First Fridays: Back with a bang

First Fridays is back.

After a quiet August, most of the Hill City’s galleries are returning from their summer hiatuses with a roster of interesting shows that should keep your Friday jam-packed.

John Morgan’s Rivermont Gallery will feature an installation, ceramic and copper sculptures and mixed media drawings from Gordonsville artist Aggie Zed, as well as abstract color photos by Charlottesville’s Bill Moretz.

Zed’s installation, “Elephants Observed,” features four staircases in the midst of 100 small, ceramic elephants.

She began making elephant figurines a couple years ago.

“I just thought they would look so marvelous in a herd,” says Zed. “There couldn’t be too many of them.”

She also wanted to incorporate something man-made or mechanical into the mix, and that’s where the staircases come in: “I seized upon the idea of staircases that could roll around among the elephants, as sort of an observation post.”

The elephants are just another variation on Zed’s sculptures, which she says have “really become characters in this whole other world or alternate reality.”

Most of the copper and ceramic sculptures, of both people and animals, look like cyborgs straight out of “Terminator.” They have ceramic heads, feet and, sometimes, wheels, but their bodies are made up of entangled copper wires.

She calls the ones on wheels “Scrap Floats” because she envisions them in a parade-like processional.

Morgan says the work of Zed goes well with that of Moretz.

“It’s kind of (neat) to see (his) abstract work with the storytelling Aggie does.”

Moretz’s photographs, which he calls “Urban Traces,” are close-ups of things he comes across during daily walks to lunch in Charlottesville. Subjects include a telephone pole covered in papers, sidewalks inked with spray paint and paint drips on asphalt.

“He doesn’t set anything up,” says Morgan. “He goes around and finds it.”

In addition to shows like Morgan’s, local artist Mike Twery is opening up his downtown studio — situated at 13th and Court streets, behind the YMCA — for the first time in two years.

“We want people to know we’re here,” says Twery, who is known for various high-profile commission works around town, including a recent mural at City Hall.
“It’s not a retail space. It’s more of a working studio.”

The studio will be open from 6 to 8 p.m., and Twery will show off some of his older work — stick figure sculptures, cut-outs and paintings that utilize glow-in-the-dark paint — as well as newer pieces, including something he calls “Miki-gami,” paintings of folded-up Hershey wrappers.

He’ll also show the expressionist-style paintings and collage work of his artist wife, Jeannette Twery.

Here's what else is happening for First Fridays:

The Academy of Fine Arts, 600 Main St.
The Academy presents its National Juried Photography Exhibition, with a reception and juror’s talk from 5 to 8 p.m.

Avenue Arts Studio Gallery, 1206 Rivermont Ave.
Owner Kelly Mattox will show some of her new work, large abstract and representational paintings, along with the sculptures of the 2009 Best in Show Academy of Fine Arts National Juried Show winner Paul Clements. The reception is from 6 to 8:30 p.m., and the show will be up through October.

blackwater creek gallery, 845 Belmont St.
The gallery’s latest show, “Art of Extremity: A Show of Trench Art and Prison Art,” has been extended through Sept. 13, with a reception slated from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Dancing Leaf Gallery, 409 Fifth St.
“The Fruits of Passion” features the oversized canvas works of Portuguese artist Ana Zivick. The reception runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and will include live music and light food and beverages.

The Firehouse Gallery, 1210 Rivermont Ave.
Local photographer Nancy Marion is hosting a new exhibit, “Mystery Picture of the Week — The Rest of the Story,” from 5 to 8 p.m. She has scanned and digitized more than 10,000 photographs from Lynchburg’s past, and will be talking about several of them during the reception. (The News & Advance runs one of her mystery photos every Monday and asks readers to guess what it depicts).

Light Wings Gallery, 849 Belmont St.
Former Lynchburg resident Chris Noel, who runs his own graphic design firm in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is presenting what he calls “debris paintings,” collections of discarded elements — plywood, metal scraps, computer parts, wires, bolts — that take on new meaning when reassembled and brushed, rolled and dabbed with color. The reception goes from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Lynchburg Art Club, 1011 Rivermont Ave.
The club will present “Tria Tecnica,” an exhibit featuring the work of Geral Butler, Christine Rooney and Rosalie Day White. The First Fridays sneak peek will go from 5 to 8 p.m., and an opening reception is scheduled from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Maier Museum of Art,
An opening reception, from 5 to 8 p.m., for “Teaching Begins Here: Recent Work by Randolph College Art Faculty” will feature “Ygyrls — Drumming 4 Leadership,” a group of high school age musicians learning African djembe drumming. They’ll be joined by the Nataraja Women’s Drumming Ensemble. The exhibit highlights the work of Chris Cohen, David Kjeseth Johnson and Jim and Kathy Muehlemann.

Rivermont Gallery, 1204 Rivermont Ave.
John Morgan’s gallery will feature an installation, ceramic and copper sculptures, and mixed media drawings from Gordonsville artist Aggie Zed, as well as abstract color photos by Charlottesville’s Bill Moretz.

Riverviews Artspace, 901 Jefferson St.
“Patterns of Love and Beauty” features several installation pieces — including a freestanding room in which every object is covered inside and out with drawings — created by Virginia Center for the Creative Arts artist Barbara Bernstein. She has also created a large-scale installation directly on the windows of the Craddock-Terry Gallery. For more about Bernstein, check out next week’s Burg.
The Coop Gallery will also be open with its latest exhibition, “Reflections,” featuring artist Rosalie Short. The Lynchburg native’s work includes still-life and oil landscapes, many of which were painted en plein air in Bath County.
The lower level of Riverviews will once again host the Urban Art Bazaar, which organizers started in July.
The reception and bazaar are set to run from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Thomas A. Johnson Furniture Company/James River Furnishings
The newest addition to the First Fridays gang will be offering light refreshments and guided tours of its 75,000-square-foot, turn-of-the-century warehouse from 5 to 8 p.m.