First Friday Gallery Night

Here’s what’s on view in downtown Ithaca:

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The Next First Friday Gallery Night will take place on Friday, March 2nd.

Downtown Exhibitions:

CSMA (330 E. State/MLK St.)

Seeking Balance. Recent Works by Marian VanSoest

Abstract paintings in oil, ink, and watercolor by Marian VanSoest. When retirement loomed, VanSoest took up painting as a way of assuring creative engagement for as long as possible. She says of her paintings, “I especially enjoy working with color, line, and shape to produce good design. My work has gradually become more abstract as I probe more deeply into what keeps art, and life, in balance.”

On view March 2 – March 30, 2012

Call: 272-1774 or Visit: csma-ithaca.org

Benjamin Peters (120 the Commons)

Black, White and Shades Between

Local and visiting artists demonstrate in multiple media the classic beauty of the world captured in black and white.

Artists presenting: Joe Ziolkowski, Dave LoParco, Margaret Nelson, David Watkins,  Christina Larkin, Iva Lesky, Mary Kelsey, Trish Coonrod, Charity Burger, Susan Larkin

On view through May 2012

Call: 273-1371 Visit: www.benjaminpeters.com

Multifaceted Minerals (218 the Commons)

The collected works of artist Scout Dunbar

“Impermanence, change, control and lack thereof. The layers of information I create in my prints and paintings examines the discussion between control and chaos that has been instigated by the human species.  By juxtaposing grids and harsh lines with the natural tendencies of my materials, I attempt to examine the relationship between the order we seek and the spontaneity that is inherent in nature. The constant application and erosion of image touches on the fleeting qualities of history and time by linking future opportunities with past occurrences. The endless joining of lines and shapes, as well as the layering of color and texture further suggests the idea of connectivity. By combining all of these aspects I hope to create work that asks the viewer to detach themselves from their material world and get lost in the wavering layers of line and texture.”

-Scout Dunbar

In addition, Multi-Faceted Minerals will be showing an ongoing rotation of works by Ryan B Curtis, an Ithaca- based artist whose art begins with the intention to do the work of spirit – honoring source creativity and the web of life. Ryan’s work is born of experiments with drawing, photography, digital collage, alternative printmaking, and mixed media painting.

Call 319-5499 or visit: www.multifacetedminerals.com

Collegetown Bagels (203 N. Aurora St.)

Ithaca’s Midnight Summer Dream

Oil paintings by Noah Mirskin

Call: 273-2848 or Visit: collegetownbagels.com

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Jari Poulin Photography (Gallery 108) (108 W. State/MLK Street, 2nd Floor)

Winter White:  Fine Art Textural Photographic Portraits

A brand new series of fine art portraits celebrates the female form through photographic images imbued with a painterly quality.  The works in this series are layered with subtle textures and possess nuanced tones that range from white to gold.  The series explores, with a dream-like quality,  the transitions between girlhood, womanhood, motherhood, and the divine mystery that dwells within.

Call 607-379-6244 or visit www.jaripoulin.com

CAP Artspace (Center Ithaca, 171 The Commons)

Paintings on Glass by John Lyon Paul

John Lyon Paul’s work is painted “in reverse” on the back of the glass opposite from the viewer’s side. This unusual process yields paintings of great intimacy.  The unconventional materials allow for fluidity and dynamic contrasts between opacity and transparency.  The results are extraordinarily fresh, immediate, and luminescent.

Come back for an artist’s talk by John on Tuesday, March 20, 6:30-7:15 pm.

Gallery Hours: 11am to 5pm, Mon to Sat, noon to 5pm on Sunday.

Call: 273-5072 or Visit: artspartner.org

Moving Box Studios (330 East State/MLK St.)

Moving Box Studios is proud to present the photographic work of Asia Wells and paintings by Greg Tomeszko as they celebrate kitchen kitsch and the tasteful avant-garde.

Call 607.273.2403 or visit www.movingboxstudios.com

State of the Art Gallery (120 W. State/MLK St.)

