JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on April 2nd!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)

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

  

  Opening Reception: Cloud Empire solo exhibition of Dimitri Drjuchin (NYC)

  Drjuchin’s art is a hyperdimensional machine that invokes creatures who come bounding forward with affection and recklessness. These are not the Icons of the Byzantine Church—they are the new Incarnated Symbols of the Multiverse. Drjuchin allows us a glimpse into a fractulated moment of cultural hypnagogic modality and an opportunity to alter our perspectives of reality.

  Featuring live music: Jhameel presents a blend of orchestral instruments, makeshift percussion, pop vocal melodies, and ambient synthesizers that creates an unfamiliar yet warm atmosphere. At live performances, he utilizes violin, trumpet, glockenspiel, percussion, guitar, and vocals to create intricate arrangements through a loop station.

  Drop in via Ustream

• Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. map

  

  Lionel Chapital explores the experience of African women in his live torchworking demonstrations during the art walk at the Art Glass Center of San Jose. Kisima carries a vessel of water, held precious and valuable in the dry areas of that continent. Lori Peterson will create various flowers in soft glass as a preview to the Glass Flower Show coming in May.

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  [7-9pm] Opening Reception: Featured Exhibitions by Kurtis Rykovich, Kate Saturday

  
  art by Kurtis Rykovich

  WANDA new paintings by Kurtis Rykovich

  This show is a tribute to Breast Cancer survivors and casualties. Each piece represents a battle in search for a cure, they emanate hope that a future is not far in the distance.

  
  art by Kate Saturday

  Speaking Lines stories about people and their places by Kate Saturday.
  A chair, table and drawing materials will be provided. To read a story is to tell a story.

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

  
  Image credit: Indira Báez

  The gallery is closed for installation of the 12th Annual Latino Art Auction opening April 14, 2010. Check out the black box for free MACLA performances.

  I’m Still Jenny from the Block: A tribute to Latina pop stars featuring TurboMex video party, resident drag queen Donna Persona and sidewalk fire eater Ram Shackle Nicolas.

• Phantom Galleries – temporary exhibits in vacant storefronts

  386 South First St: Miguel Machuca — TBA

  
  Andy Gouveia

  388 So. First Street: Fault-lines an installation by Bay Area artist Andy Gouveia.

  A spray can and house paint mural painted live in Golden Gate park as part of the Indy Arts Fest 2009. This exhibition also hosts an array of his smaller paintings dealing with the myth and mystery of the ancient world.

• San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map

  
  Dinner at Eight by Joan Schulze
  2008, 48” x 91”, Silk, paper, Collage, glue transfer process, machine quilted.

  In the Main Galleries: Poetic License: The Art of Joan Schulze is a retrospective of the prolific 40-year career of innovative Bay Area collage artist Joan Schulze. Also on view: Navajo Weaving in the Present Tense: The Art of Lucy and Ellen Begay, a rare collection of a remarkable body of work by two contemporary Navajo weavers, a mother and daughter, whose work is deeply rooted in the traditional lifestyle they still lead.

  Special event: Reading of original poetry by featured artist Joan Schulze, 8-9pm.

• SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map

  

  GIANT MONSTERS!!!!! — SLG presents artwork from one of it’s newest graphic novels, Doris Danger: Giant Monster Adventures. Artist/author/creator Chris Wisnia will be on hand to sign books, draw monsters and otherwise talk about the coolness that is (are) GIANT MONSTERS. Artist featured in the show include Wisnia, Simon Bisley, Neal Adams, Mike Allred and a whole lot more.

  Live music featuring Boozewackers. Doors open at 8:00 for the always fun and interesting Art Boutiki.

• Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map

  
  art by Dennis Champion

  Artist’s Reception in P2 Gallery — Image and Abstraction by Dennis Champion reflects the translation of unconscious thought and image into 2D abstracts. Some pieces are a combination of figurative images of unconscious origin and of totally abstract renderings of “thoughts unknown.”

