The First Friday Art Walk brought
thousands to Broad Street last weekend
to watch artists and performers display
their creativity.
Eager wanderers were drawn to a
plethora of galleries fresh with new and
exciting material.
Art6 displayed wonderful works in
an exhibit titled, “Hispanic Roots.” Nora
Pozzi, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
brought a few of her surreal colored
pencil works, which were reminiscent of
Joan Miro and Wassily Kandinski.
Truly showing what her family is
made of, Pozzi also displayed works by
her late father, Max Soler, who created
stunning twisted interpretations of reality
through black ink on paper. Equally as
intense were the welded iron sculptures
he created. Comical yet strong, his “Rey
Actor (King Actor)” saw many smiles
that night.
Other notables Javier Tapia and Jorge
Miguel Benitez brought their work to
display, representing VCU’s faculty
very well. Every minute touch in their
respective media were marvelous in their
complexity as they showed what sets the
pros apart from the novices.
ADA Gallery had some fascinating
ideas made into reality thanks to the brilliance
of Bruce Wilhelm. He used a wide
variety of frames and mirrors to create
optical illusions that really challenged
perception. Using LCD screens,
Wilhelm created looping graphics that
caught many people’s eyes.
Rarely outdone, Gallery 5 stole the
night with an extravagant event titled
“The Carnival of 5 Fires.” With five
different arenas of performance and
wonderful art throughout the former
firehouse, there was something for
everyone.
Costumed freaks were abundant and
welcomed the guests with their extra
extremities and decaying flesh. One
unfortunate freak had a foot growing out
of her forehead while another zombieesque
fellow had a PBR can protruding
from the top of his head.
The Furries paraded around in their
cougar, cat and dog costumes, reminiscent
of a “Trigger Happy TV” episode.
No BS Brass Band brought the flavor
of New Orleans to the fray with nasty
attitude and tight lines to march around
to, while an array of fire performers lit
up the night with their spinning balls
of fire.
Outside the event, the Art Cheerleaders
performed and sold baked goods to
raise money for the arts. With a goal
of unifying the voice of the art world,
the squad’s members come from a wide
variety of media, including writing,
painting, sound design, fashion design
and theater.
The event coordinators did well to
bring in talent from outside the city, too.
Danse Oriental brought its Turkish- and
Egyptian-style cabaret all the way from
the Big Apple.
Vaudeville guitar trio OK Bird sang
about Jesus and seemed as if it came
straight out of a fundamentalist Fox
News infomercial, condemning and
shunning sinners for not accepting the
love of the Lord. It was difficult to tell
if they were joking.
Many people’s hearts were swept
away by the sultry moves of Sweet Teas
Burlesque. Composed of VCU dance
and choreography department alumni,
their flawless technique, natural grace
and academic brilliance shone right
through their transparent robes and gave
a glimpse of burlesque.
Well worth the price of admission,
Gallery 5’s extravagance paid off with a
unique showing of culture no city could
hurt to have.