I hope you all  had a wonderful 4th of July and are ready to hit the street for this month’s 1st Thursday.  There will be no Art Crawl for the next two months, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be out there check out all the art and festivities. I hope to see you out there too.

Reef City by Mark Goerner

This month I’m most excited about a show at Roy by Mark Goerner. Mark is a friend of mine, so I know that shows of his work are rare, but I can also say without bias that he is one of my favorite artists anywhere. Mark’s work tends to have a sci-fi edge that is very unique in Santa Barbara and is exactly the kind of stuff I get weak in the knees over.

Another highlight that I want to focus on briefly here is the gallery that seemed to pop up out of nowhere right before 1st Thursday last month. The Project (740 State Street, Suite 1) is “a collaborative non-profit art gallery owned and operated by nine local artists. The Project will benefit Girls Inc. by donating 20% of all art sales to their organization, Girls Helping Girls [Awesome!]. Featured artists include Donna Ayscough, Liz Brady, Erika Carter, Theresa Carter, Lloyd Dallett, Ashley Dart, Virginia McCracken, Lisa Pedersen and Susan Tibbles.” This place was packed to the gills for the entire evening last month. And I wish them the absolute best in their new venture.

I am also going to make a pointed effort to check out the Forum Lounge at the Contemporary Arts Forum. You never know what you will get when you walk in to one of these events, and that’s part of the fun.  I’ve pasted the information below.

For a full list of activities this Thursday check out the Downtown Organization website.  If you encounter any really great work out there that I should put on my radar for future reference, please leave a comment to this post.

Tonight’s First Thursday is shaping up to be one of the best of the year. Not only because it is November and we finally have some beautiful weather, but this month’s art offerings are exceptional. Besides Pianos on State and the first ever Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative Art Crawl, there are some really exciting exhibits to check out, including the Bang Bang underground show which I’m particularly excited about.  Below are my selected highlights of places to make sure not to miss tonight as you hit the street.

125 E. Carrillo Street
The BANG BANG Underground Art Production is inviting everyone for the one-night event at 125 E. Carrillo Street ( orange door in the back). The event will start at 5pm and last till at least 10pm. The featured artist of the night are Sherry Wetzel, Inga Romualdo Guzyte and the musician Chris Wilson and more… They will have snacks and drinks for the hungry and thirsty ones!

This one is a bit off of the beaten path, but it is well worth it. The last show at this place nearly sold out. If you want first pick you better get there early.

THE SUPPLY ROOM @ PRESIDIO MOTEL
1620 State Street
(805) 963-1355
Featuring local artist Stephanie Dotson. She will be showcasing a collection of recent encaustic paintings layered with ink and resin. Stephanie currently lives and teaches printmaking in Santa Barbara.

CANARY HOTEL
31 West Carrillo Street
(805) 884-0300
Linda Stewart-Oaten, recipient of The Arts Fund’s 2010 Individual Artist Award (IAA) in General Fiction, will premier her winning piece, “Flames”, in a public reading. Also reading will be IAA Honorable Mention winners: Jim Alexander, Catherine Gee, and Fred Nadis.

BROOKS INSTITUTE GALLERY 27
27 East Cota Street
(805) 690-4913
Construction & Reconstruction: this group exhibition features samples of the culminating work of six emerging photographers from the Master of Fine Art Photography program. The selection of works from these groundbreaking artists ranges from the truly novel to reinterpretations of the familiar. The pieces reflect a variety of personal experiences, expressions, concerns and interests. Wine will be provided by Olive House.

SANTA BARBARA CONTEMPORARY ARTS FORUM
653 Paseo Nuevo, 2nd Floor
(805) 966-5373
Forum Lounge: Without Sun. In two showings, 7pm and 8pm, artist Brody Condon will present the live performance Without Sun: Modification (2009). This dance and spoken word piece is based on an edited compilation of “found online performances” of individuals on a psychedelic substance which will be screened before the performance. Condon worked with dancer Linda Austin and actor Russell Edge to re-interpret the erratic movements and verbalizations of people in the throes of revelatory and frightening psychoactive experiences.

There are a couple of great art events happening tonight. Besides the opening show at Art From Scrap I posted earlier today, there is also this great panel discussion happening at the Contemporary Arts Forum.

