South FIRST FRIDAYS presents ArtwalkSJ
First Friday, February 7th from 7–11pm
SoFA District (& beyond) downtown San Jose
RSVP on our event page.
The South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk is a self-guided, nighttime tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring eclectic art exhibitions and special performances.
All Art Walk venues are FREE admission & great for all ages.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE at PARTICIPATING VENUES…
Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 South First St. map
Artist reception: SKRAPS by Yasushi Matsui
7:30pm Curator’s introduction & Artist talk
“SKRAPS” is a print collection of sketches by Yasushi Matsui from his travels through the San Francisco Bay Area, Humboldt, Clear Lake, Tahoe, Yosemite, East Sierra, Los Angeles, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Las Vegas, Hawaii, US Virgin Island, Puerto Rico, Nevis, Mexico, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, and his home country of Japan.
Since 2016 Matsui has documented his daily life with ink and watercolor on scrap paper found along the way and bound in hand-made sketch books. In keeping with DIY Zine culture, these original drawings are scanned and printed with a home printer on hand-crafted Japanese Washi paper (a process Matsui learned under the tutelage of Chuji Ooshiro, an elder master papermaker in the Atago region of Tenryu, Shizuoka).
The illustrated recollections of Matsui’s journey is a singular print edition, placed within hand picked thrift store frames and presented as an iconic Zine that transcends chronological time and cultural geography giving us an incredible overview of experiences the artist chooses as noteworthy enough to document for posterity.
Yasushi Matsui (b. 1982)) is a painter based in Oakland, California. He has been honing his skills in drawing and painting over the past two decades through live painting at events and festivals, murals, commissioned illustrations, and collaborating with a variety of artists and fashion brands.
SKRAPS at Anno Domini is Matsui’s debut gallery solo exhibition.
Art Ark Gallery – 1035 South Sixth St. map
Artist reception: IconograpHER: Symbols, Power, Proliferation by Krista Fay
An exhibition of oil paintings and interactive media exploring. online power structures and the proliferation of ideas through social media. Join us for the opening and artist talk from 6pm-9pm.
FUSE presents at the Citadel Art Gallery- 199 Martha St. map
FUSE presents: Speed Creating
Paint with other artists! From 5–9pm we’ll set up easels with canvases in a circle, art material are in the center of the circle. Everyone starts to paint, at 10 minute intervals painting is stopped and everyone moves to the next easel. You never know what to expect!
Gallery Suha Suha – 45 E. Williams St. map
Artists’ reception: Technology 2020 ( Young Artists showcase)
How does a generation raised by technology understand it? “Technology” features the works of 6th-12th graders growing up in the heart of Silicon Valley. Reporting from the epicenter of the world’s tech industry, young student artists use abstract images and graphic design to express their own relationships to this endlessly provocative force. A wide range of ideas are united by the artists’ unadulterated sincerity. Encompassing technology’s playfulness, creativity and convenience, along with its sad and troublesome aspects, the heirs of today’s breakthroughs show us imaginative glimpses into tomorrow–the direction, questions, hopes, and challenges of human lives increasingly intertwined with technology.
Featuring artists: Giwoo Kim / Ryan Chen / Jun Hee Won / Hyoyeol Song / Chloe Eugene Jo Beomhee Kim / Yoomin Shin / Jonathan Lee / Seo Young Bae / William Kim Chanhee Park / Kyeongwon Lee/ Channie Hong / Jason Choi / Emily Leong Natalie Tayler / Sarah Park / Hope Wu / Alex Hwang / Iris Tsai / Gayeong Song Aaron Lin / Josiah Kim / Teresa Tao / Seohee Choi/ Angelita Marcelino / Tebin Kim /Makaila Kim/ Charmaine Zingmen Ho / Wonyoung Do / Anna Kim / Noah Kang / Joy Kim / Amy Koski / Ryuha Kim / Claire J Lee / Ryan D Park / Abigail Kim /Rina Kim /Jun Seo Oh / Daniel Myoung / Seah Hong / Hannah Shaw / Solomon Chang /Ian Choe / Catherine Funtu / Jayden Ham / Yijin Chong / Grace Kim / David Kim/ Hyunhwa Jung / Elizabeth Kim / Sara Farrer/ Cailyn Park / Allison Marcelino / Ellia Kim / Aaron Minseung Kang / Katherine Kim / Daniel Lee / Choeon Kim /Yeaseo Jeong / Joyce Jung / Christine Cho
Exhibition text by Giwoo Kim.