  On view in the main gallery—Female Found Mixed Media Contemporary Art, curated by Terenia Offenbacker, presents the work of eight women that create art together through weekly sessions for the past seven years.

• Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Venice Squared A Photographic Comparison of Venice, Italy and Venice, California by John Eric Paulson, Master Photographer. Photography has been both John’s passion and profession for the past 34 years. He has a B.A. degree in Art from San Jose State University and has been awarded both the Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees from the Professional Photographers of America.

  In 1997 John began pursuing digital images in his work. John’s current works have evolved from his travels in the Mediterranean. Capturing the basic beauty of the land and enhancing it’s drama is what he enjoys best.

  First Fridays are Opera Night at Caffe Trieste, with some of the Bay Area’s best opera singers performing your favorite arias and duets.

  Drop in via Ustream

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  

  Downtown Yoga Shala is proud to feature native American artist Paul Rubio. A San Jose native, Paul’s sculpture and pottery is both contemporary and original, not connected to any one culture or historic period. Each piece speaks of the inherent magic in life intuited by our primitive ancestors, and the value in our efforts to understand our deep bond with nature. Join us in celebration of our One Year Anniversary for a special Candlelight Yoga class at 6-8pm followed by a Private Artist viewing from 8:00-8:15pm, before we open our doors to the art patrons and downtown community for the South First Fridays Art Walk from 8:15pm till late.

• Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Biomechanical Works Recent paintings, sculptures, prints and apparel by Ron Earhart (Analog Tattoo)

• METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: oooohhh Dios mio photos by the First St. Photo Collective

• South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Bringing Back the Color! featuring: John Cloud, Mike Kjolhaug, Nicolas Caesar, Lina Ruelas

  A group art exhibit celebrating color. showcasing four artists who know how to use color to its full potential. They will show you how beautiful color can be. This exhibit is sure to lift your spirits and open your mind. Live art and live music by: Frail Soul, INFM, and Ghost Town Hangmen.

• Art Ark – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  

  6-9pm Opening Reception: Live From the ARKives This group exhibition is comprised of twenty local artists working in a variety of mediums; some of which have chosen to exhibit works from their archives while others have reached into the recesses of their memories to create new works that address the concept of stored content.

JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on March 5th!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)

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

  

  Opening Reception: Indoctrination debut solo exhibition of Dante Horoiwa

  Under the skin of his everyday life in Brazil lies Horoiwa’s Japanese heritage. His paintings portray the spiritually lost and lonely. Through his work, from life-size paintings in São Paulo to the side of a 4 story building in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Horoiwa is able to cope with his want to hide from the world and his need to be a part of it.

  Music: tba

• Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. map

  

  The SJGAA invites you to get a special sneak peek at their new fine art gallery extension as they expand the Art Glass Center of San Jose. Lionel Chapital and Lori Peterson will be on the torches creating precious little works of art just in time for Easter.

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  [7-9pm] Opening Reception: The Sketch Book Show

  
  art by Lacey Bryant

  The Sketchbook Show

  Take a rare peak into the twisted minds of 29 artists! Peer into the depths of their sketchbooks and see what makes them tick. Step into their brain space and enjoy by DJ Coco, catering by Fundamental Gourmet, coffee by Red Berry Coffee Bar and conversation with the sketchers themselves!

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

  
  Mariana Garibay, Tangle Weed, monotype, collage, acrylic and string mounted on wood, 2009.

  Currently on view Conceptual Landscapes: recent work by Castillo and Mariana Garibay. Ancestry, nature and form are reflected in this two person show featuring site specific installation and works on paper.

  Join us for the Artist Talk on Friday, March 5 at 7:30pm for a gallery walk through and an engaging conversation about their work

• Phantom Galleries – temporary exhibits in vacant storefronts

  
  Guy Brookshire

  386 South First St: Illustrations from the Book of Dreams are book art collages, created with precision blades and glue by destroying reference, art, history, and science publications. They illustrate uncanny narratives of which no knowledge is required. The universe they describe is the work of Guy Benjamin Brookshire.