Friday, October 22, 6 pm smART Salon: In conversation with Daniel Dove, Peter Rostovsky, Charlotta Westergren, and Paul Winstanley, moderated by Colin Gardner In May 2010, New York Times art critic Roberta Smith re-affirmed, “Few modern myths about art have been as persistent or as annoying as the so-called death of painting.” This fall, Santa Barbara embraces the medium of painting, featuring four prominent painters in exhibition venues around town. Join Dove, Rostovsky, Westergren, and Winstanley, with moderator Colin Gardner to discuss painting in the 21st century. FREE CAF presents this discussion in collaboration with the Atkinson Gallery, SBCC, and the Departments of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (SLO). Exhibition Opening: Saturday, October 23, 7 – 9 pm FREE Exhibitions On View: October 24 – December 19 Peter Rostovsky and Paul Winstanley: Parallax A groundbreaking exhibition featuring painters Peter Rostovsky and Paul Winstanley, which offers a visual conversation between an established and a mid-career artist. Winstanley explores how a photograph conciliates our experience of vision and how the painted world can transcend photography’s supposed neutrality, while Rostovsky photographs the world around him and collects images from the Internet as material for his exactingly rendered, atmospheric paintings. Special thanks to: Casa Magazine, Santa Barbara, CA; Carolyn Glasoe and Chris Bailey, Ojai, CA; Candyce Eoff, Santa Barbara, CA; Jacquelyn Klein-Brown, Santa Barbara, CA; Santa Barbara Independent; Santa Barbara News-Press; Sara Meltzer, New York, NY; Wayne McCall & Associates, Santa Barbara, CA; Eileen and Alex Rasmussen, Santa Barbara, CA; Nancy and Tony Wall, Santa Barbara, CA; Tim Walsh and Mike Healey, Santa Barbara, CA; 1301PE, Los Angeles, CA; and all the generous lenders. Details L to R: Peter Rostovsky, Curtain, 2010, Oil on linen, 72 x 48 in.; Paul Winstanley, Veil 15, 2005, Oil on linen, 59.8 x 65 in.

There are loads of great events and exhibits to check out tonight whilst out and about for Santa Barbara’s First Thursday. Here are some recommendations for places you shouldn’t miss.

AG2 GALLERY @ THE FRENCH PRESS
1101 State Street
(805) 963-9800
Etch ‘N Sketch: Art Show and Art Swap. A back to the not so basics of drawing and rendering show featuring Peter Mengert and Roberto Morales, with highlighted local artist Holly McCay. Select art pieces will be on display from local high school students. Bring a black book or sketch pad to swap sketches with your fellow artists. Percentage of sales goes to youth art fund. Music and refreshments will be available.

SANTA BARBARA CONTEMPORARY ARTS FORUM
653 Paseo Nuevo, 2nd Floor
(805) 966-5373
Forum Lounge: Privacy is Dead Because We Said So. Artist James Gilbert will set up a temporary sewing shop and sew several hundred real size pairs of clear, industrial plastic see-through underpants, which will accumulate in huge sculptural piles. This project addresses ideas of privacy, anonymity and identity in relationship to the huge amounts of personal information posted daily on Facebook, youtube, Google and other mass media.

Elizabeth Gordon Gallery
15 West Gutierrez
(805) 963-1157

Viva Design in collaboration with Inga Guzyte present: Love to Read. The exhibit is an installation with the paper-cup characters in the window of the Elizabeth Gordon Art Gallery. We created Alphabet city, a New York (well sort of) right here in Santa Barbara.  The official opening for the exhibit will be Thursday, 9-9, 5-8pm. I hope all locals will sip a wine with us and celebrate the new Viva Design adventure.

UPDATE: This just in from FUZION! This is a big deal folks.

We are hosting a pop up art show by David P. Flores @ Fuzion Gallery 1115 State St.

The reception will be this Thursday the 2nd of September.
The show will hang for one week only so don’t miss this chance to see some of David’s art in person, trust us you will be impressed!!!
http://www.davidfloresart.com/

Reception starts 7PM and can be expected to close around 11PM

This event lies on a First Thursday so SB’s art crowd will be out in plenty!

If you come dressed to impress then the drinks and food are on us!

Friday night at 6 pm a 24 hour creative art rally will begin at the Contemporary Arts Forum. I have it from good sources that over 100 artists have signed up for the event. Not all of them will be doing the entire 24 hours, but many will and the results are sure to be interesting. There is also a closing reception on Sunday, but I REALLY recommend going to the event to see the creative marathon in action. I hope to see tons of people there.

If you take pictures, send them my way and I’ll post them on the blog.

COLLECT DRAWINGS CREATED BY LOCAL ARTISTS!

Friday, July 23, 6 pm
through
Saturday, July 24, 6 pm
Closing Reception:
Sunday, July 25, 4-6 pm

Come to see local artists draw and to purchase artwork hot off the presses at the rally and at the celebratory closing reception. All of the proceeds will be divided between the drawers and CAF. $5 to attend the rally and get first pick of available artworks.  FREE to attend the closing reception at which any remaining artworks will be for sale. For more information visit sbcaf.org or call (805) 966-5373

Support for From Dusk ’til Drawn provided by: Bella Dolce Bakery, CASA Magazine, City 2.0, Craft Essentials, DJ Colin Marshall, DJ Magneto, The Graphic Vendor, RND Vodka, Santa Barbara Premiere Catering, The Santa Barbara Independent, The Santa Barbara News-Press, and Via Maestra.