KALEID gallery – 320 South First St. map
KALEID Gallery is proud to present two new exhibitions by resident artists Teresa Beyer, and Kyle Harter in our feature galleries and the debut of our project room with a video installation by Dean Levita.
Artist reception: Liquid Color new works by Teresa Beyer
“This is my mask”
What do you see?
Whatever I want
But it is not me.
I am a woman,
A daughter, a wife
I was a girl once,
But now I’ve lived life.
We all wear masks, for different audiences.
Our romantic mask, our caring mask, our feminine mask, our warrior mask, our sad mask, our joyful mask.
Masks have always fascinated me, the ability to hide one’s true feelings under a façade – instant bravery in a scary world. Put on clown make-up, and it’s no longer you with your anxieties, you are transformed and freed!
I build my masks in the classic water color style, building up luminous layers over layers and using the unpainted paper as negative space. I especially love the eyes, animating an otherwise empty mask, the doorway into the soul of the painting.
I don’t only paint masks – I use the Liquid Color of watercolor, cold wax, acrylic and oil to bring life to landscapes, portraits, flowers and other objects. I have been painting for 25 years, primarily in watercolor, but occasionally using other media. I paint what I see or imagine, in order to bring more beauty into the world.
Artist reception: Stay for Tea new drawings by Kyle Harter
Stay For Tea is inspired by the warmth, calm, and intimacy of sharing tea with a friend. Take a break from day-to-day busyness; find both peace and playfulness in these minimalist paintings and drawings. Please view slowly – just like you would sip a cup of hot tea.
Kyle Harter is an illustrator from San Jose, California. Kyle’s techniques and mediums range from minimalist black and white pen and ink line drawings to prints, paintings, murals, comics, and art books. Embodying themes like humor, self-care, and empowerment — it’s clear that Kyle’s goal is to inform, encourage, and cultivate happiness with his audience.
Harter’s work can been seen in Content Magazine, KALEID Gallery, and many more galleries and shops throughout the west coast.
Artist reception: PHASES video installation by Dean Levita
Dean Levita’s installation “Phases” is a non-narrative film that is experimental in form. During a gathering in San Francisco, a group of individuals share their creativity/practices. Levita filmed participants with no directions. The effects of grouping and mirroring became ways of self-reflection. Another layer is added when viewers associate and adopt their own opinion to the subject matter. The result is a film that focuses on the constant changes on how we view our own identity and that of others.
Dean Levita’s work is guided largely by intuition and by finding a sublime through the repetition of shapes and colors in a deceptively simple way. Despite–or precisely because of–their simplicity, Levita’s paintings, installations, and photography embody a bright optimism seemingly executed with the brevity that inspires prolonged contemplation from the viewers.
MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 South First St. map
On view: Our Connection to the Land
The earth, its fruits, and the current state of our planet are all at the forefront for Our Connection to the Land, the new exhibition at MACLA. Exploring the vision of artists whose work reflects our connection to the land, from the food we eat to the distances between us and home, the exhibition features the work of artists Abiam Alvarez, Arleene Correa Valencia, Karen Miranda Rivadeneira, Narsiso Martinez, and Suzy Gonzalez.
Special performance by Qiensave
From Salinas, California, with roots stretching back to Michoacan, Mexico. Out of a town that’s traditionally been stigmatized with a reputation of being one of the most violent cities in California, comes talent and beautiful music that is overshadowed by media coverage of crime and violence. Qiensave has existed as a musical entity since 2009. Their new album, Mujer, was produced by world-renowned and Latin Grammy-nominated musicians and producers, such as Eric Canales and Sam Pura.
Phantom Galleries at Culinary Corner Bistro – 321 South First St. map
Artist reception: Above and Beyond by Donna Orme
I allow obscure thoughts and feelings to emerge into forms which are then expressed in art pieces. My daily practice revolves around creating mixed media, oil and cold wax, acrylic and printmaking (monotype, monoprint, collagraph and lithography) artworks. The images incorporate an interplay of space, color, circles and lines. Being in my imagination allows me to think freely.