  
  Andy Gouveia

  388 So. First Street: Fault-lines an installation by Bay Area artist Andy Gouveia.

  A spray can and house paint mural painted live in Golden Gate park as part of the Indy Arts Fest 2009. This exhibition also hosts an array of his smaller paintings dealing with the myth and mystery of the ancient world.

• San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map

  
  The Angel Equation by Joan Schulze

  In the Main Galleries: Poetic License: The Art of Joan Schulze is a retrospective of the prolific 40-year career of innovative Bay Area collage artist Joan Schulze. Also on view: Navajo Weaving in the Present Tense: The Art of Lucy and Ellen Begay, a rare collection of a remarkable body of work by two contemporary Navajo weavers, a mother and daughter, whose work is deeply rooted in the traditional lifestyle they still lead.

  Special event 8-9pm: Reading of original poerty by Joan Schulze.

• SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map

  

  Web comics are all the rage these days and SLG presents artwork from one of the most popular webcomics on the internet as artist Ethan Nicolle shows of his work from AXE COP. For the uninitiated Axe Cop is the web comic created by Ethan and his five-year-old brother. Have you ever read something and said to yourself “Was this written by a five year old?” Well, Axe Cop IS written by a five year old and it’s one of the funniest thing on the web. Entertainment Weekly and NPR agree and we are sure you will too.

  Also, the Andy Ristaino Escape from Dullsville show continues. Live music by Jazz Trio Quasimodal.

• Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map

  
  Blue Canyons by Terenia Offenbacker

  Female Found Mixed Media Contemporary Art, curated by Terenia Offenbacker, presents the work of eight women that create art together through weekly sessions for the past seven years. The materials used are common: paper, sand, metals, textiles, etc., but each artist works in a different creative way. Featured artists: Rosine Ferber, Ann Gordon, Camille Ball, Ricky Gumbrecht, Shuang Zhang, Sheryl Tealdi, Annette Legallet and Terenia Offenbacker.

• Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Venezia Revisited is a collection of paintings made by San Jose artist Eileen Graham after a 2007 trip to Italy.

  Live music by Opera San José, featuring your favorite arias and duets starting at 8:30pm.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: “Yoga Inspired Art” by Angeles Moreno

  Simplicity, harmony, color, and strong outlines define her art, influenced by her life’s work as a graphic designer. Yoga came to her at its own time. It was in discovering consistent yoga practice that revealed a more profound significance and a fresh inspiration for her artwork.

  Seeking a deeper understanding of the disciplines at the core yogic principles, Angeles completed the Ashtanga Teacher Training at Mount Madonna, founded 35 years ago by the silent Guru, Baba Hari Dass.

  To capture and (re)express the many universal, positive messages from this ancient philosophy, the canvases began to fill with the Spirit of Yoga, compassion – balance – harmony.

  Angeles Moreno is a yoga teacher at Downtown Yoga Shala. To see more of Angeles’ work, please join us after Candlelight Yoga (6:15-8pm) as we open our doors to the art patrons and the downtown community for an Artist Reception beginning at 8pm.

• Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

  
  art by Wendy Neff

  Opening Reception: Group exhibit by Good Karma Staff
  A mixed media, mixed artist show to celebrate the creative bunch that work at Good Karma. Featuring: Tony Buccino, Julia Lang, Otessa Crandell, Sarah Cade, and Wendy Neff.

• METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map

  

  I’m With the Band? photos by the First St. Photo Collective

• South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

  

  Group Show by Illuskrate

  Illuskrate is an art blog started and contributed to by Dion Bello and Anabella Pinon. The blog is an exhibit symbolizing work created after the day job some artists have to maintain to be able create the pieces displayed in these galleries.

