Kick off Summer with an incredible weekend of South FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalkSJ and SubZERO Festival on First Friday, June 2nd & Saturday, June 3rd, 5–11 pm.
Join us for an epic gathering of the underground arts scene as we transform SoFA District into an outdoor urban gallery featuring captivating exhibitions, thought-provoking installations, and awesome live performances. A rebellious fusion of art, music, and counter-culture, this is a unique opportunity to connect with and support the indie creative spirit that thrives here.
The South FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalk is a self-guided, nighttime tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses.
All ArtWalk venues are free admission and family-friendly.
SoFA District
ANNO DOMINI // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 S. First St. map
Between Water and Sky dual exhibition by artists Faring Purth & Daniel Jesse Lewis
Artists Faring Purth (b. Feb. 1, 1983) and Daniel Jesse Lewis (b. Feb. 1, 1981) reunite with Anno Domini to present: Between Water and Sky a new collection of individual and collaborative works that coalesces throughout the whole gallery.
Visitors of previous Lewis exhibitions (A.D. 2007, 2008 and 2012) will recognize his signature style of capturing the poetic, and sometimes enigmatic moments of the human condition playing out in everyday life. This new series of drawings and paintings have become meditations on family and fatherhood in particular, capturing a specific series of memorable moments from his personal experiences and observations of us all.
Purth’s past exhibitions (A.D. 2012, 2014 and 2019) have always included her street artist nature into the gallery. Bold, large scale paintings, complimented by delicate, yet emphatic, drawings of femininity, and insitu installations that provided a glimpse into her contemplative nature and wise spirit. This exhibition features new pen and ink works, as well as mixed media paintings that carries on her introspection into the ephemeral and mysterious.
Over the past year, in conjunction with the birth of their new son, the two artists have created their first collaborative exhibition. It is easy to see elements of both artists in these collaborations. However, in the end, there is an alchemy to this collective body of work that is unique, surprising and exciting to witness.
KALEID Gallery – 320 S. First St. map
Artist’s reception: The Magic of Mosaic Xuan My Ho solo exhibition
Xuan’s artwork is not only highly accomplished, but also contains the magic of mosaic that she brings to each piece. With over two decades of experience, she has honed her craft to create artwork that is characterized by vivid colors, intricate designs, and the remarkable ability to convey the depth and complexity of her subjects, whether real or imagined.
Xuan’s pieces are truly diverse, spanning a range of subjects and styles. Her mastery of mosaic art allows her to capture the essence of each subject in a way that is both beautiful and enchanting. From stunning landscapes that transport the viewer to another world, to intricate floral designs that showcase her attention to detail, Xuan’s work is a testament to the power of mosaic art.
Additionally, she is equally adept at creating figurative pieces that convey deep emotion and abstract works that challenge the viewer’s perceptions.
Xuan’s mosaics also carry a unique signature that sets them apart. Each of her pieces features a hand-made swan logo, which pays tribute to her name. The English pronunciation of her name is “Swan,” making the logo a perfect representation of her work.
MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 S. First St. map
TBA
Natural Do Salon – 613 S. First St. map
Hollywood by Fuquan Divine
My interpretation of actors and singers in private thought
PhantomGalleries at The Pierce – 2 Pierce Ave. map
Me Time Magic Betty Proper solo exhibition
Me Time Magic is a collection of mixed media paintings that explore the magic hidden in the simple day to day. We all seem to strive for this magic moment set aside from our responsibilities & routines to just unwind and come back to ourselves. This collection of work highlights the simplicity of “me time” in an attempt to remind the viewers that these moments do not have to be lavish to be magical and joyful.
About the Artist:
Valentina Carrillo aka Betty Proper is a self taught mixed media artist from San Jose, CA. She explores her creativity through painting, jewelry making and design. Her style & inspiration comes from her love of retro-fashion & style from different eras, coupled with illustration and everyday life as a woman & a mother.
Institute of Contemporary Art San Jose – 560 S. First St. map
Altered Perception includes works from three local Bay Area artists: Sarah Hotchkiss, Lordy Rodriguez, and Susie Taylor.
Sarah Hotchkiss explores hard-elements abstraction elements in her artwork. All the while also exploring how abstraction is a powerful communicating language, whether at the level of early human visual development, like pictures for babies or the universal symbols that games like Parcheesi or puzzles provide.
Lordy Rodriguez’s works explore the human urge to locate/define oneself by charting the environment in precise detail. Using the language of cartography, he makes drawings that go beyond map-making into abstracted, imaginary terrain.
Susie Taylor (b.1967) combines her background in Art, Design, and Craft to create abstract and dimensional textiles. She also collaborates with industry to produce modern, functional textiles that reflect the influence of the Bauhaus on her practice.
Rhonda Holberton: A Knotted World
We are on the brink of a technological and biological revolution that will change how we live, work, and relate to one another. In a Knotted World asks us to question the current state of technology that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. The work in the exhibition builds upon four series by Bay Area artist Rhonda Holberton that explores the militarization of land and the technology that both protects the soft animal of our body and extends violence outward to places we cannot see or imagine.
