With the dust and confetti of Fiesta still settling, San Antonio’s art community is back to business as usual — starting with the slightly smaller celebration of First Friday, preceded in certain spots with less-crowded receptions and previews on Thursday.
What to Expect at May's First Friday (And Thursday Preview)
By San Antonio Current Staff and Bryan Rindfuss on Wed, May 2, 2018 at 1:58 pm
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"Hi-End Print Release"
Versed in photography, ceramics, fiber art and fashion design but currently focusing on oil painting, San Antonio native Eva Marengo Sanchez fell in love with food while living in Mexico City and now creates stark, photo-realistic still lifes that look good enough to eat. Presenting San Antonio classics (from BBQ plates to chamoy-laced fruit cups) as "symbols of home," her work comes to light in a "Hi-End Print Release" featuring new works from Southtown fixture Robert Tatum and rising street artist Scotch. Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Choice Goods Gallery, 1420 S. Alamo St. #103.
Photo courtesy of Eva Sanchez
Versed in photography, ceramics, fiber art and fashion design but currently focusing on oil painting, San Antonio native Eva Marengo Sanchez fell in love with food while living in Mexico City and now creates stark, photo-realistic still lifes that look good enough to eat. Presenting San Antonio classics (from BBQ plates to chamoy-laced fruit cups) as "symbols of home," her work comes to light in a "Hi-End Print Release" featuring new works from Southtown fixture Robert Tatum and rising street artist Scotch. Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Choice Goods Gallery, 1420 S. Alamo St. #103.
Photo courtesy of Eva Sanchez
"Still Life”
Best known for translating slice-of-life San Antonio into paintings that range from dreamy to dreary and even dark, esteemed local artist and recent Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient Ana Fernandez ventures out on a limb with "Still Life," a one-woman exhibition that adds humans to her hyperlocal aesthetic. Free, 6-8:30pm Thu, Cinnabar, 1420 S. Alamo St.
Photo via Instagram / anafernandezcom
Best known for translating slice-of-life San Antonio into paintings that range from dreamy to dreary and even dark, esteemed local artist and recent Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient Ana Fernandez ventures out on a limb with "Still Life," a one-woman exhibition that adds humans to her hyperlocal aesthetic. Free, 6-8:30pm Thu, Cinnabar, 1420 S. Alamo St.
Photo via Instagram / anafernandezcom
"Digital Devotion"
Inspired by a Catholic upbringing, AcidWinZip (aka artist Ursula Zavala) reexamines the Rosary with each work syncing with a mystery leading up to the crucifixion. Using a contemporary narrative and a sense of nostalgia, internet culture and religion, Zavala’s “Digital Devotion” explores culture and fame alongside the rise and fall of digital trends. Free, 6-9pm Fri, Flax Studio, 1420 South Alamo St.
Photo courtesy of Flax Studio
Inspired by a Catholic upbringing, AcidWinZip (aka artist Ursula Zavala) reexamines the Rosary with each work syncing with a mystery leading up to the crucifixion. Using a contemporary narrative and a sense of nostalgia, internet culture and religion, Zavala’s “Digital Devotion” explores culture and fame alongside the rise and fall of digital trends. Free, 6-9pm Fri, Flax Studio, 1420 South Alamo St.
Photo courtesy of Flax Studio
"Community Board"
Nodding to a simpler time "before digital media changed the way we shared information," Carbon Bloom’s "Community Board" takes shape in a collaborative bulletin board combining artistic messages crafted by the likes of Jesse Guevara, Ramon Martin, Robert Tatum, Cassidy Fritts and Mark Anthony Martínez. 7-10:30pm Fri, Carbon Bloom, 1420 S. Alamo St., #216.
Photo via Instagram / carbonbloom
Nodding to a simpler time "before digital media changed the way we shared information," Carbon Bloom’s "Community Board" takes shape in a collaborative bulletin board combining artistic messages crafted by the likes of Jesse Guevara, Ramon Martin, Robert Tatum, Cassidy Fritts and Mark Anthony Martínez. 7-10:30pm Fri, Carbon Bloom, 1420 S. Alamo St., #216.
Photo via Instagram / carbonbloom
"Stuck Together"
The debut solo show for recent Blue Star addition Creative Creatures, "Stuck Together" sees artist and musician Carly Garza exploring mixed messages, missed signals and emotional pitfalls of the digital era in a new collection of drawings. At the reception: live music by Amanda Magaña and giftable wares for purchase, plus "treats and drinks" while supplies last. Free, 6-9pm Thu, Creative Creatures, 1420 S. Alamo St. #106B.
