Depravities of War: Invasion by Sandow Birk at Second Street Gallery
Did you guys make it to First Fridays? I was on a tight schedule and could only make it to a few places unfortunately but I hope that some of you had a chance to see some of the cool art that’s up. Let’s dish…First stop for me was Migration. The owners seem to looooooooooovvvvve art and have been promoting these D.C. area glass sculptors, so I thought I’d take a peek. It was a cool space bursting with some really fascinating glass sculptures. Read me gushing about it here.
Then I ran into Second Street Gallery to see the exhibition by Sandow Birk, named “The Depravities of War”. I’m not into political stuff by any means but I’d read a review that said it was elaborate copies of old French woodcuts changed to depict scenes from the war in Iraq. The picture above, also caught my eye with the way it looks like an illustration in some old book, but then you look closer and see this modern tank and all these other current elements. This show will be up all of April, so stop by and see it, all the prints are very large and very striking with interesting details. Here’s a more professional review on Second Street’s site.
Last stop was Cassis for my buddy Monty Montgomery’s show, “Surfaced”. I mentioned him in my first post and I was right about it going to be awesome. Normally, you walk into Cassis, and it’s dark, subdued, and elegant. Add 30 or so bright Monty paintings and BAM, instant funky vibes. It looks like a rainbow exploded. I felt like I was in New York, in some crazy psychedelic club. People were talking louder than normal and the drinks seemed yummier. Oh, the power of art. If you didn’t make it Friday, you can still see the show by going in for dinner or just a drink. Also you should come to the closing party on April 25th. It’s gonna be off the hook.
So that was my Friday. Did you guys go to any of the other shows? Please share your reflections on what you saw here in the comments!
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Tagged as: Art, cassis, charlottesville, First Fridays, Migration, second street gallery
I’m glad I got a chance to check out Birk’s show at SSG. I’ll admit that the politics were… well, almost tired (which is of course in and of itself is an unfortunate statement, depending on how you look at it) but the workmanship and the SCALE were so impressive. I found myself glued to these images that would ordinarily not hold my interest. Truly gorgeous.
I did enjoy Tate’s video & glass pieces, especially because the guts of the components were such a funny contrast to the preciseness of his workmanship (and the fussiness that glass art can be sometimes) but I was turned off by some of the finials that topped the pieces– they were so obvious to the meaning of the piece (a pointing finger in a piece about a journey, for instance) that they undermined the works.
What the heck? Did nobody go out on Friday besides me and Chartreuse?
Can’t be! There were so many people out… maybe they were just enjoying the weather…
Nobody wants to talk to us. We are too artsy.
*faints on velvet chaise*
Migration was packed all evening. I’d love to here other people’s thoughts too.
Yay, artPark’s here! Did y’all get a chance to see any of the other shows besides yours?
It’s always a challenge for us to get out of our own little world on First Fridays. Entertaining the crowds - and trying to be be good hosts to our three out of town artists - keeps us busy. I’ll get caught up on what’s showing elsewhere soon. I promise you I’ll check out Rob Tarbell’s and John Grant’s newest.
Pinkie - why didn’t you say hey when you were at Migration??
You know I gotsta keep it on the downlow. It’s about the art, not me.