First Friday mixes things up
Spokane’s monthly First Friday Art Walk again offers a wide assortment of visual art and live entertainment in more than 30 venues.
Opening-night shows range from the sophisticated, evocative canvases of Sandpoint artist Stephen Schultz at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture to the spontaneous performance paintings of Jason Corcoran at Rock Coffee.
GoodWorks Gallery is showing “In the Quiet,” featuring the bold acrylic canvases of Mary Lehner. Each of her landscapes and still lifes posesses a thick, tapestry-like texture painted in a plein air style.
“I like painting primarily from life,” she says. “I love the challenge of capturing the light and the way it reflects off objects.”
Over at the Lorinda Knight Gallery, Whidbey Island painter Maxine Martell explores the subtle nuances of the color white in her new show, “After and Before.”
On the north side of the river, the Spokane Art School’s Huneke Gallery is showcasing the life-sized figure drawings of Elaine Green along with Terry Gieber’s massive ceramic “Tornado” pots.
First Friday receptions
Walk from gallery to gallery to view all of the new exhibits or linger at just a few. All opening receptions are on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. (unless otherwise indicated):
“ Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, River Park Square, 808 W. Main Ave. – Hand-painted items by Nancy Eubanks.
“ Artisans’ Wares, 1009 W. First Ave., reception 5 to 9 p.m. – Quilted and embellished fabric collage by textile artist Linda Anderson.
“ Artist’s Tree Gallery, 828 W. Sprague Ave. – “All Relative,” works by Elsie Stewart and Natalie Utley; gemstone necklaces by Robert Raming. Demonstration during reception.
“ Avenue West Gallery, 1021 W. First Ave., reception 5 to 9 p.m. – Michael Folsom’s digital landscape images in “Bowls and Boles”; carved and turned wood bowls by Max Folsom.
“ Brews Bros. Espresso Lounge, 734 W. Sprague Ave. – “Dumpster Art” by Jim Battell, acrylic paintings on recycled cardboard.
“ Chase Gallery, Spokane City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. – “Take. Eat. Serials.,” works by Rik Nelson, Annon Nesse, Choling Taha and Scott Kolbo.
“ Empyrean, 154 S. Madison St. – Works by River Ridge Association of Fine Arts members and acrylic on canvas pieces from Colleen Quinn; Alan Bisson photography. Live music with Jonathan Nicholson and Sean Saugen.
“ Galleria De Felice, Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. – “Energy, Drama, Texture,” large abstract canvases with bright acrylics and natural fibers by Denise L. Bartlett.
“ GoodWorks Gallery, 1019 W. First Ave., reception 5 to 9 p.m. – “In the Quiet,” acrylic paintings by Mary Lehner.
“ Grande Ronde Cellars, 906 W. Second Ave. – Basketry and wood carvings of Bali artist Dewa Ayu Susilawati. Local works by Louise Saylor, Betty Eaton-Rhea, Marsha Marcuson, Sheila Evans, Susie Snider, Dave Henke and Shirley Hackett. Watercolors by Carlene Goffinet Schwab.
“ Huneke Gallery, Spokane Art School, 920 N. Howard St. – “One: One” graphite drawings by Elaine Green and ceramic objects of Terry Gieber.
“ Interplayers Gellhorn Gallery, 174 S. Howard St., reception 5 to 7 p.m. – Suzanne Reh-Faraca, “Captured” portraits in pencil, and Becky Moonitz’s expressionist acrylics, bowls and portraits.
“ Lorinda Knight Gallery, 523 W. Sprague Ave., reception 6 to 8 p.m. – Maxine Martell, “After and Before,” figurative paintings, acrylic and charcoal on canvas.
“ Kress Gallery, River Park Square, third level, 808 W. Main Ave. – “Silver Lining,” paintings by Henry Stinson.
