First Friday brings in the ‘sheeple’

Artwalkers seemed happy not to be stuck in the rain during First Friday, but the weather was still frightfully cold for the wanderers. Broad Street from North Monroe to 2nd was littered with both the usual rabble as well as the brave souls of the world of fine arts as they came out to celebrate local galleries.

In its sixth season, the First Fridays Artwalk is a great opportunity for Richmond citizens to appreciate the diverse culture of the art world while also giving artists the chance to make their name and work known to the public.

Art6 was hardly baaa-shful as it showed off Matthew Lively’s exhibit “Dead Alive.” Guests to the spacious gallery were greeted by the “72 Virgins,” a flock of half-foot-tall sheep littered across the hardwood floor. Each piece was priced at $100.

The sheep had an almost grotesque look to them; Lively shared that each was made from metal, tar and foam that bubbled and melted down their weak legs. How long does it take to make such freakish creatures, though?

“After the molds were made, I guess about an hour each,” Lively explained. “I had to mix a clay original and that took awhile. The legs, ears and wool are all put on separately, so they were all built at the same time but in different stages.”

When asked the pivotal question “Why sheep?” mild-mannered Lively responded that his inspiration lay in the tragedy of suicide bombings. “Specifically, the 72 sheep (were) because of the 72 virgins that are promised in paradise. That’s what I had in mind. That’s what I thought, the motion of them following along with the suicide bombings for their spot in paradise.”

Lively graduated from VCU’s School of the Arts with a degree in sculpture but admits that it isn’t his predominant medium. “Sculpture I don’t do very often. I only do it when it’s necessary for a show,” he said. “I wanted to be an artist for a living. People would buy a plant instead of a sculpture; everybody has walls, and they like to cover their walls with paintings and things, but they can replace a spot on the floor with furniture rather than sculptures.”

“I really like the people that are here, the other artists,” Art6 member Laura Heyward said. “They’re not huge egotists but they’re very good. They’re just very different.”

When asked her opinion on the artwalks, Heyward said, “I think it’s wonderful. It’s like Richmond’s time to be like a little Mardi Gras or something. It’s very inviting, and it’s open to all ages and all kinds of people. I think it’s a great tradition that Richmond is making.”

Art6 is one of the few member-run galleries in Richmond.

The Visual Art Studio also showed its stuff for the First Friday. Immediately ahead of walking in, one could take a look at the “Sketchbook Portrait Series” by Teddy Cleanthes. A series of nine versions of a similar portrait in several different mediums gave each piece a different theme and unique mood.

However, perhaps one of the exhibits that brought the most attention was the photo series entitled “Weekend in Manteo” by Luciano D’Aria. Chilled Richmonders forgot the weather as they came into the small room escorted by a soundtrack of waves crashing against the shore. The simplistic photographs of an almost average summer vacation captured various perspectives of cottages, shorelines and still-life in North Carolina.

In the Anne Hart Chay Studio, the walls were covered with various nudist paintings of different female or ambiguous figures. Perhaps one of the most intriguing parts of so many people coming out to First Friday is the reactions one can get from the art.

“They all look so sad. Look at their eyes,” said one Richmond resident who was not a regular at the artwalks.

Some galleries taking part in First Friday were entirely dedicated to one artist. For example, Kendra Dawn Wadsworth had been invited by a friend of hers to feature her art at 212 W. Broad St.

Her art covered a variety of subjects, themes and images. Some were incredibly surreal – such as the image of a 1920s-esque doll figure in the midst of a mosaic of what seemed to be the Twelve Apostles, aptly titled, “Jesus Was At My Family Picnic.”

“I think the biggest thing before me is that things seem to filter as I’m in the studio,” Wadsworth said. “And so it’s not necessarily that I have anything set or planned out. It’s a lot of symbolism and associations that come from a catalogue of past or present knowledge or my interpretations of current events or emotional things that I seem to respond to, that seem to weave themselves together.”

Wadsworth graduated from VCU in 1996 and then went on to graduate school in Philadelphia.

Despite the rainstorms that have kept attendance at the first two First Fridays less than stellar, Wadsworth continues forth, saying that First Fridays are a good outlet for both novice artists and those particularly passionate about art.

Other pieces of Wadsworth’s art included a montage of multicultural ancient art, such as a cave drawing superimposed with a Kabuki print. Other subjects in her art include guns, doll babies, horses and different languages.

As the semester goes on, First Fridays only become more and more unique.