Photo via Instagram / creativecreaturessatx
The debut solo show for recent Blue Star addition Creative Creatures, "Stuck Together" sees artist and musician Carly Garza exploring mixed messages, missed signals and emotional pitfalls of the digital era in a new collection of drawings. At the reception: live music by Amanda Magaña and giftable wares for purchase, plus "treats and drinks" while supplies last. Free, 6-9pm Thu, Creative Creatures, 1420 S. Alamo St. #106B.
Photo via Instagram / creativecreaturessatx
"Down Home"
An MFA candidate at UTSA, New Orleans native John Dalton Atkins employs found and repurposed objects to build mixed-media works suggesting eccentric Southern narratives. Inspired by "a global community of workers, makers, fixers, and backyard philosophers," his MFA thesis exhibition "Down Home" comprises an immersive installation featuring large-scale kinetic sculpture, "clusters of junk commingled with dust and hair and dirt … and a rattling wheelbarrow of beer bottles." Adding to the rural ambience, DJ Jacob Pierce (of KSYM’s "Close Up the Honky Tonks") will be on hand spinning "the best in alt-country, classic country, folk and cosmic American music." Free, 6-11pm Fri, Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St.
Photo courtesy of Presa House Gallery
An MFA candidate at UTSA, New Orleans native John Dalton Atkins employs found and repurposed objects to build mixed-media works suggesting eccentric Southern narratives. Inspired by "a global community of workers, makers, fixers, and backyard philosophers," his MFA thesis exhibition "Down Home" comprises an immersive installation featuring large-scale kinetic sculpture, "clusters of junk commingled with dust and hair and dirt … and a rattling wheelbarrow of beer bottles." Adding to the rural ambience, DJ Jacob Pierce (of KSYM’s "Close Up the Honky Tonks") will be on hand spinning "the best in alt-country, classic country, folk and cosmic American music." Free, 6-11pm Fri, Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St.
Photo courtesy of Presa House Gallery
"A Natural Curiosity"
A beloved artist-run space operated by Justin Parr and Ed Saavedra, FL!GHT Gallery welcomes Houston’s Jonathan Paul Jackson for "A Natural Curiosity," a solo show inspired by the mixed-media artist’s unwavering creative curiosity, his desire to put a personal spin on natural landscapes, and a fascination with indigenous art of his Sioux ancestors. Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, FL!GHT Gallery, 134 Blue Star.
Photo via Instagram / flightgallery
A beloved artist-run space operated by Justin Parr and Ed Saavedra, FL!GHT Gallery welcomes Houston’s Jonathan Paul Jackson for "A Natural Curiosity," a solo show inspired by the mixed-media artist’s unwavering creative curiosity, his desire to put a personal spin on natural landscapes, and a fascination with indigenous art of his Sioux ancestors. Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, FL!GHT Gallery, 134 Blue Star.
Photo via Instagram / flightgallery
"You Forgot About Me"
An MFA candidate at UTSA, emerging multimedia artist Elizabeth Griego creates work that incorporates social issues, satire and activism — exemplified by the Twitter account she created for @TheSorryTrump, which imagines a world in which 45 actually "has a conscience" and regularly apologizes for lying. In her MFA thesis exhibition "You Forgot About Me," she employs light boxes, text, handmade paper and interactive works to address the #MeToo movement as well as "the complex issues around sexual assault." Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Terminal 136, 136 Blue Star.
Screenshot via elizabeth-griego.com
An MFA candidate at UTSA, emerging multimedia artist Elizabeth Griego creates work that incorporates social issues, satire and activism — exemplified by the Twitter account she created for @TheSorryTrump, which imagines a world in which 45 actually "has a conscience" and regularly apologizes for lying. In her MFA thesis exhibition "You Forgot About Me," she employs light boxes, text, handmade paper and interactive works to address the #MeToo movement as well as "the complex issues around sexual assault." Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Terminal 136, 136 Blue Star.
Screenshot via elizabeth-griego.com
"Stories Seldom Told: Omitted Histories"
An annual project designed to "critically examine topics that go unaddressed in everyday life," the group exhibition "Stories Seldom Told: Omitted Histories" sees SAY Sí students exploring eradicated and suppressed narratives via multidisciplinary installations. Among them is The Final Transition, an interactive space designed to spark dialogue about violence against trans women. Free, 6-10pm Fri, SAY Sí, 1518 S. Alamo St.
Photo via Instagram / cassidy.fritts
An annual project designed to "critically examine topics that go unaddressed in everyday life," the group exhibition "Stories Seldom Told: Omitted Histories" sees SAY Sí students exploring eradicated and suppressed narratives via multidisciplinary installations. Among them is The Final Transition, an interactive space designed to spark dialogue about violence against trans women. Free, 6-10pm Fri, SAY Sí, 1518 S. Alamo St.
Photo via Instagram / cassidy.fritts
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