23rd Annual Juried Photography Show

State of the Art will host its 23rd Annual Juried Photo Show Wednesday, February 29 through Sunday, April 1, 2012.  This event attracts photographers from the Ithaca area and beyond and entries selected for the exhibition represent numerous and varied ways that photographers are currently working.  At the Gallery Night reception, up to $600 in prizes will be awarded at 6:30pm.

Hours:  Wed. – Fri., 12-6pm and Sat. & Sun., 12-5pm

Call: 277-1626 or Visit: www.soag.org

Tompkins County Public Library (101 E. Green St.)

A book and photographic exhibit of the Life and Work of Nobel Prize winning poet Czeslaw Milosz

Presented by Ithaca City of Asylum, the exhibit will feature books and photographs recording Milosz’ 1981 return visit to Poland, after 30 years of exile to the United States. Pieces included in the exhibit are on loan from Pawel Bakowski, former owner of the Literary Salon, an underground publishing house based in Warsaw and current visiting scholar at Cornell University.

On April 1 at 2pm in the BorgWarner Community Room, the poetry of Milosz will be celebrated with a reading by members of the local Polish and poetry communities. Bakowski will also give a short account of the story behind this collection of photos and books.

On view March 2 through April 15

The exhibit The Art and Science of Quilting curated by Marcy Rosenkrantz, continues on display through March 6, allowing Gallery Night visitors a last chance to see these glorious quilts.

Call: 272 4557 or E-mail sgrubb@tcpl.org or visit http://tcpl.org

The History Center in Tompkins County (401 E. State/MLK St.)

Historic Quilts Unwrapped 

The History Center is collaborating with the Tompkins County Quilters Guild to present Historic Quilts Unwrapped and re-house gems from The History Center’s quilt collection.  For three months, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Guild members will do live conservation works on historic quilts in The History Center’s main gallery to help better preserve these treasured textiles. The exhibit will feature superb examples dating from the pre-Civil War period (March), Civil War era (April), and post-Civil War to early 20th century (May).

And

On my honor: Celebrating 100 years of girl scouts 

On My Honor: Celebrating 100 Years of Girl Scouts, features objects, photographs, and documents that take visitors through the history, accomplishments, heritage, and community services that the Girls Scouts have provided Tompkins County. This exhibit commemorates the 100-year anniversary of Girl Scouts of the United States of America as well as the organization’s 91st anniversary in Tompkins County.

Call 607.273.8284 or visit www.TheHistoryCenter.net

Kitchen Theatre Company (417 W. State/MLK St.)

IMPROVISATION ON CANVAS: Paintings by Lynn Taetzsch

“My art is about energy, discovery, and improvisation. It’s the painting surface that I love–the lusciousness of color in its thick and thin varieties, flat and opaque to keep the eye on the surface, or transparent and airy to suggest deep space. My goal is to stay as close to the edge as possible, to keep that sense of organic happening as if the painting had grown itself.”

-Lynn Taetzsch

Call: 272-0403 or Visit: www.kitchentheatre.org

Home Green Home (215 E. State/MLK Street)

Prints by Fernando Llosa and paintings and photographs by Helena Cooper

From Fernando: “…the very fundamental nature of the elements and processes from which these rather complex images emerge is intended to draw attention to the fundamental physical and psychological similarity of all human beings. There is no form in the inherent transparency of water—no-thing—and there is no form in ink—total darkness, no-thing as well. Form emerges as wind and heat animate unthinkable steps in a flowing dance of nothing with nothing.”
Helena Cooper’s work conjures deep, bold, earthy hues, sensual textures, and strong, rhythmic forms, in a fusion of gesture, texture and color to rhapsodic effect. Drawing upon mythical, archetypal dimensions of consciousness, the artist’s inner landscape becomes mirrored on the canvas, reminding us of our own dreamworld and intuition, and of the realm of the primitive, instinctual consciousness that lies beneath the surface of the conscious mind.

Call 607-319-4159 or visit www.homegreenhome.com

The Ink Shop (330 E. State/MLK St.)

Process & Purpose

Process & Purpose is a new exhibition of innovative prints by ten adventurous artists, representing an evolution of the printmaking art form. Curated by Alan Singer, the show highlights prints made by a group of significant artists who extend the range of what printmaking is and will be.  These printmakers include artists who are internationally recognized as leaders in the field, as well as emerging younger talents.

