Join us for South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk February 4th!

An eclectic evening of arts and culture in downtown San Jose's SoFA District (& beyond)!

Venues are open 7pm-11pm & are free of charge

HIghlights include:

Phantom Galleries in the windows of 386 South First Street:
Two exhibitions featuring Yumiko & Reiko Miyagawa and Mike Park
Miyagawa sisters' first collaboration photo show. The sisters came up with themes that have contrastive ideas, and each one took photos with "our weirdo heads' imagination!"

Mike Park exhibits the different colors of VINYL.

Phantom Galleries at Caffé Trieste - 315 South First Street
Opening Reception - Around the World in 30,000 Photographs by Frances Freyberg

In 2008, emerging photographer Frances Freyberg left her job in high-tech communications to travel the world for a year, taking photos and writing about her experiences. Over the course of the year, she took more than 30,000 photographs across 41 different countries. This exhibit includes some of her favorite photos from Asia, India, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North and South America.

First Fridays are Opera Night! at Caffé Trieste with some of the Bay Area’s best opera singers performing your favorite arias and duets.

Phantom Galleries at Good Karma Vegan Café - 37 South First Street
Opening Reception: Art Alive by Trina Merry A rich collaboration with a variety of talented Bay Area photographers- wet plate, fine art, fashion, and maternity photography.

Trina Merry has been exploring and focusing on bodypainting solely since her installation "The Television Totem Pole" at the SubZERO Festival 2010. This exhibit showcases her explorations that have spawned and informed her other bodypaint series, music videos, and current work.

Phantom Galleries at Pho69 - 321 South First Street
Opening Reception- Just In Time: Abstracts by Jane Peterman. The series of paintings is a meditation on time and space beginning March 2009 and ongoing.

Join us for a Vietnamese New Year celebration with Lion Dancers, traditional New Years food tastings, and lucky red envelopes fortunes.

Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design - 366 South First Street
Artist's Reception- Auroral Dreaming new sculptures by Derek Weisberg

Derek Weisberg returns to Anno Domini for his second solo exhibition with a brand new body of ambitious and courageous work. Weisberg continues to examine his own life and the world around him, attempting to answer questions, which have plagued humans since the beginning of time.

Live music by Suzanne Vallie

The Education of Hopey Glass: Day by Day with Hopey, Jaime Hernandez, ink on paper, 2010

MACLA - 510 South First Street
Join MACLA for an extraordinary evening of art: In MACLA’s Gallery: Novelas, Love and Other Adventures Featuring: Jaime Hernandez, Favianna Rodriguez, Rio Yañez and Mayra Ramirez.

Please join us for our Opening Reception & Artist Talk: at 7:00pm Join Jaime Hernandez of famed comic book series Love & Rockets and Bay Area Artist Rio Yañez for an engaging conversation about their work.

Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery - 499 Market Street
Artist's Reception- Joy Imai: Soda-Fired Porcelain

Botanical elements dot the surface of Joy Imai's soda-glazed pottery, but her work is pure pyromaniac in origin! Joy sprays baking soda & water into a 2300 degree kiln causing the solution to break down into sodium vapor glaze. The vapors flash her pots with color - all surprising, unique, and a tangible record of what pieces endured in the kiln.

Reception for the featured artist will be held in conjunction with South First Friday festivities on Feb 4 from 7pm 'til late... plus an evening of pottery wheel demonstrations, kids' clay table, and light refreshments too.

SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery - 577 South Market Street
SLG Art Boutiki presents the art of Vesha Valentine by Des Taylor. Celebrating the release of the new storybook by Taylor, SLG will be showing unseen art from the book. Live music and of course all the things that make The Art Boutiki the best comics art gallery in town!

Targets by Myrrh, acrylic on wood

Works San José - 451 South First Street
Opening Reception- Better Luck Next Time

Have you ever heard these words? It is defined as “an expression that comforts someone for a minor disappointment.” Whether it’s a matter of the heart, life experiences, work or leisure, there is almost always a time when this applies. It might be that piece of art that is loved but just didn’t fit the bill. Engaging in a conversation, examining social or political issues, creating humor, capturing history or chronicling a new work—this exhibition will reveal the artistic expression for the meaning behind the phrase. These artists are making the choice to be lucky this year, presenting some great art that will empower time and again discovering hilarity in Better Luck Next time. Presented by Works in collaboration with South Bay Area Women’s Caucus for Art.

METRO Photo Exhibit - 550 South First Street
Come join us in the Metro building for Pulp Female, photography by Jen Anderson and Ian Healy

Blue Boy by Jay Ruland

KALEID Gallery - 88 South Fourth Street (at San Fernando)
Surgery.Art presents Dark Matter a group study of the dark and immeasurable.

Featuring dark analytical work by: Matthew Pugh, Marie Dvorkin, Alla Viksne, Jay Ruland, Alex Yanushkevich, Kelly Nelson, Emily Feucht, Haley Goodlett, J. Marie Valdivia, Centa Schumacher, Mike Dvorkin, Genevieve Hastings, Shauna Mork + more. Fashion study by Mike Kemling. Auditory guidance by Audrey Stats, Kevorkian/Dvorkin, Geoffrey Smith. Curated by: Marie Dvorkin, Dora Lee

Patty, John Renzel, acrylic on canvas

Psycho Donuts - 288 South Second Street
On view: Local Characters - Crazy, quirky and colorful characters populate this favorite donut shop art gallery! San Jose's Psycho Donuts has new original art by local artists: John Renzel, Lacey Bryant, Michael Foley, Christine Benjamin, Laura Callin Bennett, Valery Milovic, John Hageman, Murphy Adams and Michael Borja.

South First Billiards Club & Lounge - 420 South First Street
The Prophecy - A night of music, art, and good energy with Audiopharmacy
Hip-Hop, Reggae, Funk, Soul, World, Latin featuring Kaotic Souls and Special guests. Beats By Teao N Offerings. Live Acrylics by- Nice Onem, Mia Ante, Jaiv1. Art Works by- Deth Brain, Nice One, Jaiv1, Dee Jae Pa'este, Mia Ante, Majick, Soil
5-9pm ALL AGES. 9pm-close 21+

San Jose Jazz at Eulipia Restaurant - 374 South First Street
8pm- Joe Bagale

A San Francisco based singer songwriter/composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer; he is pushing the envelope of what we know as pop music. His compositions are a blend of old-school funk/R&B mixed with the sounds of late 60's/70's rock and topped off with a jazz/avant-garde influence, coming together to create a style entirely all his own.

For full listing of events and information: please visit www.SouthFirstFridays.com or call 408-271-5155

Media Sponsor: Metro Newspapers

Enjoy FREE PEDICAB RIDES between art venues courtesy of South First Fridays and Eco City Cycles!

This event is produced by Two Fish Design with additional support provided by the San Jose Downtown Association, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and 1st ACT Silicon Valley.