South First Street Fridays- I support San Jose Stage

The South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk is an eclectic evening of Arts and Culture in downtown San Jose's SoFA district every First Friday of the month   The South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk is a self-guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring exhibitions and special performances. ·         San Jose Stage Company - 490 South First St. map Rebelskamp is a San Jose native band that plays a wide range of sounds from psychedelic avante garde to down-tempo funk to gritty street blues to electronic experimental ambiance to indie-alternative krautrock. They explore all boundaries by breaking the genre barriers, and bending the rules of standard song writing....Thus being and living up to the name rebels... Kamping out @ The San Jose Stage on Feb 1 for the South FIRST FRIDAY Art Walk. ·         Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design - 366 South First St. map   The Moment (When the World Stopped Turning) by KLONE (Tel Aviv, Israel) A visual documentation of life. The dreams we have, the days we live, the politics, the unnecessary battles, the necessary struggles, the poor and the rich, the tired and the restless. There's place for everybody and place for no one. This is daydreaming of what could be and what won't ever return. MUSIC: Special performances by HALO BETWEEN music from guts of toys. ·         Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery - 499 South Market St. map   Loving Cups This February, we celebrate Valentine's Day with an exhibit of cups - the most intimate objects that potters make! Loving Cups will feature mugs, teabowls, tumblers and other vessels made for drinking in the love...or beverage of your choice! Drop by for a look at lips, rims, feet, and lovely handles - perhaps you will fall in love with a new favorite cup! ·         KALEID gallery - 88 South Fourth St. map Join us for two new feature exhibitions at KALEID Gallery:   Location Location Location by Jeff Hemming Recently completed works examining environments, landscapes, and the flux of chaos, harmony and change ever present in our surroundings. I draw upon several sources of influence from abstract expressionism to post pop surrealism, figurative art and traditional landscape painters like Cole and Church. My work has a maximal approach through out the painting process. The finished work becomes a source of stimulation, an explosion for the senses. Instead of reducing the elements in a painting, I am always intrigued and challenged by including more into a work. The concepts behind the painting come from our associations with things being constructed or neglected including physical elements such like buildings, strip malls, and freeways, to the more enigmatic such as cultural traditions, memory, social structure, and environmental issues. Our environment today is a swirl of technology, abundance, and waste all at once. These paintings take an expressive look at where we are and the current state of location. Houses in My Dreams by Melanie Sharr Common yet unique, the house is constructed to contain our lives. For some a sordid monument and for others an endearing symbol of comfort. The flawed house is a testament to use with its chipping paint and creaking floorboards. The house that stands vacant alludes to impermanence and the darkness of loss. This new series by Sharr brings about the union of our memory to the hallucinatory with her dreamlike residential imagery. ·         MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana - 510 South First St. map artwork by: Samuel Rodriguez, Tessie Barrera-Scharaga South FIRST FRIDAYS at MACLA! In MACLA's Gallery: Assembling the Pieces: Reconstructing Memory Hybrid Identity. Recent work by Tessie Barrera-Scharaga and Samuel Rodriguez. In the Castellano Playhouse: MACLA presents interactive performances by instructors for our upcoming adult classes. ·         San Jose Jazz at Pagoda Restaurant & Bamboo Lounge - 170 South Market St. map Fairmont Hotel, S 1st Street side, at the Hotel's back entrance 8:30pm Free Admission   San Jose Jazz presents: The Vandivier Trio featuring the music of Wayne Shorter   Rick Vandivier is a guitarist who has found inspiration in influences that stretch from Andres Segovia to Pat Metheny to Jimi Hendrix. His enthusiastic performances are daring, soulful, evocative and contagious. For this special Friday performance, the trio Vandivier will feature the music of jazz luminary, saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Selections will be chosen from Mr. SHorter's five decades of prolific writing and innovative performance, including his stints with Miles Davis and Weather Report. The trio looks forward to digging into the many moods and grooves that this music presents. One of the few stones that Shorter has left unturned is the use of guitar in small groups, giving Vandivier the opportunity to bring a different perspective to the compositions. ·         Phantom Galleries - art exhibits in vacant storefronts and alternative spaces 95 South Market St: Ballerinas new series of paintings by Al Preciado ·         San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles - 520 South First St. map   Collecting Treasures: Celebrating 35 Years Celebrating our 35-year history, Collecting