First Friday Focus

Carolyn Huckabay's First Friday Hit List

by Carolyn Huckabay

MUSE GALLERY

First Friday won't just fall into your lap this month. Most galleries are holding off till mid-January, past the holiday abounding with Mummers mumming and revelers reveling, to introduce their first exhibits of the new decade. But never fear, for on the opposite end of Two Street, Muse Gallery hosts a show just as larger-than-life as anything you'll see in the Fancy Brigade.

Steve Messenger, who groomed Grand Prix horses before studying painting at UArts, is drawn not so much to the animals' presence or power, but to their personality. Thus his solo show, "Horses," is an assembly of life-size, up-close-and-personal portraits. "Horses are animals I know well, and most of these animals are individuals to me," Messenger says. "But others see them in a more general way." No arguments here; the inclination to associate equine art with faded, dusty renderings of khaki-clad riders and their beasts of burden should probably be put out to pasture. Messenger chose a completely different route, veering dead ahead, using bright colors and mega-zoom perspectives to capture the uniqueness of each animal. "When we see a human portrait that's this large, the psychic energy can prevent us from seeing past the identity of the person," Messenger says. "Using animals solves this problem." Opening reception Fri., Jan. 1, 5-8:30 p.m., free, through Jan. 30, 52 N. Second St., 215-627-5310, musegalleryphiladelphia.com.

In the spirit of fresh starts, Bella Vista's Da Vinci Art Alliance is hosting "50 Years of Realism to Five Years of Abstraction," a retrospective by local painter John Guinn, who pulls off conceptual art just as deftly as portraiture. Opening reception Sun., Jan. 3, 4-8 p.m., free, through Jan. 31, 704 Catharine St., davinciartalliance.org. ... If you find yourself in Fishtown, hit up Proximity Gallery's second annual, always-delightful Neighborhood Group Show. Opening reception Sun., Jan. 3, 1-4 p.m., free, through Jan. 31, 2434 E. Dauphin St., 267-825-2949, proximityart.com.

(carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net)