rduwtf.com

First Friday in its many manifestations across the area is a wonderful concept that benefits artists, galleries, and human beings. Raleigh’s is user friendly in general but daunting to explore by the list, which is long and non-geographical. Here is an annotated list of what I would love to hit myself Friday night - concentrating on downtown and ignoring Glenwood South. I’ll take a deep non-gentrified breath and try some of those out sometime for another post. Hope to see you!

HIGHLIGHTS

Don’t miss the NCSU Student Exhibition of work based on Ghana travel at Fishmarket, the NC printmaking show at the Visual Art Exchange, or the Exposed Nudes show at Litmus Gallery. Free Range Studio, The Gregg, and others have new work. Read on!

On the way to Artspace, I always try to stop by Carrie Knowle’s Free Range Studio just off New Bern Avenue, which has the last of a trio of shows by Australian Diana Maloney and a special treat - beautiful and unique furniture and artwork in wood by Alan Tingen - a one-night sale and show. Carrie is a wonderful artist and writer herself, and offers a home to a poet and a progressive organization as well. Free Range will be the most intellectual atmosphere you will experience tonight unless Denis Woods is hanging out at Lump.

Artspace has the last day of the current show, Time-Based Media Invitational but nothing hot this month. They do have huge crowds, lots of studios from whimsical to classic, live music and donation beer and wine. They run out of beer early, so start here. Great place to find a walking buddy.

Lump is right down the road on Blount (take a deep breath, you’re perfectly safe), with a show that lists “Teambeat 432 and Mark Robinson.” Subsidized (e.g. totally non-commercial) yet highly personal in flavor, Lump is always worth checking on. It has the sharpest cutting edge in Raleigh (not a task that requires a razor).

Visual Art Exchange has a promising show back up the hill at City Market. This organization has been a basic support system for local artists for decades. Some of their group shows are painfully traditional, but they host a very successful school exhibit and this month offer “an educational exhibit of some of North Carolina’s finest printmakers.” Executive director of VAE describes this show as the inauguration of a new coalition of North Carolina printmakers, who call themselves PoNC. My glimpse of the work found some intriguing techniques and subjects, and I’m looking forward to studying this show.

The Collector’s Gallery has nice professional/commercial art right next door. The Native American store, the Buddhist store, and other Blake Street retailers open for First Friday. Tony’s, in fact will have live music.

If you’ve parked near City Market , a walk up to The Raleigh Times for a drink and snack will put you right across the street from a very cool and funky new gallery of work by students at the College of Design. Fish Market Student Gallery is down a flight of stairs in a Fayetteville Street basement

where - I swear to God - my father got his hair cut when there was a striped barber pole at the top of the stairs. The artwork is usually bizarre and conceptual. This month’s work resulted from ” an interdisciplinary design seminar investigating traditional forms of art, design, and culture in Ghana, west Africa.”

To venture west, find your car and see if you have time to check Crocker’s Mark Gallery on Morgan or even Rebus Works out past the Boylan Bridge, but each closes at 9 and does not have new show openings listed. Litmus on Cabarrus Street has a two-night opening (11-2 & 3)for an exhibition that “showcases original visual art that depicts the human body.” If it’s gotten too late and you still want art, Father and Sons Antiques stays open til midnight on First Friday.

If time is on your side, drive down to Martin Street and check out the galleries on Martin Street. 311 West Martin houses 2 galleries and eight individual artists. On your left is a wonderfully funky vintage and collectible store and on your right is the sumptuous new space of Designbox, which houses a truly imposing stable of incredibly diverse design specialists and a large, flexible display space as well. Here the atmosphere is not cutting edge but futuristic, with rows of bicycles parked outside

and Beautiful Young People standing around in trendy European duds. That was the scene last month, anyway. This First Friday they are hosting “the launch of the Indie Artist Collection”, apparently a product launch party “featuring the art of local giants Paul Friedrich and David Eichenberger.” If you start here, you could pick up artist-signed mp3 and gaming cases from 7-8 pm. You can spark your con around this place every time! Happy Art Trails! Lots of great places I skipped or brushed off this time. Go find ‘em!

PS - Before & After: On Thursday 11-1 The Gregg Museum at the NCSU Student Center has a gallery talk by Tom Spleth at 7, and a week from Friday 11-9 Stammer takes over Gallery 2 at Artspace for its bimonthly open mike.