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Illustrated Poems, Cruise Photos and New Deal Murals: Art to See This Week


Tif Sigfrids: The local art community has an unusual abundance of receptions and artist talks this week, beginning with Los Angeles-based artist Joe Sola’s performance “Watching TV With My Dealer” at downtown gallery Tif Sigfrids. True to its title, the performance involves Sola and curator Tif Sigfrids watching television for five consecutive days. The two have collaborated in the past with “Portraits: An Exhibition in Tif Sigfrids’ Ear,” which literally presented microscopic paintings inside her ear at the gallery’s former location in Los Angeles. Sola’s performance, which kicked off Monday, will continue each day through Friday, July 19 from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. 

Creature Comforts: One part gallery show, one part public art project, “Broadside Exhibition Project: Verse 2” combined artists and writers to collaborate on a series of eight illustrated poems that will be on view in the brewery through Aug. 18. Visual artist and poet pairings include Mary Hitchings and Grace Donnelley, Christopher Ingham and Meredith Elder, Savannah Jensey and Savannah Guenthner, Abby Kacen and Mariah Parker, Jackie Kirsche and Lisa Smartt, Gunnar Tarsa and Wesley Peebles, Abigail West and Lindsay Troutman, and Chris Xavier and Paul Cunningham.
An opening reception featuring an all-vinyl set by DJ Comforts will be held Thursday, July 18 from 6–8 p.m, and an Art Party featuring poetry readings, a communal printmaking activity and a hip-hop showcase will be held Aug. 15. Additionally, reproductions will be displayed in the Watkinsville Woods from July 22–Aug. 19, with an Art in the Park event held July 27. Digital prints will be available to purchase through K.A. Artist Shop, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Get Artistic fund.

Dodd Galleries: Occurring simultaneously with the aforementioned exhibition, a reception at the Dodd Galleries at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art will take a closer look at Brittainy Lauback’s collection of photographs, “Liberty.” Captured during a five-day vacation aboard a Carnival Liberty cruise ship, the images reveal the clash of opulence and tackiness that permeates the landscape of cruise culture. The reception will be held July 18 from 6–9 p.m., with remarks by the artist around 7 p.m. “Liberty” will remain on view through Friday, Aug. 30.

Lyndon House: Offering yet another Thursday night activity, the Lyndon House Arts Center will present a Third Thursday Artist Gallery Talk to highlight two current exhibitions. Nena Gilreath, who is the supervisor of the East Athens Educational Dance Center, will speak on her collection of black Barbie dolls that are on view as part of the Collections from our Community series. Sarah Cowan White, a Lamar Dodd alum, will then discuss her paintings of interior spaces, “Easement.” The artist talks will begin on July 18 at 6 p.m.

Howard’s: The culmination of “Watching TV With My Dealer” will coincide with an opening reception at Howard’s, which is housed under the same roof as Tif Sigfrids. Howard’s newest exhibition presents drawings and cut paper pieces by local artist Samuel Stabler alongside three-dimensional paintings by Justin Adian. Though their work appears very different, they share wide-ranging thematic interests not limited to Hank Williams, Easy Rider, basketball and world history, according to curator Ridley Howard. The opening reception will be held on July 19 from 6–8 p.m., and also offers an opportunity to view a selection of paintings by Margo Rosenbaum that are being co-presented by both galleries.

Georgia Museum of Art: The museum’s quarterly reception, 90 Carlton: Summer, will highlight current exhibitions during an evening that features refreshments, door prizes and opportunities to “Ask the Experts” in the galleries. “Celebrating Heroes: American Mural Studies of the 1930s and 1940s from the Steven and Susan Hirsch Collection,” “Women of the WPA” and “Larger Than Life: Mural Studies” all illustrate how New Deal programs commissioned works from artists across the country. Composed of pieces from the permanent collection or on long-term loan, “Color, Form and Light” offers a fun collection of minimalistic, kinetic and op art. Admission to the event, which will be held on Friday, July 19 from 5:30–7:30 p.m., is free for current Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art members or $10–$15 otherwise.

ATHICA: Typically dedicated to artists who are either in the early stages of their careers or reinvigorating their work through new approaches, the 12th rendition of the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art’s annual “Emerges” series, “Effervescence,” was also an opportunity for emerging curator Kayla King to further develop her curatorial practice. The selected artists—Hannah Ehrlich, Erin McIntosh, Drema Montgomery, Christine Roman and Ally White—represent a variety of mediums that range from painting to sculpture and fiber art, and share an interest in process-driven works that reflect imaginative responses to the outside world through abstracted forms. A closing reception with the curator and artists will be held on Sunday, July 21 at 4 p.m.

Heirloom: Closing out this week’s busy lineup of receptions, Heirloom Café will celebrate “Sweet Southern Summer,” a collection of drawings and paintings by local artist Alice Pruitt. Viewed as a road trip that stops among several of her favorite locations, like the historic French Quarter in New Orleans and Lowcountry marshes of South Carolina, the collection returns home to Athens with familiar images of Boulevard and Normaltown. The reception will be held Wednesday, July 24 at 5:30 p.m., and Pruitt’s works will remain on view through Monday, Aug. 26.

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