What You Missed at First Fridays

I had to start at ADA Gallery to see the Morgan Herrin piece because I had been lucky enough to see the beautiful female form he did last year that ended up being sold to Lance Armstrong. The new work was also beautifully sculpted in wood, with the head, breasts and legs of a woman emerging from a relief globe. I'm not sure whether his greater strength is depicting the female form or turning wood into something so smooth and fine. In either case, it was a don't miss piece last night, despite not officially being on view (thanks, Rachel).

Next up was Ghostprint Gallery where street artist Josh McPhee had assembled a collection of street art and posters. The show was beyond amazing; almost 200 examples of socially conscious art, political statements and flyers. Ghostprint had done a show of street art over a year ago and I had bought one of Josh McPhee's prints then ("The City is Ours"), so I knew this was an artist who would gather an outstanding assemblage and he delivered magnificently. If you missed First Fridays, you need to make a point to go see this show right away. It's that good.

Went to Thanky Space's final show and it was a little bittersweet. The designated one-year project begun last September by Victoria and Travis is nearing its end and Victoria told me she is most satisfied with what they learned and what they accomplished with the endeavor. In just the past year, Thanky became known for off-beat exhibits that were always worth seeking out and those of us art lovers who appreciated their eye for the different will miss their presence as part of the FF line-up.

Ended up in the courtyard at Adams for Heather's last gathering of the season in this magical space. She's been offering a variety of arts for the past 4 FF's and last night's included music and projected images and, of course, her usual grilled hot dogs and assorted beverages. In past months, there have also been art exhibits and artisans selling their crafts. This unique space, with its brick wall mural of mountains and up-lit trees is like a secret cave for those who know about it or are lucky enough to stumble into it. If you missed it, you'll have to wait until next year to see if Heather starts it up again.

The only downside of the entire night was Thea at Ghostprint telling me that her evening had started with a visit from the Fire Code people, checking for capacity and exits. Do these people really have nothing better to do than sabotage the most successful art event and draw for downtown that this city has managed to create? Surely their time and the city's money could be better spent on abandoned buildings and unsafe houses. We need this harassment of the arts community to end.

Second Saturdays Artwalk on Broad

I'm ashamed to say I didn't know about Second Saturdays on Broad...and I live right in the neighborhood. Basically, it's a second chance to catch the First Fridays Artwalk exhibitions if you were otherwise occupied on that Friday (I was at the Decemberists show).

I knew I wanted to see the Richmond Illustrators show at Ghostprint Gallery, which was just excellent. The illustrations ran the gamut stylistically and many had quite reasonable prices attached to them. I also checked out shows at Quirk, ADA, Visual Arts and Thanky Space. I even got a chance to stop by Gallery 5's yard sale and picked up a couple things to help support the very worthy cause that is G5. That stop gave me a chance to volunteer to help with clean up and taking the remains of the stuff to Diversity Thrift for donation tomorrow.

As I ran into people I knew and others I had the pleasure to meet this afternoon, it became clear that there are plenty of people who are busy on First Fridays but don't want to miss seeing what's new in the galleries every month. Hopefully the Arts District will get the word out to the community so that more people can take advantage of a free Saturday afternoon to peruse the latest art. And if you need further incentive, parking is a snap on Saturdays down here, Lift and Tarrants are open and serving and it's a great opportunity to check out the neighborhood in daylight. Jackson Ward's architecture alone is worth an afternoon's stroll, IMHO.