Factory Fresh’s back yard wall. — Photo by Anna D’Agrosa

This weekend was all about gorgeous weather, art, and Morgantown for me. I had some wonderful friends in town from Minneapolis, and after a yummy brunch at the Kingdom, I gave them a tour of our up-and-coming gallery scene.

We started off at English Kills to check out Steven Harding’s paintings — the gallery is looking great as well as the flower bed! On to Pocket Utopia, where we briefly met the artists in residence: Silvina Arismendi, Mauricio Limon and the collaborative team of Martin y Sicilia (organized by Omar Lopez-Chahoud). They were all super friendly and hard at work installing their show. Be sure to pop in and check it out and attend the one-day exhibit on April 29. I couldn’t make it to their salon discussion last night — how was it?

Next up was Factory Fresh where we got to see Skewville’s latest show Word Up. Got a minute with the always amazing Ali Ha, who is really excited about the upcoming show Boxed In — a "site specific cardboard wonderland" opening on May 1. While you’re there, be sure to peek at the new work in the backyard.

On to Bogart Street. We stopped in to Eastern District to see work by Poster Boy, and finished up at Ad Hoc Art, where we heard that the opening of the most recent group show was well-attended and they have sold most of the Swoon pieces (benefitting the Swimming Cities of Serenissima — apparently, the team is having a bit of trouble coordinating with the Italian regulatory powers to get the ships to Venice for the Biennale). Our sunny afternoon ended with brunchy cocktails at Roberta’s.

Yesterday, I trudged through the not-as-nice weather to Potion Cafe on McKibbin to check out new paintings by Carla Avruch. I missed the opening at the beginning of the month, but I got a personalized tour & heard a bit about her process.

"I have always been intrigued by the way certain surfaces allow the eye (and mind) to create imagery or visions.  Stare at a cloud, wood grain, into a microscope — suddenly your eye unfocuses or adjusts and there is a horse running, a demon sneering.  While my paintings are abstract, non-representational forms, they have that same potential. Most of these paintings are all about the addition of materials — layer after layer of oil building into a dense nebulous field of information.  For the newest piece I used white oil enamel to subtract from the composition so I could isolate the best moments of the painting."

Be sure to stop in for a latte and viewing; the show will be up until the end of the month.

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