Many cities have an event titled “First Fridays.” Normally, though, they are highlighted by live music, monotonous crowds and beer gardens.
As tempting as all of these things may sound, we must remember how if feels to stimulate our senses as opposed to dulling them night after night. Richmond’s First Fridays Artwalk offers us a wonderful opportunity and a much-needed change from anything else we could possibly be doing. The event is held so close to campus that it still stinks of overpriced books and burnt-out brains.
On the first Friday of each month between September and June, you can go just past Belvidere between Henry and 2nd streets to see 17 different art galleries or studios. They open their doors to the public from 7 p.m. and close around 10 p.m.
Even the smaller galleries have a lot to offer. Richmond Frame was one that only had a handful of work, but the few paintings it did have were very beautiful.
Art To Go was also a notable scene because it offered a wonderful variety of art. Though it was no more than a narrow hallway, there were black and white photographs, color photographs, acrylic and oil paintings, and even some ink sketches.
Perhaps the most unique gallery was also the farthest away, most inviting and least snooty. It was the Elegba Folklore Society. It had very beautiful African art – or to use a better term, it was an African culture store. There were – among other things – drums, paintings, photos, clothes, walking sticks and jewelry. The crowning achievements were Elliot Gibson’s paintings of what seemed to be rainforest scenes. There were raindrops on just about every leaf.
Art 6 & Studio 6 also offered its own theme. All of the art downstairs in this two-story exhibit was no bigger than a hand. Some of the tiny art was more involved than the much larger pieces elsewhere. When people climbed the stairs to the second-floor studio, they walked into what seemed to be a time warp. It was a journey back to early ’80s New York with the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol (minus all of the heroin).
One more of the many places and things to see was Sledd/Winger Glassworks & Gallery. It was inviting because it had modern paintings without the abstract feeling that sometimes comes when looking at modern art. The pictures were actual pictures, not just random brush strokes. The cleverest piece was of four young men playing buckets with drumsticks.
As a whole, the art and people were great. One must expect the stereotypical art crowd, though, because without them everything would be a bit less interesting.