Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 1/28-29/11.

c. David Grim (taken 11/21/10)

Friday

Yay. Someone had the forethought not to schedule the Downtown Gallery Crawl on a First Friday! That means that art-lovers don't have to make some ridiculous decisions about what they "don't have to see" thisd weekend. This can only be a good thing.

Will there be multi-media installations at Wood Street (601 Wood St.)? Why yes, of course. This season features the transormative powers of Czech-born Jan Tichy. Apparently he's into shadows and light. You can take the time, do the research, and find out what it all means... or (like most people) just go and see whether or not it "looks cool".

You can see Jill Larson's work at 709 Penn Avenue. She has put together a site-specific installation meant to comment on her divorce. Larson was the founder and driving force (until quite recently) behind the Fe Gallery in Lawrenceville. Now it seems she's finally finding time for the purely personal. Ian Brill has a light installation next door.

There's a group show at Future Tenant (819 Penn), curated by Jersten Crosby. One-time Pittsburgh art stars Thad Kellstadt and Jesse McLean are participating. Jill Lena Ford displays her work above Tonic (971 Liberty, 2nd fl.). Meanwhile "Keepsake from the Cloud" at Kurt Shaw's gallery (805 Liberty Ave.) features reproductions from the British Library's album (China, 1750) of the same name.

Handmade Arcade will be set up at 939 Liberty where you'll have the opportunity to turn your old t-shirts into totes (whatever they are). And it's not too late to see the Ally Reeves's-curated group show SCALE at SPACE. Heidi Tucker is among the stand-out artists in that show.

Finally... if you really want to light up your night, check out Steel Town Fire at the Katz Plaza (7th and Penn). You'll see choreographed fire art utilizing props as diverse as poi, snakes, swords & other burning items. Performances will be underway at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 pm.