 foot self portrait on recycled cardboard. It was first exhibited on the streets of Bristol with the title: “We need to transfer you home” which withstood torrential wind and rain leaving it in a demoralized state. The reworked paintings in this exhibition focuses on a personal trauma from nature’s wish to be treated, revised and reborn; a parallel for Marshall of once being sectioned in a mental facility during his formative years as a young graffiti artist.

  

  Music: DRKMTRLS performing throughout the night

  Also on view: We Are Savages solo exhibition of sign painter Ken Davis

  
  

  Our mainstream society has developed into a culture that among many other things, praises the shortcut and enjoys the illusion of luxury in their everyday. If there is an easy way out of a long trail, it is most certainly more popular of a route than the traditional trail. In the shadows of the mainstream there is a small percentage of holdouts. It is these Individuals that see the trails walked for generations as ideal routes to live their lives. Those of us with firm roots in traditional crafts are typically viewed with intrigue as modern Savages by the masses glued to their devices of instant result. The Savages are the ones who refuse to conform to the new norms that exponential technological growth has created. We generally are content with creating what we do for the sake of the pursuit and nothing more. Anything that comes from that is merely a bonus. ~Ken Davis

  Ken Davis is a traditional sign painter in the purest sense of the word and is fiercely committed to keeping the craft alive. The by-gone days of signs being hand painted, due to necessity, is now an almost lost art. This solo exhibition of new works by Davis is one of his most personal. The works in “We Are Savages” are directly from, or inspired by, the inner thoughts and experiences from Davis’ day to day life as a craftsman artist.

• Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  

  Opening reception: MASKS Juried Art Exhibition with Awards
  A mixed media exhibition featuring the artwork of thirty-five local artists
  Live music by: Aaron Lehr, lehrarts.com

  Participating artists:
  Aaron Lehr, Al Preciado, Aliza Abrams, Andrew Hedges, Antonio Castro, Audry Fitzgerald, Bob Rose, Carol Eder, Chris Bunz, Duncan Cook, Francesca Borgatta, Genevieve Hastings, Gerri Russell, Jackie Baxton, Joey Agcopra, John Hedges, Judy Roberto, Kelsey Eder, Lori Krein, Maria Sky, Marietta Jarra, Marlene Robbins, Marvin Garcia, Mokey, Nathan Cox, NIFTY, Renee Billingslea, Rich Fox, Rosa Cázares Gillin, Rosemarie Delson, Steve Davis, Thérèsa Merchant, Travis Ng, Valerie Raps, and Virginia Phelps

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

  

  Artist’s Reception: “Five Captivating Catrinas” by Marlene Robbins.

  This October, we feature Day-of-the-Dead themed sculptures by Marlene Robbins. “Five Captivating Catrinas” includes signature works by the artist created at Higher Fire this year. Catrina has come to symbolize not only El Día de los Muertos and the Mexican willingness to laugh at death itself, but originally catrina was an elegant or well-dressed woman, so it refers to rich people too. And, that death is a neutralizing force in that everyone is equal in the end. Robbins will teach a two-day workshop “Make A Muerto” on October 10-11 please inquire at Higher Fire.

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  Join us at KALED Gallery for the opening reception of two new feature exhibitions by Donny Foley and Kori Thompson.

  
  

  “Donbon’s Fairy Tales”

  This whimsical show features Donny Foley’s latest series of fairy tale themed Word Paintings. Each painting depicts the artist reimagining of beloved fables.

  Word Paintings seamlessly combines two of Foley’s favorite forms of creative narrative: story telling and painting. The creation of each piece starts with a painted focal point. The background is then formed by hand lettering a story in which the entire painting is based upon. When viewed from a distance a Word Painting is meant to convey a cheery anecdote, but on closer inspection the viewer can see the complex nature of a seemingly simplistic image.

  
  

  “Variant Life” new paintings by Kori Thompson.

  Paintings inspired by comic books and images I have bumping around in my head.

  Born and raised in the South Bay. Kori Thompson’s paintings are a reflection of the inner conflicts and raw emotion within everyone that is often times felt, but never seen. When not hell bent on world domination, he loves spending time with his family, coaching his son’s baseball team, reading comic books, enjoying music and movies.

• Seeing Things Gallery – 30 North Third St. map

  
  

  “Seven Minutes In Heaven” by Jane Matchak and fellow San Francisco artists Will Mervau and Mark Ochinero

  The exhibition with feature art about work, love, & pain. Jane will have limited copies of new handmade chapbooks as well. Come by n get emotional

• Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map

  
  Barbosa Prince, “Gun Jesus Gold”

  “American Gun Show” group exhibition

  An exhibition of artistic responses at the intersections of free speech, personal liberty, and national identity. Curators James Morgan and Dorothy Santos explore the art and technology of guns with an objective focus to provide a much needed dialogue around an object rife with cultural, social, and political meaning.

  Opening night will include a special showing of Garland Martin Taylor’s 400 lb. stainless steel gun sculpture mounted into the bed of a pickup truck.

• The Craftsman – 399 South First St. map

  

  “Colony” by Lindsay Balfour

  The installation is a mysterious, beautiful medley of textures and shapes inspired by on deep sea creatures made out of paper. Each piece interlocks together using paper engineering techniques to compose a colonies to make up an imaginary marine organism.

