Pittsburgh Art Happenings: 2/6-7/09

Predictably, this first weekend of February is packed with openings after the typical January layoff. The feast or famine proposition is once again in full force... there's little chance that you are going to see everything, so take a miute or two to identify a couple priorities.

Friday

The first Friday of the month (almost) always brings Unblurred (on Penn Avenue between Garfield and Friendship), and as usual there is a lot to see. Your first stop should be Clay Penn (5111 PENN AVE), where Laura Jean has put together PRINTS N'AT, a collection of choice work by Bob LaBobgah, David Pohl, Bob Ziller and yours truly. I'm quite happy to be put together with these three distinguished artists, as they have many years of art-making experience between them. My contributions for the show constitute a photographic postmortem for the "American Dream". Stop by between 7 and 9PM.

Imagebox (4933 PENN AVE) is featuring the collages of Richard Schnap, in a show entitled "Strange Channels". If you've been a habitue of the local art scene for any length of time, you are already familiar with his work. Lauren Toohey entered the Pittsburgh consciousness relatively recently, but has been prolific in her output. She is presenting a steamy assortment of her paintings along with Elisabeth Scott under the title SEXUAL at Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 PENN AVE).

In recognition of Black History Month, Garfield Artworks (4931 PENN AVE) is offering "The Biko Museum Experience", as well as "Facemadics" by craftsman and artist Diamond Axe. I've seen Homewood resident Emory Biko's work at the Mattress Factory, and I recommend you take a breath or two before appreciating his hard-hitting social commentary. Meanwhile Ed Steck has some commentary of his own regarding the degradation of the American landscape. His reception for the METAL NJIGHT (4919 PENN AVE) series is at Modern Formations .


Due to my frequent attendance at Unblurred, I never make it over to Shadyside's monthly art walk. But I just might make the effort this time to see Thommy Conroy' solo of paintings over at Steve Mendelson's gallery (5874 Ellsworth Avenue, 6-8PM). Conroy used to be co-owner of the now defunct (but always spectacular) La Vie on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. There used to be a time when I saw him almost weekly, and I've often wondered how he's been spending his hours. This looks like the perfect opportunity to find out.

No doubt I'll end my art travels with a stop at Zombo Gallery for the opening of Adam Waddell's paintings. This guy is pretty brash. During last year's Art All Night he hung up a portrait of a smiling "Chinaman" accompanied by a "Rising Sun" flag. With this kind of geographical and cultural confusion as an example, I can only imagine what type of stuff his disordered mind can create. Good thing I don't have to speculate anymore.


Saturday

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts has turned over all of their spaces, and the opening reception for the new exhibitions are this weekend (5:30-8:00PM). Patricia Bellan-Gillen's ZOO.Logic+ looks intriguing, with her "vast planes of vivid color and masterfully drafted animal imagery". I love all creatures... big, small, and painted. God only knows what the Society of Yoruba Beads will offer with their Transformations... and "generative processes" by Los Angeles-based C.E.B. Reas and Berlin-based Marius Watz sounds equally enigmatic. But everything will certainly be brought under the blinding light of infinite clarity at the Associated Artists of Pitsburgh show, which celebrated its organization's longevity by asking their members to come up with pieces inspired by the theme "99". Overwhelmed patrons can check out the ambiguously titled Video Retrospective, 1990-2009.

Panza Gallery (115 Sedgwick Street in Millvale) is featuring the work of U. of Pgh art grads Adrian Chin and Julian Betkowski. I'll get a preview of the work tonight, but readers of this blog will have to make due with the promotional image for the show. I know it sparks my interest. The opening reception is from 6-9PM.

Pittsburgh Art Events: 8/15-16/08.

Argh... summer is almost over (for me) and it will be time to get my ass back to work. This is a truly upsetting annual condition for which I somehow have difficulty eliciting sympathy. Nonetheless things have entered high gear as I try to make the most out of my last few days of unfettered free time. When I take stock of what I achieved during the last couple months, I only give myself a partially satisfactory grade. I've participated in some group shows (keep an eye out for information regarding an exhibition of bowling pins at Arsenal Lanes next Friday) and kept up this blog. I've also gotten a jump on restocking my catalog of show-worthy photos. But I'm way behind of where I wanted to be in my creation of drawings for my solo at Zombo in December.

Enough about me, right? What is there to do this weekend? Well, while we're on the subject of Zombo Gallery (4900 Hatfield Street in Lawrenceville), you absolutely must stop by there tomorrow night. From 6PM until around 11PM, Lucky Swartz ("The Painproof Man") will be presenting Dr. Josef Furdek's Cabinet of Curiosities. If Mikey D. is to be trusted, this guy is absolutely obsessed with the now defunct world of the carnival sideshow. Obviously that's something that gets my attention, as I share his interests. Curating Carnivalesque at the Digging Pitt a couple of summers ago was a personal highlight. I even got my buddies Phat Mandee and Andrew the Impaled to perform.

But it looks like Lucky has a full bill of fun planned. He's advertising a purported Chupacabra, conjoined fetuses, Bigfoot's toe (which is especially timely, don't you think?), crystal skulls, shrunken heads, and even "the mummy of a demon boy". If he even delivers on half of this, it will be a crazy success. Plus there will be live performances and carnival games. Apparently Lucky laments the great old show days. In his own words:


"There was something magical about the American Sideshow, something that made the people want to spend a dime for the chance to see something out of the ordinary, when a dime was worth something. This work is pure Fluxist. It lies not within the physical manifestation of the sideshow itself, but rather the experience that the viewer takes away with them, and the story they tell others of what they've seen. Professor Josef's Cabinet of Curiosities is a chance for people to experience something that will soon disappear from existence."

Well said. Ladies and gentlemen, don't act like a pack of rubes. Get out your piggy bank, extract a shiny dime, and come see the wonders. This is indeed a vanished art.

Once you've gotten an eyeful over on Hatfield, you can take a ride up to The Wizard of Oddities at 4314 Butler Street. Lauren Toohey is offering a candlelight reception featuring her paintings. If you haven't visited this gallery yet, I recommend you check it out. It's one of the "swinging-est" venues in town. The neon naked lady in the front window ain't no sham. The proprietors are truly committed to bringing you a unique take on the art world. Meanwhile Toohey is a young up-and-comer who's been working overtime to get some exposure for her work. Make sure to give her a bit of reinforcement for all her efforts.

Saturday brings us the "Grand Opening" (from 6:30-10PM) of the Park Place Arts Center at 207 Franklin Avenue in Wilkinsburg. This is not to be confused with the same spot's "Inaugural Opening" that happened earlier this month. At this event, installation art by East Ridge Arts Revival members Engines, Truce Canyon, Darrell Kinsel, Snake Money and John White will be featured. There are also some bands, and the admission fee is a mere $5. It's always exciting to see the efforts of arts organizations assisting in the revitalization of 'neighborhoods-in-transition'. If you make an effort now you can catch the vibe before the yuppies follow.

And if you haven't gotten your fill of urban redevelopment, you could also take a short ride over to Braddock for Unsmoke Systems "The Still Image/Moving Pictures Festival". These guys have paired up artists working in both video and static arts, and the results will be revealed between 7 and 10PM. More information can be found HERE.