By Lilia Menconi
A sample of recent works by Colin Chillag as seen on the show's flier.
First Fridays can set my brain on fire. I always show up in a rush because my third coat of mascara took too long or I got stuck in game traffic or I couldn't find parking. And then there's the inevitable meet-up with a friend that requires about 15 text messages just to ultimately find out they've already been to the galleries I need to visit.
All this usually means that I miss one of the bullet points on my mental list of the things I want to see. But this week, my goal is to stay focused and alert because there are two shows in particular that stand out. And they're not exactly next door to one another so I'm going to have to allot some time for the geographical inconvenience.
Here's the quick and dirty:
A Solo Exhibition of New Work By Colin Chillag at Pravus Gallery Check this out on October 3rd during First Friday from 6 p.m.- 10 p.m. If you've never caught this Phoenix artist, he's a must-see. In an illustrative painting style, Chillag is known for appropriating recognizable pop culture, political, and social imagery to create busy landscapes jam packed with so much commentary, one could write a college thesis on all the overlapping and colliding ideas. They're comical, delightful and relatively raunchy and I can't wait to see what's been stirring in his mind lately. Pravus Gallery, 501 E. Roosevelt in Phoenix, 602-363-2552, www.pravusgallery.com.
Chaos Theory 9 at Legend City Studios Another event on Friday: Chaos Theory includes just about every Phoenix artist that's worth a damn. The idea here is for the artists to create and submit their work right up to the last minute before the show opens. Headed by artist Randy Slack, expect to see works by other local talents like Steven J. Yazzie, Hector Ruiz, Brian Boner, Fausto Fernandez, Greg Esser, The Molten Brothers, Jeff Falk, Rachel Bess, Chadwick Uptain, Kade Twist, Suzie Falk and Chris Santa Maria. Okay, I just name dropped 13 artists but there are a whopping 44 total to check out. Not to mention, music by DJ Byron Fenix and Jen Ben on cello. The whole gig sounds pretty stellar. 6 p.m.-midnight at 521 W. Van Buren in Phoenix, 602-321-2887.