  Lindsay Balfour is a paper engineer and designer who explores the mechanics of paper used in pop-up design, paper craft, and sculpture. She integrates electronics in her work to showcase technology as a tool and material to enhance ideas for creative expression. As an educator and artist, her work is an example of the intersection between fine art, physical computing, and fabrication techniques.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  
  

  “Yoga is…” by Elba Raquel

  We each carry our own past and find salvation through different avenues. These paintings tell the stories of nine different yoga instructors and how they found salvation through the practice of yoga.

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library – 150 E San Fernando St. map

  

  “Le Sophistiqué Urbaine” by Scape Martinez

  This is a survey of recent visual explorations by the artist, stretching his vocabulary. Much of this work was captured in his most recent book “Colormaster”. Very gritty, urban, but also chic and sophisticated.

  SCAPE Martinez is an accomplished multidisciplinary artist and writer who has been involved in graffiti art since the 1980’s. Since then he has pushed the boundaries of graffiti and street art, having transcended beyond walls and canvas to include: public art, writing, and art education.

• LGBTQ Youth Space – 452 South First St. map

  

  “Dreams & Nightmares” group exhibition

  An exploration of dreams and nightmares as interpreted by local LGBTQ youth.

• Studio Climbing Gym – 396 South First St. map

  
  

  “Vertical Wilderness Submersion” by photographer Dirk Summers

  These images come from climbing landscapes around the natural world. They were captured in all different seasons, in a variety of locations, and emphasize the great natural beauty inherent in many of the places in which we climbers are lucky enough to enjoy our passion.

• TechShop San Jose – 300 South Second St. map

  

  “Custom prop-replica and model works by Zprops”



  The show will consist of a dozen or so wall mounted fictional prop weapons, as well as small models and miniatures from the hottest video games and other media.

• Vyne Bystro – 110 Paseo de San Antonio Walk map

  

  Tom Dytko Solo Exhibition

  “Today I use my creative energy and ability to create abstract representations of the visual events and places that have made a significant visual impact to me, or a significant discorporate memory of a reoccurring dream or fantasy. These visual memory representations come from somewhere deep in my subconscious as I do not consciously recall or visualize a completed painting before I start painting, and I begin each painting with only a faint idea or feeling for the shapes and colors that will ultimately go into the painting. However, once started, and the painting begins to take form, it becomes familiar to me and the shapes and colors put into the painting are put there almost without thinking. As the image appears it dictates to me what it needs; it is a very interactive session.” DYTKO.

  Over the past two years DYTKO’s paintings have started to gain some local popularity and he has shown his work at venues in Carmel, Sacramento, San Jose, and his home town of Morgan Hill. There he is a member of the Valle Del Sur Art Guild and the Morgan Hill Art Gallery, where his work is displayed when it is not in a show.

CONTINUED EXHIBITS…

• Phantom Galleries at Pho69 – 321 South First St. map

  

  Blanketman

  
  

  “frag·ments” (frăg′mənts) by Robertino Ragazza

  “frag.ments” are a collection of travel images taken over the years. It is my travel journal and a reminder, a montage of my experiences and connectedness to a place or singular moment.

  For me, travel is the greatest experiment. It brings forth the curiosity and the urge to investigate the experience of being alive and it permanently influences our perspective on life. It offers a new beginning, new experiences, and endlessly changing horizon. In the beginning, there was no real plan, just a vacation that became a journey. As Henry Miller once said, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

  In frag.ments, I explore and present photographs that attempt to reflect hidden meanings or just simply a literal representation of a place or singular moment that took my breath away. By definition, frag.ments be an incomplete and isolated portion or bits of pieces; a sliver or a shard, a flake or a morsel that makes up the whole experience with underlying undertones of mystery, building a narrative through contextualization and surreal juxtaposition. Inspiration comes in different forms and the book, “The Sun Also Rises” was the catalyst that inspired my sense of wanderlust, thus my journey began.

  7–10pm A live Flamenco Show curated by Robertino Ragazza and co-presented by San Jose Nuevo Flamenco in collaboration with Matiz Flamenco with Special Guests.

• Phantom Galleries at SoFA Market – 387 South First St. map

  
  

  Phantom Galleries presents: “String Theory” an installation by Anabella Piñon and Frances Marin at SoFA Market.

  Taking a nostalgic form of communication, the game of childhood game of ‘telephone’, “String Theory” conveys the dense, voyeuristic and sometimes overwhelming nature of modern connectivity where everyone is talking, listening and knowing what one another is doing at all times. Viewers are invited to play telephone with the set of cans displayed beside the artwork.

• Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map

  
  

  “Monsters, Movies, and Mayhem (oh my)” group exhibit

  A collection of Movies, Monsters and zany art with a little bit of a macabre bent to it. Featuring works by: John Hageman, Michael Foley , Kori Thompson, Chris Shady, Lori Herbst and Vanessa Callanta.

• 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!

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

  MACLA is Closed for the evening.

• Third Space Fitness – 550 South first St. map

  Third Space Fitness is closed for the evening.