Every six months, we watch as the typical First Friday art walk gets a shot in the arm to become the Visual Arts Tour, which brings creative expression to the galleries, restaurants and other spots in downtown Spokane and beyond. The February edition is a mixed bag of familiar names, as well as up-and-coming artists displaying work that runs the gamut in terms of style and media. You can find more options in our complete First Friday listings.
BARRISTER WINERY
1213 W. Railroad
If you're a visual arts fan in the Inland Northwest, you should know about the Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d'Alene. But if you want to save yourself a drive and see why Art Spirit is held in such high regard, you can get a sampling of its artists during the Visual Arts Tour, when they fill the walls of Barrister Winery. You'll find the work of Harold Balazs, Victoria Brace, George Carlson, Wayne Chabre, Morse Clary, Peter Cox, Mary Dee Dodge, Allen Dodge, Catherine Earle, Mary Farrell, Del Gish, Elaine Green, Robert Grimes, Michael Horswill, Jerri Lisk, Mel McCuddin, Kay O'Rourke and Cary Weigand. Grab a glass of wine and visit with the artists at the opening reception on Friday, Feb. 6, from 5 to 10 pm. (MIKE BOOKEY)
CHASE GALLERY
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
This student collective exhibit Explorations XIV allows the community to experience visual art in a multitude of genres by some of the leading art students in the area. The display includes collections from Gonzaga students Claire Marie Kane, Rebecca Padilla and Claire Hart, as well as Whitworth students Lauren Pangborn, Christa Prentiss and Alec Moore. They are joined by Greg Haste, Jessica Earle and Ashley Vaughn from EWU, Makayla Miracle and Paulina Broadhurst from SFCC and Cody Magee and Margaret Ann Boyd from NIC. The gallery's kickoff reception will be Feb. 6 from 5-8 pm; the exhibit is open to the public until March 30. (COURTNEY BREWER)
KENDALL YARDS
1206 W. Summit Pkwy.
More gallery space in Spokane? We'll take it. A gallery in the burgeoning Kendall Yards development debuts on Feb. 6 with a show from Melissa Cole, a Spokane artist known for her vibrant acrylic paintings, many of which depict animals. Cole, a trained zoologist, knows a thing or two about animals, having traveled the world with her wildlife photographer husband and written more than 30 natural history books for children. (MB)
LABORATORY
301 W. Main
Anna Czoski is a local digital designer and animator whose work is the most recent interactive exhibit to take over the always engaging space at Laboratory. Czoski's show "Home is Where the Heart Is" takes on big ideas like exploration and the notion of "home" with a storefront projection display that was inspired by the Voyager I spacecraft (the one carrying the "golden record" including, among other things, directions to Earth from anywhere in the universe), which recently left our solar system on its way into deep space. "I wanted to juxtapose the Voyager diagram with an interactive symbol that pointed to every passerby's center, making the simple analogy that our heart anchors us," says Czoski. "No matter where we are, or attachments we make in this world, the heart keeps the tethers taut to our connections, while balancing at our center." (MB)
LIBERTY CIDERWORKS
164 S. Washington, Suite 300
This Visual Arts Tour doesn't skimp on excellent photography, as evidenced by Frank Knapp's show at Liberty Ciderworks, the newish local cidery on Washington Street. The photographer specializes in landscapes, with most of his pieces in black and white. Knapp, who didn't begin shooting photos until the unexpected death of his wife in 2008, has since amassed a portfolio of scenic shots from all over the Northwest. (MB)
SARANAC ART PROJECTS
25 W. Main
The art at this exhibit by Lisa Nappa and Margot Casstevens is all about water. That's typically the subject of Nappa's work, whether it's a ceramic piece or digital project, but now she's joined by another favorite local artist in Casstevens, showing her stop-action film that focuses on movement. Meet the artists at a reception on Feb. 6 from 5-8 pm, and perhaps wax poetic about the confluence of water and art. (MB)♦
