First Friday heats up tonight with creative works going up all over the city. Here are our picks for shows you will not want to miss on Friday, November 7.
"The Higher Plane"
November's First Friday is filled with dreams and imagination. Ashley Macias's "The Higher Plane" takes this to another level by combining natural environments with mystical elements. Her acrylic and spray paint pieces use bold lines to create works that seek to understand a deeper consciousness and provoke introspection in viewers.
See also: Your Guide to the 6th Annual Grand Avenue Festival in Phoenix
According to the exhibition description, "'The Higher Plane' is a world of spiritual growth and significance in a greater journey to self awareness, love and compassion above physical existence for all in existence." The opening reception begins tonight at 7 p.m. at Palabra. The show will remain on display through Thursday, December 4. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
"The Jungle Box"
Stepping into the shipping container is crossing the threshold into another world. Artist Sarah Hurwitz compels viewers to take on her scavenger hunt through the jungle. Look through hanging vines and swirling bushes to find her tiny illustrations of birds, snakes, and more. Tonight is the closing reception for "The Jungle Box," which will continue to be on display through Sunday, November 9 at the Halt Gallery Shipping Container at the Roosevelt Arts Market. If you wish to view the exhibition on another day, contact Halt Gallery. Step into this colorful world and immerse yourself in the whimsical world of Hurwitz's personal jungle. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
"Vanitas: Contemporary Reflections on Love and Death"
All of life is transient. This is the message of the still-life paintings that dominated the art scene in the 16th and 17th centuries. The paintings, which use visual tropes known as vanitas, rose to popularity after the devastation of the Black Death in Europe. Similarly, contemporary artists have adapted the idea of vanitas in relation to more modern concerns of mortality, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic of the 1980s. The show will be on display at the Phoenix Art Museum through Sunday, February 8. Admission is free on First Fridays and adult admission is $15 all other days. Art collector Stéphane Janssen presents different interpretations of vanitas over the years in an effort to "explore the fleeting nature of life and beauty," according to the event posting from Phoenix Art Museum. For more information, visit phxart.org.
"Lost in Transition"
Jonathan Howard's paintings are beautifully desolate. On canvases plastered with old newsprint and magazine pages, Howard paints city streets, roadside abandons and architecture preserved in the quietness that comes with the ticking of the clock. Howard's "Lost in Transition," on display at Modified Arts through Saturday, November 15, combines the reality of the present with the reserved dreams of yesteryear. In his artist statement, Howard says he aims to reflect the "multifaceted nature of reality" and how the individual interacts in relation to his or her environment along with the passage of time. For more information, visit modifiedarts.org.
Kristina Garcia
Kristina Garcia, ASU student and multimedia artist, wants to take you on a journey. In an article posted to The Lab Pop-Up Gallery's website, Garcia says she has a passion for travelling and exploring the world around us. Her show is part of the monthly community artist series at The Lab, and combines art of all types from photography to string art. This weekend is the last chance to view the show before it ends on Saturday, November 8 and all of the exhibited artworks are up for sale. Garcia says she aims to show the recurring themes we find in our everyday lives, which for her means showing what it's like "to be a 24-year-old artist." For more information, visit www.thelab137.com.