The composition of my work is contemporary in feeling. Producing non-objective art requires that one be articulate about the simplicity or complexity of line. My art is playful and has a sense of rhythm and energy that is design oriented. The finished product is a spontaneous expression of thought and emotion. At the end of a workday, I find myself in a state of warm tranquility. The images reflect emotions or thoughts from the day they were created. These works invite the viewer to create his or her own interpretation of the artwork.
Donna Orme is an experimental artist. She produces acrylic monotypes from clearbag plates without the use of a press. Collages and mixed media artworks are made from acrylic skins. She works from vaguely felt thoughts and feelings that are expressed in the colors and forms which emerge through her art. Eye-catching images have a sense of movement and spontaneity making them playful, lively and energetic.
Ms. Orme studied printmaking at the College of San Mateo, CA and at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, CA. She has received many national, state and local awards, is a Signature Member of the National Collage Society and her work was selected by VISA for the 2007 Wall Calendar. Her work appears in the California Society of Printmakers One Hundred Years 1913-2013.
PhantomGalleries at The Pierce – 2 Pierce Ave. map
Artist reception: Cats of Virtue by Patrick Hobbie
The show is a reflection of our human condition and the internal struggles of morality and vice told though the eyes of the beloved and noble cat.
In his ink and watercolor work, Hobbie aims to capture the power of an animal and the energy that surrounds it. While he paints, he thinks of the impression of his subject’s form and the life-force that drives it, resulting in an image that becomes alive and demands attention.
*New venue…
PhantomGalleries at Pizza Flora – 78 S 1st St. map
Artist reception: Aether by Emonic
Aether is a retrospective of work over the past few years combining illustrated subjects with elements of design and color to work as single pieces.
Emonic is a self taught illustration artist based in the Bay Area. He holds an A.S. in Multi-Media but prefers ink, paint, and watercolors as his main mediums of choice. His subject matter combines a mixture of elements of the real and surreal.
*New venue…
San Jose Jazz – 300 South First St. map
Youth Jazz Jam with House Band made up of members of the SJZ High School All Stars
At San Jose Jazz HQ on the corner of San Carlos and First Streets, check out our youth jazz jam anchored by members of our honors ensemble, the High School All Stars. Bring your instrument and join in the fun, or pop in anytime between 7:30 and 9pm to hear some great live music.
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map
SJMQT has new exhibits up for the First Friday ArtWalk! Also, live music courtesy of Mystery Tour!; a valentine craft with the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of The Embroiderers’ Guild of America; and artist Pantea Karimi will be at the museum to answer questions about her exhibition The Forgotten Women of Science.
Inside Out: Seeing Through Clothing
Clothing acts as both a boundary and bridge between the body and the world. At once utilitarian and deeply expressive, clothing offers protection from external conditions while extending our inner selves—our identities, desires and beliefs—to the surface of our bodies and beyond. This dynamic relationship between inside and outside will be explored in Inside Out: Seeing Through Clothing, featuring the work of 11 artists who investigate the boundary that clothing creates between the self and world. Working in the fields of sculpture, photography, installation and textile art, these artists consider themes of transparency, openness, interiority and visibility to create objects that invite us in while reaching out. Their works reimagine clothing as a radical and poetic form, capable of revealing hidden—and often uncomfortable—truths while dissolving boundaries between interior and exterior worlds.
Artists include Reiko Fujii, Claudia Casarino, Charlotte Kruk, Robin Lasser & Adrienne Pao, Victoria May, Kate Mitchell, Laura Raboff, Beverly Rayner, Rose Sellery, and Jean Shin.
Shirley Cunningham and Marianne Lettieri: Never Ending Thread
Cunningham and Lettieri juxtapose their independent art installations to create a space for poetic reverie. Working with re-purposed materials, needle, thread, light and shadow, they explore cultural, spiritual, and material translations of objects, symbols, and text through the aesthetics of craft and design. Cunningham retells an ancient creation story in imaginary tapestry, transforming garments through painterly stitches and skillful embellishment. Lettieri re-contextualizes a thousand articles of estate crochet to make a new narrative about individual identity, community, and creativity. Together, the artists engage the infinite thread that runs through time.
