A Geek’s Guide to First Friday & Local Galleries: April 2012

From ‘Stranger Things Have Never Happened‘ (Justin Duerr)

You geeks are lucky First Friday didn’t fall on April Fools’ this year– as I would have had you running all over the City of Brotherly Love, looking for non-existent galleries and installations. Celebrate the first full week of the Spring equinox with local art.

First Friday: April 6, 2012 

• Stranger Things Have Never Happened @ Gallery 309: The art of Justin Duerr (‘zine author/ Resurrect Dead movie) will be shown via the Coalition Ingenu Self-taught Artists’ Collective. Public reception on April 6, 6-9pm. Two screenings of Jon Foy’s documentary, ‘Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, will be shown on following Fridays, April 13th and 27th @7pm. Free.

• The Art of Beekeeping @ Art in the Age: While there won’t be a formal reception for this until April 26th, this exhibit *technically* open in the AITA space on Friday the 6th, and it sounds fascinating… “During the month of April, The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild will showcase the ancient tradition of beekeeping, highlighting a variety of modern hives types and beekeeping techniques within the Art in the Age gallery space.” Just don’t take anyone who may require an epipen.

• Gallery ML Body Art: Apparently Philadelphia is home to the world’s first and only collective body art gallery (!)– Gallery ML (NSFW). They have a new space on 111 Arch Street and are having a public First Friday reception.

• “Runoff” @ Part Time Studios: Opening reception for artist Brian Payne on Friday, April 6th, 6-9pm, at Part Time Studios in Fishtown.

Other artist events and open galleries for April 2012–

• Corporeal Manifestations @ The Mütter Museum: Absolutely not for folks looking to sip wine and see flowery paintings, this exhibit, curated by Sasha Koozel Reibstein, displays pieces from 11 ceramic sculptors who share art of the human body in bizarre and grotesque states. Blip in PW includes additional artist links.

• Mythology and The Forgotten Gods @ Phantom Hand Gallery On South Street.

• ‘COVERS’ @ Second Saturday on East Passyunk Ave: A unique visual art installation by Butch Cordora. “Inspired by Vanity Fair’s A-list glossy cover images, COVERS challenges viewers’ perception of fame, power, money and relevance.” Artist meet’ n’ greet on Saturday, April 14th (6-9pm).