Pittsburgh Art Events: 4/24-27/09.

This weekend there’s a time management workshop on offer down at Duquesne. I’m not going to offer you the details, but I will have you know that this talk would have been useful for fitting in all of the great events happening over the next several days. There’s so much to do that you probably won’t have time to listen to a lecture about scheduling. But if you find yourself amenable to the suggestion, have a quick scan over my picks…

Friday

To be honest, I have no idea whether or not the seasonal Downtown Gallery Crawl has morphed into this thing called “One Night Stand”… but it sure seems like the Cultural Trust is in the mood for a makeover. Several galleries in the Golden Triangle are hosting receptions with live entertainment on Friday, and it might be an efficient use of your time to drive around for 45 minutes or so and look for a proper parking spot. Mary Mack will be spinning to a backdrop of Czech photos at SPACE, Netherlands-based Telcosystems will appear to support the “at times visually violent, sonically extreme and physically intimidating” art displayed at Wood Street, and there will be spoken word by Brian Francis at Future Tenant. Apparently there’s an after party at Remedy in Larryville. It all (and more) gets underway at 7:30PM.

Perhaps you missed Tim Kerr’s opening at Zombo Gallery (4900 Hatfield Street) a few weeks ago? The closing is Friday from 6PM to around 10PM (or so). Take your time and read the words on his paintings. It seems like a bit of a risky choice to write directly on your visual work. But in this case, I found it rather inspiring.

The Brew House Distillery program annually offers emerging artists six-month residencies at their facility on 2100 Mary Street in the South Side. Stop by at Space 101 (from 7-11PM) for the opening reception starring the latest batch of home-grown creators. Just get out of that hood before the suburban tools start to flood in with their cheap beer piss and whiskey-muscles.

Friday/Saturday

My buddy Tom Henry is performing his wryly wacky form of comedy at the Improv in Homestead for a three night stretch (starting Thursday @ 8PM, with shows @ 8PM and 10PM on Fri and 7PM and 9PM on Sat), opening for national comic T.J. Miller. It’s $15 per show, plus money enough for the two drink minimum. Drop in and show support for the local jokester. If you don’t laugh at least once, then… well, um… then you’re a douchebag?!

Saturday

Ok, I haven’t really ridden a bike in years. But I do appreciate it when I see others doing so. That’s why I’m mentioning the pancake breakfast at the East Liberty Whole Foods on Saturday morning (8 AM). It’s $7, sponsored by the Community Design Center, and offers guests a chance to register for Pedal Pittsburgh. I can only speculate, but I imagine there’s nothing more pleasant than having a stomach full of griddle cakes expanding in your belly as you two-wheel up-and-down the hills of the ‘Burgh.

If you need to sit after your ride, stop by (11AM) at Fe Gallery in the L-Ville and find out “how art stuff happens” @ the Workshop for the Working Artist. It’s $5 (which should give you an essential clue in solving the thematic problem posed herein), and features local scenesters including Jennifer Baron, Susan Blackman, Eric Shiner, and T Foley. Then at 2PM you can check out the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Workshop, led by photo-essayist and memoirist Sandra Gould Ford, @ the Carnegie Library in Oakland. That one’s free.

Permit me to say that one of the major highlights this weekend should be the reception for the one-week run of CMU –grad Olga Brindar’s “Sketchbook Release: Moments and Minutiae” at the Panza gallery in Millvale (115 Sedgwick Street). I’ve been checking out her drawings for a few years now, and I’m excited for her first solo exhibition. Olga is a young artist who’s not afraid to put herself on display, and we are all the better off for it. It is imperative that you fit this into your Saturday agenda (6-9PM).

The aforementioned Remedy (5121 Butler St) is hosting an opening/reception (from 11PM-1AM) for their in-house muralist Emmeric Konrad. The theme is “Drawings Done in Bars & the Paintings They've Inspired”. Make sure to visit the dining room and learn what his art does for your appetite(s). Have their fine cooks make you somethin’ good while you are at it. I recommend most everything.

