Sculptor and painter Aggie Zed sees all of the beauty and strangeness in her imaginative ceramic and copper works as alive. Her complex elephant creations often feature elements of low-tech industry like wheeled carts that intricately express the physicality of the pachyderms. Zed names wings, particularly “clumsy, comic, metal wings,” as a part of her visual vocabulary. “Something about the size and weight…makes an elephant outfitted with wings especially poignant,” she says. “Despite its strength, [an elephant] cannot escape its complications with humans.” Glimpse some of Zed’s fantastical works at Chroma Gallery @ SCS through December 26.
First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many Downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. Listings are compiled in collaboration with Piedmont Council for the Arts. To list an exhibit, please send information two weeks before opening to arts@c-ville.com.
First Fridays: December 4
Betsey 300 E. Market St. “Trunk Show,” featuring fashion designs by Kim Schalk and Pico Vela. 3-8pm.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “The Transformative Power of Glass,” featuring glass work by Norma Geddes. 6-8pm.
Chroma @ SCS 214 W. Water St. “Elephants/Under/Wings,” featuring works by Aggie Zed, Kaki Dimock, and Robin Lee. 5-7pm.
CitySpace Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE. Handmade quilts by Crescent Hall Quilters, with works by Donna Manfredi Redmond in the PCA office. 5:30-7pm.
Evolution Glass 1740 Broadway St. Sculptures and designs from recycled glass. 5-7:30pm.
Graves International Art 306 E. Jefferson St. “Roy Liechtenstein & Company,” featuring paintings, drawings, watercolors, silkscreens, lithographs, and etchings by Roy Liechtenstein, Sam Francis, Erte, Jacques Villon, Jim Dine, John Chamberlain, Paul Cesar Helleu, Pierre Marie Brisson, John James Audubon, Mark King, Pierre Bonnard, and Edgar Degas. 5-7pm.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Road. “The Kingdom,” featuring prints and paintings by Dean Dass. 1-5pm.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. “Sustainability,” featuring environmentally focused video, sculpture, painting, assemblage, installation, and photography by Jason Robinson, Eric Kniss, Molly Sawyer, J. Michael Hough, Morgan S. Craig, Robert Llewellyn, and Stefan Chinov. 5:30-7:30pm
Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “2oth Anniversary Gala Celebration,” featuring works by BozART Group. 6-8pm.
Telegraph Art & Comics Gallery 110 Fourth St. NE.”Prints and Originals,” featuring mixed media originals by cartoonist Adrian Todd Webb. 6-9pm.
The Garage 250 N. First St. “Clausum Illuminatum,” featuring paintings and drawings by Kathleen Carey Hall and embroideries on paper by Amanda Wagstaff. 4:30-7pm.
The Loft at Freeman-Victorius 507 W. Main St. “Bretagne France,” featuring gouache by Anne de LaTour Hopper. 5-8pm.
Welcome Gallery @ New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “Coming Close,” featuring paintings by Matt Kleberg. 5-7:30pm.
WVTF & Radio IQ Studio Gallery 218 W. Water St. “Bridges,” featuring oil on canvas by Krista Townsend, presented by New City Arts. 5-7pm.
Other Exhibits
Carpediem 525 Meade Ave. A collection of works by many artists including paintings, mixed media works, artisan jewelry and ceramics.
City Clay 700 Harris St. “Fifth Annual Holiday Open House,” featuring ceramics and mixed media by City Clay Potters, with a reception on Saturday, December 12 at 9am.
C’Ville Coffee 1301 Harris St.”God Bless Paris,” Medium format, black and white, film photography by Michael Marino and his hasselblad through December.
JMRL Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. Watercolor landscapes and seascapes by Ken Chasin.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Where the Water Moves, Where It Rests,” featuring eucalyptus bark paintings by Djambawa Marawili AM.
Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. “New Watercolor: A Juried Contemporary Exhibit,” featuring works by 18 regional artists, with a reception on Saturday, December 5 at 6pm.
Suz Somersall Showroom 2020 Bond St., The Shops at Stonefield. “Pushing Boundaries,” en caustic mixed media by Lindsey Oberg through December 21.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Collection,” featuring photography by Sol LeWitt; “Struggle…From the History of the American People,” featuring paintings by Jacob Lawrence; and “Cavaliers Collect,” featuring a variety of genres on loan from UVA alumni and friends.
