Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 4/29-30.

Friday

The seasonal Downtown Gallery Crawl is once again upon us. If you missed the openings at 707/709 Gallery, you can check out the exemplary work of Katherine Young and Bovey Lee. Jesse Hulcher's "Straight Outta CompUSA" is still at Space Gallery, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council hosts the photographic work of Brian Sesack at 707 Penn. There's a show to benefit BikePGH at 805-807 Liberty (featuring the work of 30 artists) and Urbanic 3, a group show, will be at Future Tenant. Everything (and more!) gets underway at 5:30PM.

If you wonder what the kids from CMU are up to (besides Future Tenant), check out the seniors exhibition at the Miller Gallery in the Purnell Center for the Arts (5000 Forbes Avenue). The reception runs from 6-8PM.

Satuday

It's time once again for Art All Night, Lawrenceville's overnight art celebration. Just like last year, it's slated to be held at the former Iron City Brewing facility at 3340 Liberty Ave. It gets underway at 4PM and stays open until 2PM Sunday. Last year 12,000 people came by to see one piece of work each by 1200 artists. If you want to participate in this "no censorship" show, you must drop off your work between 10AM and 2PM and be ready to pick up your work when everything comes down the next day.

Felicia Feaster is guest-curating at the Fe Gallery (4102 Butler St.) in Lawrenceville. "Homebound" stars artists Meg Aubrey, Anna Watson, Mary Turnipseed, Patrick Heagney, Nate Kamp and Seth Clark. The reception runs from 7-9PM.

Meanwhile, relative newcomer Gallery 4 (206 South Highland, Shadyside) keeps rolling out the openings. This week it's for "Gamma Gods", featuring the work of Jesse Best. Grab some refreshments between 7-10PM.

And Boxheart Gallery in Bloomfield just keeps plugging its way through the years. This weekend they have a reception for Jason Mann's "acrylic collage paintings". Show up between 5-8PM.

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 4/15-16/11.

c. David Grim (taken 3/19/11)

It's surprising just how much stuff there is to do in the arts scene this mid-April.

Friday

Start out by going down to the Society for Contemporary Craft (2100 Smallman Street in the Strip) for Bridge 11, a collection of work by Lia Cook, Mariko Kusumoto, and Anne Drew Potter- three artists who "are creating exceptional works that express progressive and unconventional points of view around social, political and philosophical themes have been selected for the 2011 Bridge Exhibition Series." This gets underway at 5:30PM and lasts until 8PM.

And the Brew House (2100 Mary Street, South Side) has once again opened its doors to the public with the Big Urban Photo Project. This is a display of images put together by the organizers of the website RustWire.com. The reception runs from 6-9PM.

The Michael Berger Gallery is always worth a stop, and this season they are having a show of contemporary Islamic art in America called Dis[Locating] Culture. Check out some of the amazing pieces included on their website. The reception runs from 5-7:30PM.

Meanwhile, if moving pictures is more your style, you must stop by the Warhol (8PM) for the screening of several short films from the collection of local oddball Tentatively a Convenience. I've seen a few things associated with this former acolyte of the Subgenius Church, and if the past is a guide- then you definitely won't be bored.

And finally... despite my general hesitation to ever venture downtown on a Friday night, the work of two artists I have really appreciated over the last several years will be featured at the 707/709 Penn Gallery. Bovey Lee's paper cuts are meticulously detailed and mesmerizing to stare at, and Katherine Young's finely-wrought drawings are always fantastically inspiring. The opening reception runs from 6-9PM, but if you miss it, make sure to visit during the Downtown Gallery Crawl later this month.

Saturday

If you have a hankering to buy some locally-made crafty goods, you have two options. The I Made It! Market will be in the South Side Works at noon, and the David Lawrence Convention Center is hosting the Handmade Arcade.

There's a benefit for the victims of the recent events in Japan at the Mendelson Gallery in Shady Side (5874 Ellsworth Avenue). On exhibit will be a series of "Water Babies" works, inspired by a children's cemetery in Okunoin, and created by Tara Zalewsky. Show up from 4-7PM (one day only).

Artists Image Resource on the North Side (518 Foreland Street) is having a symposium, (with an accompanying exhibition) entitled Rethinking Pittsburgh's Industrial Legacy: Prints as Catalyst for Change (4:30-8PM). What's it all about? Here's their description- "The artists in this exhibit, many with ties to Western Pennsylvania, explore the ways in which industry and deindustrialization inform our sense of place and our sense of possibility."

And as if that were not enough, there is a benefit/fundraiser for the Animal Rescue League of Western PA at Modern Formations (4919 Penn Ave.). The 3rd Annual Art Auction in Memory of Cara Gasper runs from 7-10PM. Apparently cash, credit cards, and checks will be accepted, and they winners of items will be announced at 9:30PM.