Rudy Lemcke: The Transit of Venus
Commissioned by the Institute for Contemporary Art San José, The Transit of Venus is an installation meant to feel as if the viewer is in a video game with no instructions or controller to navigate their path. It is a game where there is no winning or losing. Rather, the exhibition creates a space that allows the viewer to be on an unsettling threshold between worlds in anticipation of a resolution that never arrives.
The exhibition highlights a video projection based on the Transit of Venus, which happens when Venus passes in front of the bright face of the sun. These transits are among the rarest of observable astronomical events, repeating every 243 years. In the video projection, the yellow sun-like glowing frame is crossed by a red horizontal band of abstract digitally generated animations. A second video loops on a wall monitor that shows the artist walking a tightrope across the frame. Five grid-like paintings span three of the gallery’s walls and are hung in a descending arc resembling the graphics from early 8-bit video games.
Sarah Blaustein: Present Tense
The ICA San José is thrilled to display a series of site-specific, bodily works by painter Sarah Blaustein. Installed in the front gallery, the work creates a full-sensory experience of being surrounded by her paintings. Present Tense, a series of sensuous, lush paintings, is made with permanent materials. The works evoke the feeling of giving life, creation, and the human condition. A viewer can get lost in the use of bold color, the seemingly wet, saturated surface and the push and pull of the picture plane. Using deeply saturated pigments and water, Blaustein paints the sensations she feels but can not see.
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map
Queer Threads
Queer Threads is a traveling group exhibition and coffee-table book exploring contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer experiences through fiber and textile traditions. This latest iteration spotlights 38 works by 37 artists with roots in the American West, Northwest, and Southwest, as well as work from the museum’s collection. From the impeccably finished to the intentionally raw, many works are fully executed through thread-based processes such as crochet, embroidery, quilting, and weaving, while others interact with animation, clay, light, metal, and photography. Each artist’s use of material choices and technical finishes suggest poetic and subversive intentions.
7:30pm SJMQT will be hosting a Drag Show on Friday evening in front of their venue.
SoFA Market – 387 S. First St. ma
Divine Collections by Ritika Dua
Each painting in Divine Collection represents peace and love.
Hindu gods representing love, tradition and art at the same time. Everything in this collection has a mandala dot art element and the painting itself represents the religious or cultural reference from India.
About the Artist:
Obsessed with drawing since childhood , Ritika Dua was born in Punjab, India and came to San Jose with her family 6 years ago. Just like other immigrant families, Ritika’s family came to the United States in search of a better future. Now she owns two restaurants in San Jose and thought First Fridays ArtWalk was the perfect way to showcase her recent obsession with drawing images of Hindu gods with dot art. This Divine collection represents traditional paintings but with dot mandala art. Every painting in this collection is made in a way to bring peace in your life.
Symphony San José at California Theater – 345 S. First St. map
Symphony San Jose’s Open Rehearsal
7:30–10:00 pm: Join us at the open rehearsal of Carmina Burana, the grand finale of Symphony San Jose’s season, at the spectacular California Theatre!
Featuring: Symphony San Jose, Symphony San Jose Chorale, Santa Clara Chorale, Cantabile Youth Singers, Maria Valdes, Marin Bakari and Brian James Myer conducted by Carlo Vieu
Fountain Alley Area
1Culture – 136 E. Santa Clara St. map
Cinco Art Show
1Culture welcomes you to experience a survey of Latinx culture in a contemporary time. We have reached out to artists from San Jose, Oakland, Portland, LA, and more, to demonstrate a variety of subject matter that interprets their experience while playfully embracing and modernizing traditional iconography and cultural semiotic fields. The narratives of these artists speak on cultural surrealism, Chicanx and Mexican-Indigenous heritage, to the topic of commodities and consumptions in our day-to-day. We hope to convey the celebration of color, culture, and identity through our curation.
Chopsticks Alley Gallery – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Out of the Box
What does it mean to be Asian in today’s America?
Out of the Box features perspectives about the Asian community’s lived experiences. We face challenges living in a country where the label “Asian” brings expectations about our origins, behavior, and physical self.
The majority of Asian Americans in the United States are immigrants who understand what they have left behind to build their lives here. Now there is a fast growing American-born generation who are navigating their own connections to familial heritage and their own experiences growing up Asian in America.
Featured Artists: Hadi Aghaee, Phillip Hua, Hana Lock, Angelo Lopez, Tanya Momi, Minhquang Nguyen, Vi Son Trinh, and Jiamao Yuan.
Works San Jose – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Ignite: sjsu animation/illustration bfa 2013
Seventy graduates from SJSU Animation present work in story, visual development including character design, 3d modeling, and animation. The exhibition includes hundreds of images, 3d printed characters, videos, and special projects in film, game design, and more. The exhibit opened May 19 and the South First Fridays ArtWalk will be the closing night—don’t miss it!