Showing  February 3 – March 31

Call: 277-3884  or Visit: www.ink-shop.org

Ithacamade (430 W. State/MLK St.)

For March Gallery Night, Ithacamade will feature member artisan Marions Vintage Bakeshop.  She will be on hand for tastings and delights showcasing her artistry of baking and packaging. Also see her portfolio of wedding cakes. Come explore Gallery Night on the West End!

Call: 272-1396 or Visit: www.ithacamade.com

Mimi’s Attic (430 W. MLK st.)

Mara Baldwin’s installations reflect an interest in objects and histories that speak of the tension between simultaneous absence and presence, as evident in the wear and breakdown of belongings, the fading and reinterpretation of memory and the conflicting truths of contemporary and historical experience. Her interventions invent and evoke lost narratives of unrecorded lives made palpable again though second-hand objects whose previous incarnations are impossible to deny: a stained bed sheet, a signed memento, a mismatched table setting, a broken tchotchke.

Call 607. 882.9038 or visit www.mimisatticithaca.com

Comics for Collectors (207 N. Aurora St.)

Feature Comics and Fantasy Artist: Steve Ellis

While acting as penciler and inker for Marvel Comics and DC Comics’ famous properties like Lobo, Iron Man, and Green Lantern, Steve Ellis has spearheaded such new titles as Wildstorm’s Jezebelle and the Marvel/Epic lines’ Crimson Dynamo. He has created the critically successful Science Fiction comic series Tranquility, his super-powered Mob epic The Silencers and has had success winning the Zuda Comics online comics competition with fan favorite High Moon. He has also done numerous illustrations for covers for books and games, most notably the interior illustrations of The Sleeping Sorceress, a collection of Elric of Melnibone stories in December 2008.

Call 607.272.3007 or visit www.comicsforcollectors.com

Sola Gallery (215 N. Cayuga St.)

PHOTOGRAPHS, From the Collection of ROBERT DOHERTY

Robert Doherty who now lives in Ithaca, was the Director of the George Eastman House, the International Museum of Photography in Rochester. Subject matter includes images of railroads, working men and foreign climes.

Call: 272-6552 or Visit: solagallery.com

Outside of Downtown:

Ithaca Art Factory (210 Elmira Road)

Ed Marion: Painting Blue

Painter, Ed Marion exhibits a collection of his paintings featuring his favorite color.

Call 917-687-8120 or visit www.ithacaartfactory.com

 

Special Events, Screenings and Happenings:

Cornell Cinema heads downtown to participate in First Friday Gallery Night!

Cinemapolis (120 E. Green St.)

After visiting the galleries and grabbing a bite to eat, come by Cinemapolis for a 9:15pm show presented by Cornell Cinema.

Eames: The Architect and the Painter

Friday, March 2 at 9:15pm

Running time: 1 hr 24 min

Admission: $7

Directed by Jason Cohn & Bill Jersey

With narration by James Franco

Fans of 20th century design and culture (“Mad Men” addicts, that’s you!) will delight in this colorful, jam-packed documentary about the couple behind American modernism, Charles and Ray Eames, whose Venice Beach studio was a hotbed of creative design for more than two decades. Known primarily for the ubiquitous molded chair sold by the Herman Miller Company, the couple also worked with photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films and toys. This film captures it all with great archival material, interviews and insights into the couple’s unique working relationship.

Art Docs Downtown is cosponsored with the Cornell Council for the Arts, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.

Call: 255-3522 or Visit: cinema.cornell.edu

Finger Lakes Wine Center (237 S. Cayuga St.)

Gallery Night After Party

Come by after Gallery Night to unwind with a glass of Finger Lakes wine!

8:30pm  to 10pm

Call 607.882.9663 or visit www.fingerlakeswinecenter

CSMA (330 E. State/MLK St.)

First Friday Chamber Music

Dave Unland and Friends

Beloved music professor  Dave Unland is gathering together friends and colleagues to play chamber music featuring the tuba, Unland’s instrument

3rd Floor Performance Space, CSMA
Fri Feb 3 @ 8 pm

Call: 272-1774 or Visit: csma-ithaca.org