  The show is a collection of very talented South Bay artists that include; Anabella Pinon, Dee Jae Pa’este, Noel Huh, Nicole Terzic, Mike Borja, Daniel Valadez, Kristine Taormino, Kim Christman and Dion Bello.

  Live musical performances by Fake Public and Can’t Find a Villain.

  South First Billiards is now an ALL AGES venue.

• Art Ark – 1035 South Sixth St. map

  

  The Art of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance curated by David Zhang

  This traveling exhibition has been shown in more than 40 countries and over 200 cities worldwide. Last year a preview was held at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda. The show features oil paintings by 12 artists including: Kunlun Zhang, Xiaoping Chen, Yuan Li, Kathleen Gillis, and Xiqiang Dong whose art portrays the experiences, visions, and hope of Falun Dafa followers as they attempt to safeguard justice and peace while upholding their values in truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

  Free shuttle service from South First Street to the Art Ark Gallery every 15 minutes between 5:45 – 9:15pm in front of the Miami Beach Club

JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on February 5th!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)

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

  

  Opening Reception: ART OF ZINES 2010 featuring hundreds of zines from basements, bedrooms and midnight copy shops throughout the U.S. and abroad.

  We love zines… those little diy, cut-and-paste, copied-on-the-cheap, hand-folded, self-distributed gems that continue to surface because someone, somewhere feels the need to express themselves. It’s that simple. Zines exist and fleurish outside the mainstream with no particular interest whether you’re paying attention or not. According to Chip Rowe, creator of Chip’s Closet Cleaner, “They’re Tinkertoys for malcontents. They’re obsessed with obsession. They’re extraordinary and ordinary. They’re about strangeness but since it’s usually happening somewhere else you’re kind of relieved.”

  Featured Zine sellers: Marc Arsenault, John Bobst, Silvia Chenault, Michael Foley, Ben Henderson, Chris Kardambikis, M Undead, Yumiko Miyagawa, Tomas Moniz, Kyle Pellet, Mahoney Perkins, Louis Schmidt, Matthew Seigel, Kate Steward & Meagan Zupanci

  Music: Adam Lynn, Zoe Boekbinder (Vermillion LIes), Corpus Callosum

• Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. map

  

  Bring your Valentine and enjoy live demonstrations by Lionel Chapital and our new instructor Lori Peterson at the torch. No doubt they will take inspiration from the holiday to create one-of-a-kind blown glass sculptures and beads that will warm your heart. Hearts and flowers from 20 other artists spread the love throughout the entire studio.

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  [7-9pm] Opening Reception for featured exhibitions by Sandi Billingsley and Mark Damrel with live music by INFM, Tyler Boyd

  
  art by Sandi Billingsley

  Transfiguration is a collection of three dimensional art is an expression of Sandi Billingsley’s faith that “we humans can live in luxury while being environmentally responsible.” Transfiguration is essentially the art of changing the properties of an object. In this case it refers to the changing of garbage into art.

  This series is made entirely from rescued materials. The core is made of Styrofoam collected from shipping packages, friends and dumpsters. Sandi then applies a combination of old paint clothes, junk mail, phone books — basically anything with natural fibers headed for the trash. Dipping these flexible materials in non-toxic glue gives them strength to hold interesting shapes. Finally, the piece is finished with “Aqua Brand” textures and paint which are non-toxic. The result is an environmentally friendly piece of art.

  
  art by Mark Damrel

  Relative Matter is a series of paintings by Mark Damrel inspired by the hardships he encountered on his journey into fatherhood. “Years went by with little to no hope. I started to get used to the fact that I would never have a family, and then it happened.”

  In groupings of mixed media paintings on wood and paper he explores the themes of childhood memories, despair, hope and joy.

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

  
  Castillo, Brown Sugar (detail), giclee, burlap bags, chain, 2009

  Opening reception of Conceptual Landscapes: recent work by Castillo and Mariana Garibay. Ancestry, nature and form are reflected in this two person show featuring site specific installation and works on paper.

