Your guide to May First Friday events: Psychedelic painting, Brazilian comic art and more
May's First Friday events include a wide variety of delights.
This First Friday will showcase a variety of artwork from a new lowrider art exhibition 'Desert Rider' at Phoenix Art Museum, 'Eden' at New City Studio which features mediums like watercolor paintings and floral designs and works by Brazilian visual artist Rodrigo de Toledo at Modified Arts on Roosevelt.
Plus, Roosevelt Row will feature its monthly art walk with art vendors and live music by Just Common. Artopia, a pop-up immersive art experience in the Valley, will feature street performers and art displays. Food vendors will also be along the street and 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th streets will be closed along Roosevelt. The art walk, music and vendors will run from 6-11 p.m.
Following are some highlights of the May First Friday events.
First Fridays Phoenix: Your ultimate guide to parking, galleries, museums and what's free
‘Unmasked’ at Roosevelt Row Evolve Gallery
See digital artworks by Dustin Lopez and acrylic paintings by Harley Holt at the "Unmasked Exhibit" at the Roosevelt Row Evolve Gallery. The show will be on display in the welcome center.
Details: 6-9 p.m. May 1. Roosevelt Row Gallery 918 N. Second St., Phoenix. rooseveltrow.org/.
'Eden' at New City Studio
New City Studio's most recent show, 'Eden,' will showcase the beauty found within nature. The show will feature 20 local artists across all mediums including drawing, watercolor, photography, poetry, floral design, sculpture and mixed media pieces.
First Friday will run from 7-10 p.m. with the studio open from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays until May 22.
Details: 7-10 p.m. May 1. New City Studio, 1300 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. newcitystudio.org/.
Susan Allred's 'Salvage' at Eye Lounge
In this exhibition, Susan Allred gives new life to old belongings. From piles of scraps to a 50-year-old quilt top, Allred rescues and creates an art exhibition infused with new purpose. It was in the time of isolation that Allred created this new exhibition into one which encourages any art goer to see the beauty in change and rebirth.
'Salvage' will run through May 15.
Details: Eye Lounge: 419 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix. 602-430-1490, eyelounge.com/.
'Kin' at Modified Arts
Kin — a new series of paintings by Flagstaff-based Brazilian visual artist Rodrigo de Toledo — tells the story of fantastical ancestors as portraits from ageless temples.
The exhibition reflects Toledo's early days of painting in Rio de Janeiro, ultimately displaying playfulness in the mythological realm. He blends comics, cartoons, graphics and his graffiti-like style into paintings on aged canvas surfaces.
Details: Modified Arts, 407 E. Roosevelt St. Phoenix. 317-755-7971, modifiedarts.org
'State of Mind' at the Olney Gallery
Head to the Olney Gallery to see the works of Carlos Cordova, Sandra Luehrsen and Ellen Nemetz in their exhibition 'State of Mind.'
Cordova creates graphite drawings through warm earth tones and sand colors. Luehrsen creates clay sculptures and mixed media prints to create trees, gardens, skies, suns, planets and stars. And Nemetz beautifies emotions and current issues through 'painting animals into improbable situations,' per a press release.
Details: Olney Gallery at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 100 W. Roosevelt St. Phoenix. trinitycathedral.com/olney-gallery/
'Seeking Order' at Five15Arts
“Seeking Order” brings together a new collection by longtime Five15Arts member Joan Thompson with work by her invited guest Lorraine Shwer. Thompson — who has been a member of Five15Arts for 20 years — will present bold, geometric and abstract mixed media works in two-dimensional formats. Thompson has been a member of the Five15Arts collective for 20 years.
Shwer’s work counterbalances Thompson's work with her three-dimensional, biomorphic, and multicolored ceramic works. The First Friday event will run 6-9 p.m.
Details: Five15Arts @ Chartreuse, 1301 N.W. Grand Ave., Phoenix. 602-859-0247, https://www.five15arts.com/.