Martha Gardens District
Art Ark Gallery – 1035 S. Sixth St. map
Printed and Stitched
A Collaboration of California Society of Printmakers and Studio Art Quilt Associates California/ Nevada Regions
This is a collaborative exhibition that explores the convergence of printed imagery and sewn fabrics. This showcases the work of artists who incorporate elements of both printmaking and stitching in their creations, resulting in pieces that are visually stunning and conceptually rich.
MACHU PICCHU Gallery of the Americas, Est 1974 – 199 Martha St. map
MAGICISM by “Magic” Sean Gil
“Magicism” A blend of Ancient Ancestral Art, Scenery Art, Abstract Expressionism, Comic Book Art, Concept Art, Graffiti Art and Esoteric Occult Symbolism
South FIRST FRIDAYS presents:
The 14th Annual SubZERO Festival
Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is a DIY, artistically bent, hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek.
Come downtown on June 2nd & 3rd to San Jose’s SoFA District from 5:00 ’til 11:00 pm for an inspired evening of arts & culture. In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk you’ll find a wide spectrum of Artists, Performers and live music on outdoor stages celebrating the indie creative spirit!
FRIDAY JUNE 2nd & SATURDAY JUNE 3rd, 2023 from 5pm-11pm
SoFA district in downtown San Jose
(on South First Street between San Carlos & Reed Streets)
Free admission (spend it with the Artists!) and family friendly.
FEATURED ARTISTS
1Culture Gallery, Layla Aghaee, Alcala Designs, Rebecca Anguiano, Julie Barrett, Bay Area Glass Institute, Bay Maples Wild California Gardens, Purl Bailey (AKA Marilyn Roaf), The Blunt Letters, Bolo Vintage, Julianne Bonnet, Bungalow Glow Candle Co., Julie Cardenas + Sarah Mahoney, Classic Loot, Bre Contreras, Curious Shapes (Bryan Corbin), Crossroads Trading Co., Current Tattooing, Cypher Dance Company + K408, Nicolaus James Dalton, Jennifer DeChenne, Designs by Maureen, Eleventh Dimension Tattoo Arts (Ron Earhart , D-Rock, Michael Ascarie, Amber Joy) , Eraeon Designs, Ruben Escalante, Faded Visualz, Flow State Sound Healing & Arts,, Force129 + Betty Proper, Francisco Franco, Game Dev Club of SJSU, Cynthia Gonzalez, Heiko Greb, Hand in Hand Henna, Haptic Synapsis, Andrew Heine, Higher Fire Clay Space, House of Inanna Belly Dance Troupe, InterKinetic by SJSU CADRE, thejemalshow, Jodi408, La Madre Bruja, Lady of the Ocean Crafts, Land and Sky Fine Art, Trisha Leeper Productions, Rene Lorraine, Valentino Loyola + Inside Out Clothing, Luui Arts, Frankie Mcfly, Julianne McKay, Rayos Magos, Nicole Margaret, Laurus Myth, nizzotes, Ocelote Press (Jhovany De Ala), OaxaCali Studios (Dario Cruz + Steve Gonzalez), Tania Okay, Gianfranco Paolozzi + Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía, Francisco Ramirez, Random Marks the Art of Doug Edwards, Joseph Richardson, Mason Roberts Artist, Rene Schilling-Sears, StageOne Creative Space, Suha Suha, Sujata Tibrewala, Eric Vasquez, VMGC Designs, Heylu Wheat
LIVE MUSIC
—> DAY 1: FIRST FRIDAY, JUNE 2nd
MAIN Stage
(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)
with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee
6:15pm Douglas Von Irvin’s Carnival
Unique brand of Rock & Roll called “Monster Garage Pop”
7:30pm Silent Pictures
A mix of beachy reverb-jangle, big choruses, swirling strings & more
8:45pm Hyperdrive Kittens
Punkabilly, Burlesque Pop Punk originals. #GlitterPunk
10:00pm O’Craven
High-charged Celtic Pirate Rock
BEER GARDEN Stage
(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)
7:00-7:45pm In the Ponds (San Jose)
Instrumental post-rock with ambient vibes and a shot of heavy blues.
With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm
featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G.
—> DAY 2: SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd
Main Stage:
(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)
with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee
6:15pm Mothers Against the Future
MATF is a 3 piece hard rock band that combines elements of grunge, punk, and friendship
7:30pm Dogcatcher
Combines elements of indie rock, soul music, and Americana.
8:45pm Mayya
Inspired by anyone who is unapologetically themselves and aspires to create a positive environment through her melodic, energetic music.
10:00pm The Trims
Indie/Dance/Post-Punk
—> Beer Garden Stage:
(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)7:00-7:45pm Swords of Fatima (Los Angeles)
Many worlds converge into their sound morphing your ideas of Rock or Punk
With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm
featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G.
BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS
On Tap…
Camino Brewing Co.
Fox Tale Fermentation
21st Amendment Brewing
and more...
plus…
3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Akita Gourmet Sushi
Chickn Bros.
Road Dogs
South FIRST FRIDAYS
366 S 1st Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-271-5155
info@southfirstfridays.com