• Phantom Galleries – temporary exhibits in vacant storefronts

  
  Guy Brookshire

  386 South First St: Illustrations from the Book of Dreams are book art collages, created with precision blades and glue by destroying reference, art, history, and science publications. They illustrate uncanny narratives of which no knowledge is required. The universe they describe is the work of Guy Benjamin Brookshire.

  
  Kate Stewart

  388 So. First Street: We Are Not From Here/ here we are an exhibit of large oil paintings by Kate Stewart

  Every city has a personality that both shapes and is shaped by the people who live there. People reflect the city as they build it. People fade into the city and embody it. The city learns its own nature by watching. The city and the individual enter a collaboration. Five paintings by Kate Stewart tell the city stories about itself.

• SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map

  

  ESCAPE FROM DULLSVILLE – Life is anything but dull in the SLG Boutiki & Gallery, and our first show of the year is no exception. First, artist and writer Andy Ristaino returns presenting artwork from his insanely crazy book Escape from Dullsville. See Andy’s high energy vision and find out for yourself why he was featured in HIgh Fructose magazine.

  Also, local author Dianne Sweeney will be on hand signing copies of her new book Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace.

  Live music by Assemblehead and all the things you have come to expect from an SLG event on South FIRST FRIDAY!

• San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map

  
  Pineapple Variation or Windmill Blades, Unknown quilt maker, Circa 1890

  Exhibits on view: Still Crazy mines the Museum’s permanent collection to explore the glorious Victorian crazy quilt, a purely decorative object that presaged modernists’ use of abstraction and collage techniques and was a forerunner of the contemporary art quilt.

  Also on view: Reincarnation: The Crazy Collage Aesthetic of India & Japan explores how different cultures have interpreted the ‘crazy collage aesthetic’ with c. 1920-1950 Japanese kimonos from the collection of the Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture and contemporary Indian crazy quilts from the collection of Shobha Imports.

• Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map

  

  Give a little tough love to Works/San Jose and get some back! Come see the (anti)Valentine’s Silent Auction and Exhibition! Preview artworks 12-4pm February 4th and join us First Friday when bidding opens from 12-10pm ~ or buy instantly! Entry to exhibit is free! Bidders pay just $5.

  Installation in Paulette Peterson space by local artist Maynard Edwards

• Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: All But Purple, paintings by Tamar Belson.

  “Despite my love for the red and blue colors, in this series I did not combine them to create the purple color. I used other basic color and their combinations to create a play of contrasts. Warm and cold colors, lines and shapes on colorful surfaces and circles on squares – being some of them. I am always attracted by the powerful interaction between those contrasts and offer the viewer the surprising and vivid fine balanced outcome.” ~Tamar Belson

  Back at Caffe Trieste for 2010, Opera San José, featuring your favorite arias and duets starting at 8:30pm.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: photography by Nadia Nasiri

  Downtown Yoga Shala is proud to present featured artist Nadia Nasiri, a promising young self-taught photographer and avid yoga practitioner. She shares her love of nature and yoga through her lens. Nadia holds a masters degree in recreation with a focus on international tourism management from San Jose State University. It is her intention and desire to work for a non-profit that does eco trips abroad. Nadia believes in the transformation that is possible through travel and would like to promote travel that is beneficial to the community and the environment. Nadia is fascinated by social change, spirituality, the environment, and the importance of leisure.

• Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Both Before & After by Benjamin Caprile

  Born in Grenoble France, but raised in the Silicon Valley, Benjamin creates surreal landscapes that combine the familiar with the unknown, the mundane with the monumental. Sometimes grotesque and other times serene, the artwork balances opposites through a variety of mediums.

  Live DJ sets by Richard Gutierrez and Claude Cardenas.

• METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map

  

  Heart Show photos by the First St. Photo Collective

• South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

  

  On view: Heart Of Chaos Uproar sale closes end of February! Please stop by and place a bid on your favorite art piece.