Treasures: Celebrating 35 Years showcases our collection of important early and historic quilts, plus contemporary fiber art, costume, and ethnic textiles. Salon Activity: Make your own Felt Mola! Molas are brightly colored applique panels made by the Kuna Indians of Panama. The term Mola can mean "cloth," "clothing," or "blouse." They are the Kuna Indian's traditional costume and are a proud, colorful expression of their Kuna identity. Come join us Feb 1st and make your own felt Mola! Fun for all ages! ·         SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery - 577 South Market St. map   The Art Boutiki welcomes all young lovers with a Valentines Day themed show. Art from a number of artists including Des Taylor and Jef Bambas. Live music supplied by the Art Boutiki Jazz Quartet and an opening featuring a Reader's Theater reading celebrating Black History month. Plus LOTS of free comics. ·         Works San Jose - 365 South Market St. map Image credit: Six Visions by Pamela Blotner Beyond Gaga Named for the spectacularly outrageous performer, Beyond Gaga is a juried exhibition of fun, sexy, provocative, and deliberately unsettling sculpture and installation art. The call to artists, from curator Lynne Todaro, was to be shocking, awesome, sublime, and outrageous-to push their imaginations to the edge and beyond. Presented in collaboration with The Pacific Rim Sculptors Group. Juried by DeWitt Cheng and Lauren Baines. ·         Caffé Frascati - 315 South First St. map Caffe Frascati Opera Night! Your favorite arias and duets performed live by some of the Bay Area's finest young opera singers! ·         Downtown Yoga Shala - 450 South First St. map   Yoga Inspired Art Series III: Yoga Philosophy, Universal Concepts, & Inspirational Quotes by Angeles Moreno Simplicity, vivid colors, and geometric compositions define Angeles' art along with influences from her graphic design work. Yoga came to her in its own time. Consistent yoga practice gave a more profound significance and a fresh inspiration to her artwork. Seeking a deeper understanding the core yogic principles, Angeles completed the Ashtanga Yoga Teachers' Training Program at Mount Madonna in 2008. The center was founded 35 years ago by the silent Guru, Baba Hari Dass. ·         Good Karma Vegan Café - 37 South First St. map Phantom Galleries presents new works by Joe Perea at Good Karma Vegan Cafe. ENANTIODROMIA is the process by which something is transformed into or revealed as being the same as its opposite. Perea's hyper detailed monochromatic drawings reveal the chaos and order that can be found in all things in the above and the below. The future of quantum healing is here. ·         LGBTQ Youth Space - 452 South First St. map The Theme is Trees a group exhibit of many artists skilled in all talents. "I love twisted tree trunks and branches; they make me feel like I can hide away from everything underneath the overlapping embraces of growing roots." - Jester, participating artist. Trees are apart of our everyday lives, they help us breathe in times of need. Our community has decided to show our appreciation for the love of trees. ·         The Metro Gallery - 550 South First St. map Dynamics in Color by Robert Zuchowski Artist Robert Zuchowski. Created a series of Dynamics in Color Abstract Art, through spontaneous personal expression, with freedom from traditional artistic standards, different surface qualities of paint, and the act of painting itself. With its importance on spontaneous, subconscious creation, in the emotional dynamics of color. You are first drawn to his art almost purely by the predominate colors. Then you start the process of immersion. Your mind may embrace or reject the various elements but at some point your emotions take over and the art starts a dialogue with the viewer, through visual energy of the senses, promoting the feeling and essence of engagement. The majority of his work revolves around the emotions of the senses; with large amounts of glorious color - mixed together to form compelling works of emotionally charged art, through the psychological reflexes that bring personality to the surface. Thus only creating art that is absolutely non-representational, free of realistic imagery, or contain messages within them. This frees him to delve deeper into the psyche of the mind in order to create and explore the choices of color, and the different ways of expressing the abstract ideas of thought, emotion, and mood, realizing he is a piece of living, breathing, abstract artwork, within himself, for all abstract is a piece, with multiple facets of personalities, with layers of identity, to promoting the feeling of freedom, for the stereotypical sense of normality. "Without color...there is no life. It's the ethereal element that creates pleasure to our most precious gift...vision". The immeasurable intensity of color and its impact on our lives is most profoundly demonstrated in the natural world or the world of all art. That is why the colors touch and resonate through the emotional core within the viewer" ·         Pho69 - 321 South First St. map   Phantom Galleries presents Color by Ken Brenner at Pho69. Ken started painting in his early 20's experimenting with acrylics and watercolors. At that time, he was teaching young children in Berkeley. With marriage and a growing family, his occupation