Where to go
Catch Sozo Gallery’s Jan. 11 opening reception (6-8 p.m.) featuring Kenny Nguyen, who might be one of the kindest, but also one of the hardest working, artists in Charlotte. “Interwoven” features paintings, wall sculptures, and installations made from silk, a material the artist considers representative of his personal identity as a Vietnamese immigrant, influenced by his cultural heritage as well as fashion design. It’s been enjoyable to watch Nguyen’s progress from two to three dimensions/installations, particularly during his residencies last spring at the Vermont Studio Center and this fall at The Hambidge Center. We’re looking forward to seeing the results in person. If you are taken with Nguyen’s silk paintings, consider signing up for his silk painting workshop on Saturday, Jan. 26 (advanced registration required via https://bit.ly/2EFK4ig).
What to do
Check out the newest exhibition at SOCO Gallery, featuring paintings and works on paper by New York-based artist Austin Eddy. A graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Eddy has been influenced by modern, folk and outsider art to create his colorful works focused around discoveries – both real and imagined – as a result of travel. The exhibition reception will be 6-8 p.m. Jan. 9, with Eddy providing a gallery walkthrough on Jan. 10.
Who to meet
Meet artists during Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art’s opening reception for “Transparency,” 6-8 p.m. Jan. 11. The exhibition features some Charlotte-area favorites, including Linda Luise Brown, Elizabeth Ross and Chris Watts (who will be in Charlotte for a few months for a McColl Center residency). Watts and Brown will present at Elder’s next Millennial Art Program talk, Jan. 26. These painters will be shown alongside work by glass artists David Patchen, Mark Leputa, Alex Bernstein, and wood and glass pieces by Brett Skidmore. You might also consider registering for Patchen’s glass demo at Hot Glass Alley, 4-6:30 p.m. Jan. 12; he will be assisted by Leputa and Hot Glass Alley owner Jake Pfeifer. (There’ll also be drinks and hors d’oeuvres.) $30 per person, limited space, RSVP required.
Each week, Grace Cote and Lia Newman offer Observer readers a to-do list on immersing yourself in visual arts around town. Newman is director/curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College, Cote is senior coordinator at Jerald Melberg Gallery, and they collaborate on the blog HappeningsCLT (happeningsCLT.com).
For a seasonlong visual arts calendar, go to: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article217677675.html.