  South First Billiards is now an ALL AGES venue.

JOIN US for South FIRST FRIDAYS — October 2nd!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)

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

  

  On view in galleryONE: Walking in the White by PJOTA (São Paulo, Brazil)
  
  For his exhibition at Anno Domini, Pjota has created large canvases that are, according to him, “predominantly white” symbolizing his lone journey to California. One might conclude that the nearly miniature entities in his paintings are a result of his feeling “small” when thinking about traveling alone to unfamiliar territory. However, the gritty daily experiences of São Paulo, one of the most populated cities in the world, find their way onto the canvases bringing with them a density of texture, color, grids and hand-lettered scrawl…the canvases can hardly be considered “predominantly white” anymore. As with any environment, be it within a city or a painting, it is rich with discovery should you take the time to explore its depths.

  On view in galleryTWO: Exsitu Insitu by Sam3 (Granada, Spain)
  
  Sam3 created a new animation and new canvas works entirely on site at Anno Domini in late August and early September. The 5 minute animation consists of 2136 hand painted frames which were created on the main exhibition walls. The sound and musical score is by Endika of San Jose’s nu class jazz group Panthelion. 12 oversized canvases in Sam’s signature style of “shadows” are also on view.

  Music by Deathat.

• Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. (map)

  

  The Art Glass Center will showcase Lionel Chapital and Shirley Cook in live glass blowing demonstrations. They’ll be creating glass pumpkins and fall botanicals until 10pm. Work from over 30 local glass artists will also be on display.

• Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map

  

  Opening Reception: Fragments… by Beth Redmond
  Things seen and experienced become the fragments that create the kaleidoscope of life. “For me, photography is less a representation of fact than a flight on imagination.” says Redmond. “The big picture is made of many fragments any one of which may capture the attention to become the picture. What we see is determined by how we look and also by how we think. What a photograph shows is determined by the imagination of the photographer.”

  Live Music: Opera San José performing your favorite arias and duets.

• Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

  

  Join us after Candlelight Yoga (6:45-8:15pm) as we open our doors to welcome SoFF art patrons and the downtown community. Our featured artist is one of Downtown Yoga Shala’s yoga instructors, Emily Lounsbury.

  Emily is a painter who’s driven by a love of the human figure and an obsession with anatomy. She considers the human form to be a work of art; and therefore seeks ways to do it justice. After graduating with her BFA in Fine Art Painting and Drawing she has participated in several solo and group shows in San Francisco and San Jose in addition to being hired to do portrait commissions.

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

  

  Currently on view La Reconquesta, new work by Einar and Jamex de la Torre commissioned in celebration of MACLA’s 20th Anniversary! From the Aztecs and the Spaniards to the prevalence of dollar stores and Mexican food, this exhibition features two unique installations that simultaneously explore historical and contemporary ideas of conquest. Join Einar and Jamex for a gallery walk-thru and an engaging conversation about their work on Thursday, October, 15 at 7:pm. Exhibition open through October 24.

• METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map

  

  The Metro Photo Exhibit is a photography gallery based on a monthly theme showcasing local Bay Area photographers of all levels. Visit the artists and their work, also participate in voting on the piece that best represents the given theme of the month.

  This month’s theme: No finer place for sure – portraits of Downtown by Carlos Da Silva, Abe Menor, Trish Leeper, Tanya Angeli, Anabella Pinon, Nancy H. Ahn, Chris Patton, Felipe Buritrago, Yumiko Miyagawa, Vu Nguyen, Jennifer Ahn, Jason Duffany, Michelle Budziak, Jen Anderson, Amber Chavez, Jai Tanju and Mario Guel.