“ New Dawn Books and Shanti Gallery, 509 W. Sprague Ave. – “Eclectic Spiritual Seeing,” works by Rich Crystal Wolfe and Richard Craven. Digital art and photography in Shanti Gallery.
“ Montvale Hotel, 1005 W. First Ave. – Oil paintings by Shirley Hackett; live music by Bill Parsons.
“ Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave., reception 5 to 9 p.m. – “In Focus: Proscenium by Stephen Schultz” in the Orientation Gallery; “Works From the Heart” artists’ reception and exhibition.
“ On Sacred Grounds: Coffee Shoppe, 163 S. Lincoln St., in Steam Plant Square, reception 5 to 9 p.m. – Suzanne Harris watercolors and “Home On The Range” photograph collection of images from the Inland Northwest.
“ Peters and Sons Flowers, Gifts and Gallery, 170 S. Lincoln St. – Multi-media art by Ferris High School students.
“ The Pigeon Hole Gallery, Holy Threads, 20 S. Washington St. – Work by local artists.
“ Pottery Place Plus, 402 W. Main Ave. in Liberty Building – Objects by glass jeweler Ellen Brenner, potter Mike Swatzell and pottery team Lea Ayn Wilmot and Michael Eastep.
“ Print Elements, 227 W. Riverside Ave. – Kendall Watson’s oil, pastel and ink artwork.
“ Rainbow Regional Community Center Gallery, 508 W. Second Ave., reception 5 to 9 p.m. – “Bailey: portraits by local gay artist,” made from found boards and objects and melted crayon.
“ Red Sky Studio and Gallery, 115 S. Adams St. – Pots by Rosemary Coffman and Chris Kelsey.
“ Rock Coffee, 920 W. First Ave. – Acrylic work by Jason Corcoran. Live music by Corcoran and other artists Friday and Saturday evenings.
Other First Friday activities
“ ComedySportz, 227 W. Riverside Ave. – “Interactive Improv Experience,” 8 p.m.; free admission to the first 15 people who stop by between 5 and 6 p.m.
“ CenterStage, 1017 W. First Ave. – Artwork by sisters Sabrina and Natalie Sorger, and Kathleen Russell. Don Goodwin, solo jazz piano, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Secondary Sense, jazz quartet, 9 p.m. to midnight at Ella’s Supper Club on the third floor.
“ Far West Billiards, 1001 W. First Ave. – Contemporary artwork by Crystal Cooley.
“ Global Credit Union, 726 W. Riverside Ave. – Look through the windows and take in paintings by local artists.
“ Mootsy’s, 9 N. Washington St. – Art by local artists.
“ Spokane Transit Authority Plaza, 701 W. Riverside Ave. – “Remembering Natatorium Park” display.
Ochs’ oils at Bank Left
The intimate Bank Left Gallery in Palouse, Wash., is spotlighting a series of oil on wood landscapes by Tina Ochs
“My connection to the Palouse is from birth,” says Ochs in her artist’s statement. “I have lived, worked, taught, raised children, married, divorced, laughed, screamed and cried in the Palouse.”
Meet Ochs at an opening reception Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. at the gallery, 100 S. Bridge St. The work is up until March 28, and can be seen Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: (509) 878-8425; www.visitpalouse.com/bankleft.html
NIC students at The Met
“Literacy,” featuring the work of North Idaho College graphic design students, will be on display beginning Monday in lobby of The Met, 901 W. Sprague Ave.
NIC instructor Philippe Valle asked students to use various graphic design tools to express their feelings on the issue of literacy.
“I also wanted them to explore their own feelings and find a way to express those feelings through graphic design,” he said in a news release.
The result is an exhibit of computer-generated pieces created by Aaron Barton, Yuliya Yefremova and Susie Lam of Coeur d’Alene; Shelley Page of Dalton Gardens; Chad Severtson of Post Falls; Jack Knecht of Princeton; and Julie Peterson of Hayden.
The work is up through March and can be viewed for free Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.