Saturday/Sunday

Art all Night, Pittsburgh’s premiere non-juried visual and auditory extravaganza starts at 6PM on Saturday night and runs until Sunday @ 2PM. It’s a Lawrenceville annual tradition, and takes place at the Red Warehouse (3510 Smallman Street) this year. According to the “official” numbers, last year saw 810 participating artists and attracted over 10,000 guests. Get there early for parking and refreshments. And if you want to display your work, drop off is Saturday afternoon (Noon-4PM). See the website for all the details you need. And yes… it’s all free.

Pittsburgh Art Events 7/11-12.

Rick Byerly ain't just shuckin' and jivin' (over on his Pittsburgh Gallery Blog) when he says that this weekend is a "hot spot" for art in the 'burgh. There's no possible way that you can see everything there is to see over the next couple of days. You're going to have to pick-and-choose just like the rest of us. Frankly I'm not even going to mention everything that's happening, but rather the things that I'm considering attending. So without further ado, here's the breakdown...

The biggest concentration of receptions tomorrow evening are part of the Downtown Gallery Crawl (5:30-9:00PM). I have to admit being underwhelmed by the last couple of these, but I have reason to believe that this one will be an improvement. It's not just personal bias that drives me to recommend a stop down at 709 Penn Avenue for the Sylvania show. You'll get to see a preview of some of the artists who will be appearing in the next Unicorn Mountain publication (tentatively entitled Black Forest). I'm going to be in it, I have a photo in the exhibition, and there is a good amount of strong work to peruse. Plus all the hipsters will be there. Yum! If you do show up, ask me where the "after-party" is that Curt's been talking about for a month (if he's not just blowing smoke, of course).

Of course you're going to want to plan to hit SPACE Gallery for curator Robert Raczka's You Are Here. It's a group show including 11 artists riffing on the concept of place. Meanwhile Wood Street Galleries, Inc. is always worth a quick run-through. OK... I meant to say "seldom", but what the hell? The image posted for this exhibition is actually intriguing. And Jairan Sadeghi has a SOLO at 707 Penn. I dig her illustrative musings enough to own a piece. If you are into high-falutin' chamber music, you can see Chatham Baroque at Future Tenant.

If you don't want to mess with the "Golden Triangle", you should definitely head over to Millvale for 91-year old artist Sid Kweller's opening at Panza Gallery (6-9PM). Apparently it's the Merry Green Dog creator's birthday, so stop by and say "Hi". While you're at it, you should have a refreshing draft beer with the estimable Mark Panza, owner and operator of the gallery. For the first time in awhile he's scheduled a reception that's not on his band practice night. He won't be distracted.

Then there's your opportunity to see Eric White's display of 'monoprints' over at Modern Formations in Garfield (7-10PM). With all the other stuff going on, you'd think the artist could come up with a more compelling tagline for his show than "An Exploration of Technique". That work is usually done in the studio well before showing its results in public. But I have confidence in proprietor Jen Q.'s tastes, so it's likely to be worth a visit. While you are at it, why don't you check out her fancy new website.

Finally we have the 11th installment of the Gestures series over at the Mattress Factory. It's called Meet the Made and the opening reception is 6-8PM tomorrow night. Not only will the participating artists be displaying their creations, but they will be working on them too- in real time. Appearing will be my buddy Christopher Lisowski, along with Kim Beck, Adam Schreckhise and 13 others. This is tied in with the whole Robot250 initiative. Meet your future masters!


Take a pause for the cause overnight, because Saturday has its own enticements. I've already mentioned Urbanic: Sightlines and Microcosms over at Moxie Dada. I mentioned a "soft opening" last week that never happened (thanks, Kyle!). Anyway the official reception is definitely two evenings hence, from 7-10PM. I'm tempted to boycott it, but I expect it to be too good to miss.

And I'll be doing my damnedest to get over to the Zombo Gallery's first anniversary celebration (Stubble and Smoke) featuring the illustrations of noted cartoonist Wayno. My presence is still up-in-the-air though, as this happens to occur simultaneous to my gay friend's annual outdoor summer tiki party- and after all... how could I possibly miss that?! And while we are on the subject of private affairs... Saturday night also offers Jason D.'s bash complete with Spelling Bee- but if you don't know what I'm talking about, I guess you aren't invited.

If none of this appeals to you, you can try Doodah Days in the Allegheny Cemetery. Or brave the weekend carnage of SouthSide Exposed (Rick will be there). Or go crosstown to the monthly Bellevue Art Crawl. Have fun.