  Music by RS2 Solid Sound

• Phantom Galleries – temporary exhibits in vacant storefronts

  

  386 South First St.: Everybody’s Happy Nowadays by Kyle Pellet
  If you’ve ever:
  1.) stood up somebody for a date,
  2.) eaten a hamburger at 2 in the morning and lived to regret it,
  3.) smelled something wholeheartedly unpleasant, and took a second and maybe third sniff
  4.) cried about something dumb,
  5.) given yourself a bad haircut,
  6.) gone to a birthday party of someone you hated,
  7.) wished bad things on somebody, had them happen, and then wished bad things on other people,
  then this installation is for you. Enjoy! “

  

  388 So. First Street: Nature Of The Beast by Tyson Johnston

  Strange things go bump in the night…. Oftentimes, dreams are reflections of phobias and dismay that we encounter in our daily lives. Usually, the underlying messages can be extremely cryptic. My aim is to decipher these nightmares into a meaningful message. I use animals and creatures to mirror human emotion, and as symbols. In the end, I hope to use these images and techniques to transfer the negative emotions from my nightmares into a positive release.

• San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art – 560 South First St. map

  

  The 29th Annual Fall Art Exhibition and Live Auction featuring works by more than 150 Bay Area contemporary artists in the Main and Focus Galleries. An Exhibition Opening Reception will be held on First Friday, October 2nd at 6pm. The Auction will be held on Saturday, October 24th. Doors open at 6pm and the auction begins promptly at 7pm. Tickets are $40 each if purchase by October 24; $50 each at the door. This year’s auction features complimentary wines and gourmet cocktail fare from the area’s finest restaurants and wineries. Call 408.283.8155 or email lis@sjica.org to purchase tickets. View the online auction gallery at www.sjica.org. All auction proceeds support the ICA’s exhibitions and programs.

• San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map

  

  On view: Fabric Tattoos: The Spirit of the Mola will transport you to the Kuna peoples’ world of winding snakes, birds, plants and myths. These designs were originally realized as tattoos and body painting. Now evolved into a sophisticated textile technique called ‘molas,’ these bold geometric shapes and vivid colors are surprising and stunning.

  On view in the main galleries: The World According to Joyce Gross: Quilts from the Dolph Briscoe Center, important historical quilts collected by one of the first quilt scholars.

  Special event this month: Sneak preview of just some of the art to be available in the High Fiber Under Five benefit sale of fine fiber art to be held November 3-8.

• SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map

  

  The SLG Boutiki & Gallery holds a spooky/swinging release party to celebrate the publication of Winchester #1, the comic book series about San Jose’s own mysterious architect Sarah Winchester. The gallery will feature a display of artwork from the series by Drew Rausch as well as work from the Haunted Mansion series also published by SLG.

  Live music provided by A Bacchus Joint

• South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

  

  Group exhibit: Michael Denning recycles media into statements about life, love, politics, and spirituality through collage. Al Preciado utilizes paint, mixed media and sculpture to create emotive and expressive figurative art based on religion, sports and mythology. Mike Kjolhaug’s (3.5) work spans different mediums but black bic ink pens are his favorite.

  21+ venue

• Space 47 – 47 East William Street map

• Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map

  In the Main Gallery: the Works/San Jose 2009 Member Exhibition All For One!…, –No judge, No jury–just our wide and varied community of artists from the South Bay! In the Paulette Peterson Space experience Failure, a mixed media installation by artist Lisa Noble.

On South Fourth Street…

• KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

  [7-9pm] Artists’ Reception for featured exhibits by Julie Bilyeu and Drew Clark

  

  Anxiety new drawings by Julie Bilyeu
  Julie’s love for art has helped her cope with a severe anxiety disorder. Drawing has become a necessity for her and she is currently inspired by these anxieties and panic attacks which manifests as dark and dramatic charcoal drawings of her experiences.

  

  From the Rubble new paintings by Drew Clark
  Drawings on cave walls and old temples have always depicted the end of the world and the collapse of civilization. The Modern Age is no different; visions of recession, biblical apocalypse, climate change and environmental destruction by industry. These new paintings explore the symbolism of the End Times.