Comurshy psychedelic painting at Alwun House
Alwun Houses' Art Park will become an arts market filled with over a dozen art vendors offering live painting along with one-of-kind jewelry, and clothing, among other art mediums. For its First Friday gallery exhibit,
Alwun House will also feature Phoenix-based mixed media artist Comurshy. His style blends spray and brush painting to create psychedelic character portraits of both real and fictional subjects. Plus, Art Park will feature a Filipino food truck along with music by DJ Scapegoat.
First Friday's events will run from 6-10 p.m.
Details: Alwun House, 1204 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix. 602-253-7887, alwunhouse.org
'Desert Rider' at Phoenix Art Museum
Desert Rider is an exhibition that explores the modes of transportation in the southwest. Inspired by the counter-cultural developments of the 1960s "Easy Rider" phenomenon, this exhibition displays customized vehicles through the lens of wide-open landscapes in the Southwest.
The exhibition — which blends transportation, industry, landscape and identity — will feature large-scale installations, prints, and sculptures by Latinx and Indigenous artists including Caro Romero, Douglas Miles, Margarita Cabrera and Liz Cohen.
Details: Through Sept. 18. Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. 602-257-1880, phxart.org.
Print a poster at Hazel & Violet Letterpress
Print a free poster on Grand Avenue at Hazel & Violet Letterpress, open from 5-10 p.m. on First Friday. The store also has cards, coasters, calendars and stationery available for purchase.
Details: Hazel & Violet Letterpress, 1301 N.W. Grand Ave., Phoenix. 480-544-2162, hazelandviolet.com.
'Ghosts' at Vertigo Gallery
Phoenix artist and activist Rania Ayyoub will display several surreal portraits of women exploring their intricacies and complexities. This exhibition is inspired by tarot cards and Greek Myth. First Friday event will run 6-9 p.m.
Details: Vertigo Gallery ,852 N. 6th Avenue Phoenix. 602-399-4540, vertigo.gallery.
Chris Newpher's oil works at Sisao Gallery
Phoenix artist Chris Newpher will showcase his oil works at Sisao Gallery for his opening reception of is abstract exhibition, "Ties to Form." Food and vendors will also be at the exhibition.
Details: Sisao Gallery, 1501 Grand Ave. Phoenix. 516-603-1930, facebook.com/sisaogalleryphx.
Chestnut Studios at Eighty Seven on Grand
Stop by Eighty Seven on Grand Avenue for Chestnut Studio's exhibition "Feels : sad," which feature the works of painter and illustrator Chestnut. The artist is inspired by 1930s cartoons. The pop-up will feature his canvas pieces, prints, lapel pins and sticker pads.
The First Friday event will run 2-8 p.m.
Details: Eighty Seven, 1325 Grand Ave., #108, Phoenix. instagram.com/eighty.sevenshop.
Fruit-themed art at Wayward Taphouse
Phoenix artists Vanessa Jenners and Hawk from Hawk's Salvage will feature several art pieces with one theme: Fruit. Markus K will DJ for evening, with musician Israel Solomon performing on the outdoor patio. Pig & The Peanut pop-up restaurant will make and sell global Southwestern food locally sourced and made from scratch.
First Friday event will run 7-11 p.m.
Details: The Wayward Taphouse, 1028 NW Grand Ave., Phoenix. 602-671-7900, thewaywardaz.com.
'Southwest Silverwork' at the Heard Museum
On display at the Heard Museum is 'Southwest Silverwork, 1850-1940,' which documents more than 100 years of Native silverwork from the early 1850s to years prior to World War II. Viewers can peruse this gallery and trace how silverwork evolved in the Southwest as the years went on. Both Navajo and Pueblo jewelry, among other silver items, will be on view.
"Remembering the Future: 100 Years of Inspiring Art" — which features paintings and sculptures by American Indian artists of the 20th and 21st century — is on view until Oct. 23.
The Heard Museum offers free admission from 4-8 p.m. on this First Friday. The Coffee Cantina and Books & More will be open from 5-7 p.m.
Details: Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave. 602-252-8840, heard.org.
Reach the reporter at sofia.krusmark@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram @sofia.krusmark
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: First Friday downtown Phoenix: Your guide to the May art walk