Pantea Karimi: The Forgotten Women of Science
The Forgotten Women of Science, features lesser-acknowledged female scientists from ancient times to the nineteenth century, and highlights their contributions to science. History shows that there were many powerful, intelligent and professional women in a wide range of scientific fields. These women did not just assume marginalized roles in the male-dominated fields of science; they were also pioneers and generators of cutting-edge ideas.
Works San Jose – 365 South Market St. map
Opening reception: Foresight:2020
What do artists imagine now that we’re in this futuristic-sounding year? Are there new imagined futures? Retro-futures? Hopes or laments for the present day and beyond? “Space: 1999,” “2001: a space odyssey,” and “Bladerunner” set in 2019, are among many visually influential TV and films that put 2020 far into fantastic futures. Local artists responded in a wide range of media to these and other temporal quandaries with 200 works of art.
Caffé Frascati – 315 South First St. map
Downstairs Gallery
Artist reception: Interplay of Wood, Water and Wind
by Yao-Pi Hsu
I worked in the biosciences field as a research scientist for over thirty years. Test tubes and centrifuge were the center of my daily life until one fateful trip to China. Since I left China, my home land more than forty years ago, I returned in 1996 with my family to find our roots. The Yellow Mountains (Huang-Shan) of China have long been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists. Often shrouded in fog and clouds, the mountain peaks revealed themselves to me at just the right moment. Upon returning to the United States I realized that I had two award-winning photographs. This ultimately led me to a new career path and added another dimension to my life.
Since then, I have continued to pursue my interest in photography. Art and science each take a turn in how I understand the world around me. As a fine art photographer I apply the same principles I used in scientific research: search and research, examine and reexamine, and explore concepts from different perspective. I explore the world around me, as I look for reflection, angles , colors, forms or perspectives that represents how diverse and abundant the world expresses its various forms and beauties. I delight in capturing the extraordinary beauty of an ordinary subject and in creating something new that is already there. I hope to capture those moments that reveal truth and understanding. I take my camera with me so I can share what I find with you.
Upstairs Gallery
Artist reception: Snapshots by Raquel Navas
We create memories by correlating a moment, idea or a visual with an emotion. The first thing that we notice about an individual, are their looks. Visual beauty always strikes our attention, intoxicates our emotions as it moves, inspires, and can make us irrational enough to fall in love. Our memories are triggered by simple moments that take us back to that feeling we once had and as time goes on, we reminisce and beg to be taken back to those times. My photos are inspired of love at first sight experiences and how the simplistic measure of things can create a profound memory in our lives. Down to the simplest thing can imbed a beautiful memory. Memories of meeting intimidating strangers that have now become my closest companions to trying to take in every day views walking to work.
Raquel Navas is a 21 year old student at San Jose State University. She was born and raised in Richmond California and has been photographing since 2019. Her choice of camera is a vintage Minolta film camera, gifted to her by her friend, and 35mm film on fiber paper. Life and the simple things in life inspire her as she takes photos of her friends and places she has been. As a new photographer, she carries her camera everywhere with her, so she doesn’t miss a moment.
First Fridays Opera Night Valentine’s Edition present by the First Street Singers.
Join us for another great Opera Night! This time, we’re bringing you all of the love songs to get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day! Arias, duets, and ensembles from your favorite operas, free to the public.
As always, performing in conjunction with South FIRST FRIDAYS in the SoFA district of downtown San Jose.
Forager Tasting Room & Eatery – 420 South First St. map
Rookery Artisan Market
Come shop for unique handmade jewelry, greeting cards, & other artwork at the Rookery Artisan Market. Enjoy a brew and live music, too!
SJSU Muse Night at Hammer Theatre – 101 Paseo de San Antonio map
Stop by to see photography and paintings by SJSU emerging artists that grapples with love in all its varied forms.
Participating artists: Zaide, Deviney Neminiah, Tyreke, and Soovin Choi
SoFA Market – 387 So. First St. map
Artist reception: Beneath The Surface by David “Doc” Roseblade
This a collection of past works from different time periods in the artists life, based around his roots in graffiti and illustration, a love for music, and inspiration from family and friends.
Join us on Facebook ArtWalkSJ
The South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk is produced by Two Fish Design in partnership with the participating art organizations and independent businesses.