Pittsburgh Art Events: 11/ 13-14/09.

There are plenty of art-related odds-and-ends around town this weekend. They are dispersed throughout the city, so you'll have to put a bit of thought into what you might be desirous of seeing.

Friday

I've never attended a faculty art show at CCAC, but I am aware that some of the most passionate educators can be found at our nations' community colleges. You can see the annual show over at 808 Ridge Road on the Northside campus between 5-7PM.

Last week, it was puzzling to discover that the new Fast>>forward Gallery (3700 Penn Ave) had apparently decided to distance itself a bit from the monthly Unblurred event. I noticed its conspicuous absence on the promotional literature. But I've recently discovered that the reason it wasn't open was because co-founder Craig Freeman had a solo down at Zombo Gallery. That explains this week's opening reception for Breath Deep: An Ecological Exhibition by Ross Hardy (6-10PM).

And while we are on the subject, there's another 2-day exhibition at the Zombo Gallery. This one is entitled Mod as a Hatter (that's cute... right?) and features work by someone named CZM. I've also caught wind of the news that Zombo and Co. will soon have regular hours, when they open up their doors (4900 Hatfield Street) for a fashion boutique. Sometimes I wonder where Michael and Julie find the energy and time to be involved with their various projects.

You can also catch the unveiling of Matt Marino's current preoccupations at the Crazy Mocha in Bloomfield (4525 Liberty Ave), and stop by the grand opening of Gallery Sim (1735 East Carson St.) in the South Side. Kathleen Zimbicki has curated the show at this location. It's been awhile since there has been a viable cultural presence on that side of town, but who knows? A few venues have been active down there lately. Might there be a third "First Friday" art walk soon?

Saturday

The ToonSeum opens its doors for the first time at 10AM. It is one of only three museums in the nation dedicated to the art of cartooning. From what I hear, it will focus heavily on the type of strips that have been delighting American newspaper readers for over a century. I've also been told that Bill from Copacetic Comics Co. has been asked to run the gift shop, AND that he'll be offering some pretty sweet specials for the occasion of the Grand Opening. The ToonSeum is located at 945 Liberty Avenue, downtown.

Luke & Eloy Gallery (5169 Butler St.) has a daytime reception (11AM-5PM) for Paper or Plastic, a group show featuring stuff by creators from across the country, and you can follow that up with a visit to the Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Ave) in Squirrel Hill. Hisham and Kamal Youssef are the featured artists there, and the opening lasts from 5-8PM. If it's anything like their inaugural event, you should get there early if you want some of the divine refreshments they put out.

If you'd prefer to get out of town (but not that far), you can venture out to DV8 Espresso Bar & Gallery in Greensburg (208 South Pennsylvania Avenue) for a solo show of Gabe Felice's intricate and fantastical paintings. Felice regularly produces an output of wondrous images on wood that suggest medieval engravings and illuminated manuscripts. If you went to see the Visionary Arts Festival this past August at Schenley Plaza, you would have had a hard time missing Gabe, toiling in front of his tent, and working up a back stock of affordable inventory.

Pittsburgh Art Events: 11/ 6-7/09.

Friday

For some reason, I've been particularly anticipating this month's Unblurred. The last couple of weekends have been dead on the local arts scene, and I'm looking forward to what the various venues will be putting out.

I'm most excited to find out that artist, curator, educator, and former gallery-owner Bob Ziller is opening up a book store! It's located at the old Red Star Ironworks garage at 4810 Penn Ave. Ziller says that he is starting with an inventory of 3400 books, and that everything will be priced at 50% listed price. He's also doing another installment of his Pittsburgh Beautification Project, so stop in and find out what that is all about.

Meanwhile, "Pigeon Pair" is at Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue), serving up the work of Christian Breitkreutz & Jason Rosemeyer. I've been keeping an eye on C.B., and I'm eager to track his development.

The building housing the misleadingly-named International Children's Art Gallery (5020) is opening all three of its floors. The second will feature recent stuff by James Maszle, and Richard Rappaport will be up-top.

There will also be music by Brass Chariot, Duane Jones Duo and Al Zavacky at the new Irma Freeman Center for Imagination (5006 Penn), a group show at Garfield Artworks (with Maggie Black from WV), Cory Bonnet & Ryan Dunmeyer at Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 Penn Ave), and creations on glass by Joseph Holtz at Imagebox.

Shadyside offers its monthly dose of openings as well. Gallerie Chiz (5831 Ellsworth Avenue) has a group show called "A Convivial Collection...New Creations" that includes work by Philippe Paulin Derville, Ben Oddi, Joyce Werwie Perry, Carlos Sanchez-Vegas & Randie Snow. It runs from 6-9PM. Patrick Ruane is over at Gallery in the Square (5850 Ellsworth Avenue), and the Mendelson Gallery has Bob and Paul Bowden (6-9PM).


Saturday

Zombo Gallery (4900 Hatfield St.) returns with another one of its idiosyncratic weekend shows. You get the opening on Friday, and if you miss that... the closing on Saturday (6-10 PM, both nights). This time around, it's "Lickity-Split!" with Craig Freeman , supplemented by sculptures by Seth LeDonne. Don't miss the madness of this space.

If you never made your way over to Moxie Dada at the Firehouse in the North Side (1416 Arch Street), this absolutely and without reservation will be your very last chance. The closing for "Dia De Los Muertos Y La Resurreccion: The Existencial Crisis" runs from 6-9PM. If you have been a regular habitue of the space, then I'm sure you'll recognize a lot of the creators represented. While it's sad to see such a stalwart of the local scene pass on, it will be exciting to see what the people behind Moxie Dada do next. Its proprietors have ensured me that they are not giving up, but just moving on to other projects.

Oh, and by the way... the Three Rivers Film Festival opens this weekend, and you can find a list of the events here.

Quote of the day

From the Associated Baptist Press website:

"And, frighteningly, Christians seem at the very least to be as susceptible as the population at large to the habit of spreading false stories."

Read the full story HERE.