Unblurred - July on the Avenue

Small Press Pop Up, Karen Lillis and Laura Zurowski

So, so much fun at this month's Unblurred.

I love this time of year on Penn. On top of the regular gallery venues, the are tons of street things happening. There were a couple buskers, and several artists had tables set up, or were just sitting on stoops, selling zines and sketches. There was a terrific one-man percussion performer near the corner of Penn and Winebiddle. A half block away was a guy with a ukelele. Hmm. Funny stuff, there.

I stopped by the Irma Freeman Center and saw the series of copper foil portraits by Irma Freeman (1950's - 70's). This was a really nice exhibit. I'm sorry to say that I got there late to the party; Friday was the closing reception. But the portraits were really wonderful. There's a great shot at the link, and also a good one in the below gallery.

JR Holtz had a table of his retro paintings on glass set up near Most Wanted Fine Art. Mr. Holtz has shown his work at several of the Penn Avenue venues, as well as points across the city. He can also be found most Saturdays in the Strip District. Window on Penn Ave

Small Press Pittsburgh had a pop-up near the Clay Penn.This is a new venture, I believe. The next one will be during the Cultural District Gallery Crawl, on Friday, July 12 at the Toonseum. It's a great opportunity to pick up some cool local lit and zines. I picked up a copy of Weave, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Karen Lillis was on hand, along with Laura Zurowski and Sarah LaPonte. So, these kinds of pop up events are also a good time to meet some of the artists involved in the Pittsburgh Lit scene.

Most Wanted Fine Art played host to Graham Shearing and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh for the exhibit Conversations: 5:10. It was a nice little show. I think this is the first time that AAP has had a venture on Penn Ave. One really fun piece was taking place in the back corner: Jo-Ann Bates' American - Straight, Wave and Weave. A hybrid of installation, performance and formal representational art, it struck me as witty and conversational.

Lots more happening, and I'll be putting up a couple more posts over the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow!