The First Friday Art Walk is an opportunity to explore what local galleries and businesses have to offer as they open their doors from 5-8 p.m. for the monthly event.
Six years ago to the month, Andy Verzosa, owner of Aucocisco Gallery, created the First Friday Art Walk as a way for local artists to show their work without the formality of many galleries. The mission statement of the walk is, “to open the doors of Portland’s visual arts community by joining together and introducing a wider audience to the unique vitality of the artists and venues of Portland. Promoting interest with non-exclusivity and easy access, thereby strengthening the arts and community through diversity and celebration.” The self-guided tour is available from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on the first Friday of every month.
AUCOCISCO (613 Congress Street)
Mountains and Miniatures, featuring wood, acrylic, and metal works by sculptures Celeste Roberge until Oct. 28.
THE PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
has two exhibits on display. One is entitled “A Century of Maine Prints: 1880s to 1980s” and draws mainly from the museum’s permanent collection to create a history
of printmaking in the state. The exhibit will be on display through December 10.
“Paris and the Countryside: Modern Life in Late-19th-Century France” is an exhibit that will be in the museum until October 15. Scientific and industrial developments during that time influenced art and how it portrayed “modern life.” Artistic styles range from traditional (James Tissot, Alfred
Stevesn, Jean B?raud) to impressionistic
and post-impressionistic (Degas, Monet, Seurat, Toulouse- Lautrec, and van Gogh.)
MAINELY FRAMES AND GALLERY(534 Congress). The current exhibit shows artists from Portland who have travelled for their art.
Spotlighted are the pen-and-ink drawings of William Harrison. They portray scenes of Portland, but also Washington DC, Cleveland, San Francisco, and more. Harrison has been drawing these pictures for the last 35 years, and is still local to the Portland area.
THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY
ART at the Maine College of Art (MECA) is hosting a multimedia exhibit titled “From Baja To Bar Harbor: Transnational Contemporary Art”. The four Maine artists showcased are Justin Richel, Michele O’Marah, Julio Cesar Morales, and Sam Van Aken. Of particular interest is Aken’s “Oh, My God!”, a wall of vintage speakers from the 1970s and early 1980s stacked in relief. Aken was inspired to construct his unique “wall of sound” after watching a live broadcast of the World Trade Center’s collapse on 9/11, in which one witness said, “Oh, my God” at the sight of the disaster.
The speakers are connected to a computer behind the wall, where a random algorithmic computer program loops and shuffles an eightminute track of excerpts of lines from movies, television, cartoons, and even pornography, all of which are “Oh, my God.” Although when
MAINE PRINT PROJECT, presents “The Arts Formally Known as Prints,” a collection of print artwork showcasing local artists. SPACE is soon featuring a photo and video
art collection called the Innocents Project on Oct. 19. SPACE’s mission is “to present contemporary, unconventional, and emerging arts, artists and ideas.” The SPACE Gallery also has a stage for musical performances, and a small corner bar.
THE CYCLE GALLERY AT PERCY’S CYCLES (9 Deering Avenue)
features local, commissionfree art. This week the gallery presents Jessica Turquotte and Nance Trueworthy, and others. Trueworthy is a photojournalist whose art includes scenes from nature as well as famous people
in th eCaribbean, Europe, and the US.
Percy Wheeler, owner of the shop, always features local, commission-free artwork, leaving the money in the hands of the artists, and the art is not necessarily cyclethemed.
Other places worth exploring off Congress are the June Fitzpatrick Gallery on High Street, the Heron Point Gallery of Glass Art and Dichroic Jewelry on Middle Street, and the Nielson Smith Metalworks shop on Portland Street.
Another tradition of the First Friday Art Walk is for performance groups and street corner musicians to present their talents to the public. ?
COMPILED BY BY JOEL C. THERIAULT