First Friday, Dec. 5: It was a little tense out there

Featured photo: A tribute to the late Keith Haring, by Hugo Medina. From the HIV/AIDS-themed show at Olney Gallery.

First Friday on Roosevelt Row never lacks for contemporary paintings, sculptures, installations and photography that draw favorable comments from the hordes of people that trek through the eclectic galleries. Plentiful, too, are the edgy, controversial works that may or may not have as many admirers, yet all the galleries coexist just fine and things are generally convivial.

The climate was considerably different during the art walk for December 5, 2014, as hundreds of people marched along downtown streets to protest police killings in Ferguson, Missouri, and other cities. Reportedly, the march started small, then drew many of the young adults who happened to be on hand for the art walk. By the time the march made it to Third Street and Roosevelt, the protesters staged a lie-in that stopped all traffic.

Maybe it was just me, but I felt the tension, and I couldn’t get over the sight of dozens of police officers, many with riot gear at the ready. I assume the chanting, peaceful protesters got their point across (the media were out in force), and I hope the march did not upstage the artists, food trucks, musicians and crafts vendors.

I unsteadily took my photo of the protest and moved on. Fortunately, it was a great night for art, and I had a chance to step into a few newer galleries, the New Kids on the Block, so to speak. Here’s the rundown on the evening through a mess of photos, and as you can see, I concentrated on getting the artists themselves into the shots.

Luke Kaminski forgoes the paintbrush to use a credit card dipped in paint to create his abstract works. His paintings are up at the new Skyline Lofts Art Gallery.

As part of the ASU International Residency program, Maida Gruden from Belgrade, Serbia, curated a photography show spotlighting both her students and Phoenix artists. A work by Nidaa Aboulhosn shares space with “Rock and Caulk” by Ryan Parra.

At Modified Arts, Sarah Hurwitz poses with a prop most appropriate for her show, “An Elephant Never Forgets,” for which she’s mounted dozens of placards with sayings like, “An elephant never forgets to pack clean underpants” and “… never forgets which is a stalagmite and which one is a stalactite.” Witty stuff.

The new Capture 12 Gallery is featuring a photo series by Stephen Gittins — portraits of strangers and friends that invite contemplation about the subtleties of appearance that make humans so complex.

By entering Eye Lounge, you actually walk through part of Christina You-Sun Park’s installation, which comments on closing the gaps between global cultures through language and flight.

Andrew Pielage runs Drive-Thru Gallery, and here he’s in front of several examples of his captivating photography from around the world.

At 1Spot Gallery, the assignment was to create indigenous versions of iconic movie posters, and Damian Jim came up with this wry takeoff on Benji, featuring a roaming sheep-herding dog.

Treeo Gallery at 906 N. Sixth Street is one of Roosevelt Row’s newest additions. First Friday featured a group show with several familiar local artists.

Every First Friday, the RooPho Realty office turns into a gallery space. This is Elizabeth Gerstner of Clarkdale with wall plaques that she makes from found objects, cast off from the days of mining in central Arizona.

Suzy Mound of Jerome uses copper in much of her jewelry, an appropriate material considering her locale. Here, she’s sharing space with other artists at RooPho Realty.

Felipe Goes of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is in town on a two-month residency through the Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art (phICA) and let a trip to Sedona inspire a few new paintings, here seen in one of the Row’s three Hot Box galleries, which emerged from refurbished shipping containers.

Here’s my rushed shot of the lie-in at Third Street and Roosevelt.

A first-time collaboration between monOrchid and the Phoenix Art Museum has brought portions of “Focus on Latin America: Art is Our Last Hope,” featuring international mail art by Paolo Bruscky and others, to the gallery space.

Although the work suggests architecture or locations, Jeff Davis lets computer algorithms “create” his abstract paintings. The work is up at monOrchid’s Bokeh Gallery.

One of my best stops was at the Olney Gallery in Trinity Cathedral, where local artists have created HIV/AIDS-themed works to coincide with the cathedral’s temporary display of portions of the national AIDS quilt. Curator Manny Burruel displays his print “My Nino,” in tribute to his late godfather.

Trish Justrish’s wacky creation “Join Us!” is part of a group show in which local artists explore life as lived in the glare of TV. The location is First Studio, which was once Phoenix’s original television station.

Michele Bledsoe is part of the group show at First Studio, and the television theme is apparent in the surreal “Minutes to Hours.”