changed directions. He entered the banking industry and has successfully developed his career over the past 35 years. He is currently President of Avidbank in Palo Alto. Only recently was he encouraged to take up art again. Ken has found the medium of oil painting an inspiring way to stimulate the mind and bring the beauty of the world around us to life. Painting has allowed him to develop a passion for creative expression. In our world, color embodies a wide spectrum of feelings and emotions. It is used to convey power, joy, intellect, royalty, and purity among others. Each color represents its own purpose and meaning. In nature, color has evolved to communicate different messages. Poison-arrow frogs have bright, flamboyant colors to stand out as a warning signal to predators. The male peacock has extravagant colors in its eye-spotted tail, which are used for courtship. Other animals like the chameleon use color for camouflage, which enables them to remain hidden from potential threats. For Ken, color is an intense underlying theme throughout his work that allows him to truly express himself. The colors in his work give dimension, depth, and most importantly life to the canvas. It is Ken's unparalleled eye for color that brings a unique quality and distinctive feel to each piece. ·         Psycho Donuts - 288 South Second St. map art by: Christine Benjamin Psycho Donuts in downtown San Jose is a quirky donut shop and art gallery. The gallery displays top local artists and has an ongoing exhibit featuring the work of John Renzel, Lacey Bryant, Nicolas Caesar, Murphy Adams, Christine Benjamin, Michael Foley, Michael Borja, Valery Milovic, Carlos Villez, Eric Joyner, Laura Callin Bennett, Michelle Waters, John Hageman and Robert McColley! ·         Seeing Things Gallery - 30 North Third St. map   Zine Buffet New zines by photographers and artists from San Jose and around the USA such as Sam Milianta, Shawn Whisenant, Jerry Hsu, Jai Tanju, VaGiant, Lost in San Jose, Bryan Lopez, Sid Enck, City One, & Uni Seeing Things has also invited Hamburger Eyes who is a bay Area photography group of loosely-knit photographers' started by Ray Potes in 2001. Hamburger Eyes began as a small xeroxed zine, turned into a magazine, and has now evolved into a publisher. With a headquarters in San Francisco is fully equipped for producing zines, magazines, and books, they are able to produce seemingly hundreds of titles a year. Their facility also houses a professional darkroom for printing editions of silver gelatin black and white prints and full color chromegenic prints. Hamburger Eyes will have a full spread of zines along with their EYELAND EDITIONS prints available and a wall of hand printed silver granulated photographic prints for sale. Well if that isn't enough for you Seeing Things Gallery is also setting up a zine library with its own personal stash of zine's from the last 10 years of collecting them. ·         Studio Climbing Gym - 396 South First St. map   Japaints on Studio Parade by Jason Bove Building from ones own factory of the mind, Japaints provides you with the visual conceptions & commission artwork of Doctor Bove. These one-of-a-kind original paintings are made to compliment your decor and enhance your personal environment. Doctor Bove was born Jason Bove, in the gorgeous midwest sector of the United States. He has presently found an even more pristine setting on the West side to reside. Moving to California in 1998, Doctor Bove may now be your neighbor and friend. ·         TechShop San Jose - 300 South Second St. map Check out the TechShop San Jose lobby & gallery area, where we'll be showing off what members have made. TechShop members will also be setting up their tables in the conference room to sell their DIY work! ·         Art Ark Gallery - 1035 South Sixth St. map Image credit: Trina Merry, Metamorphosis, limited edition print Art Ark Gallery is pleased to present Tango and the Modern Nude A visual & performing arts exhibition celebrating the human form as both a reclining nude and a body in motion. Opening Art Reception: Friday, February 1st from 6-9pm Live music by Tango Trio (Gianfranco Paolozzi, Nancy Lane & Griff Derryberry)

 

About San Jose Stage Company Now in its 30th Season, San Jose Stage Company is recognized as the Bay Area's Premiere Off-Broadway Theatre. The Stage is known for its devotion to new and cutting-edge work and for its commitment to showcasing high-quality local talent. Ranked the 9th largest performance arts organization and the 3rd largest theatre in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, San Jose Stage Company is a vital force in the community. The Stage has earned a reputation for artistic excellence by providing high quality, edgy theatrical experiences that engage, educate and provoke audiences. That includes 143 productions, 44 new works and 11 world premieres. The Stage offers five core education and outreach programs and has housed over 200 independent performance groups. Located at the Gateway to the City's Arts and Entertainment District, San Jose Stage Company, the SoFA District's first arts anchor organization, continues to promote San Jose's stature as a burgeoning regional arts center by providing live theatre experiences that enrich the quality of life in the community. For more information, www.thestage.org.  Box Office 408.283.7142