First Friday Focus
Our hit list for this month's gallery openings
Try, if you will, to shake the hypnotically intense stare of Valerie Carrigan's Barred Owl, sitting aristocratically above these very words. If it's tough to look away, then Carrigan has accomplished her goal. Confrontation plays a huge role in the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education's winter exhibit, "Nest and Branch," which gives nine artists the opportunity to explore the fleeting beauty of birds. For Carrigan, that means stopping viewers in their tracks. "The intensity of their gaze gives us nowhere to hide," says curator Zoë Cohen of Carrigan's "Messenger" series. "She challenges us to consider the depth of our impact on these birds." Not all participating artists took such an aggressive approach; Linda Byrne's minimalist Golden-Winged Warbler and Evening Grosbeck eliminates the bird from the equation entirely, presenting instead the stark, empty nest of an endangered species. "I am troubled by the terrible loss we suffer by our complicity in the extraction of our natural resources," says Byrne in her artist statement. "Each [bird] is isolated in its vanishing environment to emphasize a sense of loss." Opening reception Sat., Dec. 5, 5-7 p.m., free, ends April 3, 8480 Hagy's Mill Road, 215-482-7300, schuylkillcenter.org.
If you prefer enchantment over hard truth, step inside Kara Crombie's super-saturated world. Aloof Hills, the Philly artist's absurdist animated video series, follows Laurie Van der Screwd through an off-kilter Civil War-era adventure. Crombie's inspirations are as varied as her multimedia samples: She used a clip from Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, shot background scenery in idyllic South Carolina and clipped a YouTube video of a little boy high on dentist-administered nitrous. "The cool thing about sampling is that unconscious vibe you get," Crombie says. "You may not know where it's from, but it has a ... vague memory attached to it." The first episode, "Family Meeting," is on view at Vox; but Crombie's just whetting our whistle. "Laurie runs away from the Aloof Hills plantation and has many adventures with an evil Buddhist and some lesbian Native Americans." We're hooked already. Opening reception Fri., Dec. 4, 6-11 p.m., free, ends Jan. 3, 319 N. 11th St., third floor, 215-238-1236, voxpopuligallery.org.
Technically, this new gallery/bookstore/performance space in Fishtown has been open for a while (attendees of last month's reception may recall the live painting of a Geo Tracker). But the foursome who run the place are declaring First Friday's interactive "Magic Show" its official grand opening. "We want to exhibit work that functions in an active way," says co-founder Daniel Wallace, "engaging the viewer in a dialogue." Along with music from Adam Keller and Kid Krusher, expect truly sensory art — like Scott Ache's Temporary Paradise, which requires looking through heat waves, and Alexandr Zhikulin's movement-sensing, sound-producing sheet of suspended steel. Reception Fri., Dec. 4, 6-10 p.m., ends Dec. 31, 2222 Sepviva St., eexxttrraa.com.
After two and a half years of study, the students in UArts' MFA Program in Ceramics, Painting and Sculpture are ready to show off their theses. Watch for multimedia artist Joanna Platt's installation Inside/Out, which reinterprets electrical systems as conduits for absorbing visual art. Opening reception Sat., Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m., ends Jan. 6, 320 and 333 S. Broad St., uarts.edu. You kinda can't miss Philadelphia collage artist Tom Judd this month: Through Jan. 10, Allen Sheppard Gallery (4500 Worth St., allensheppardgallery.com) hosts an extensive retrospective, while Hudson Beach Glass focuses on the little guys — Judd's small works, lovely and delicate and priced to sell. Opening reception Fri., Dec. 4, 5:30-9:30 p.m., ends Dec. 31, 26 S. Strawberry St., 267-319-1887, hudsonbeachglasspa.com.
(carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net)
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