Art Gallery

By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

First things first…

Off.Dauph gallery owner Tim Ellzey quickly let us know that though he appreciated the blurb in the last issue, we got a bit of the info wrong. It’s expected that Mateo’s sale of work to a Chicago collector will open the door to more Windy City collectors entering our market, not work from Chicago artists. Ellzey stressed that Off.Dauph is adhering to a stringent code of emphasizing local artists over others.

Off.Dauph will feature the abstract work of Rev. Rei beginning in December. Look for the place to once again project its notably cosmopolitan ambience at the December Artwalk Fri., Dec. 8.

No wet blanket

The success of the nationally heralded and regionally born “Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibit seems to have left a little residue in the Port City. Of the three exhibits featured at the Mobile Arts Council in December, one of the most intriguing is “Archi-Textiles” by the Azalea City Quilters’ Guild Art Bee. The members of the group created 48-inch-square quilts inspired by architectural details from around Mobile. The works are certainly imaginative and reflect the members’ ability to nurture a traditional skill set with modern perspectives.

In combination with the Mose T. exhibit across the square at Space 301, the exhibit gives a certain homegrown feel to the downtown scene that meshes well with the holiday season.

Bright day ahead

Local renaissance woman Theola Bright will be the center of attention once again as the guest of honor at an afternoon book signing party on Sat., Dec. 9 at Midtown’s Black Classics Books on Airport Boulevard. Bright, an actress, singer, poet and host of WHIL-FM’s Jazz Connection on Saturday nights, will be jotting her “Joan Hancock” into three books available: “Poems To Live By,” “20 Years of Love” and “Just Thinking.” Free CDs of Theola’s musical work will be complimentary for those who purchase more than one book.

For more info, call 476-1060.

Raising voices

It looks like this past summer’s visit by the Twin City Gay Men’s Chorus has made an impact. The first meeting of the Gulf Coast Gay Men’s Chorus will be held Fri., Dec. 7, 2006 at St. Francis United Methodist Church on N. Joachim Street. Things start at 7 p.m. and organizers say all who merely like to sing are welcome with no audition required.

There already exists both a men’s and women’s a capella chorus in town and one more player into this realm can only be good news for the area’s underutilized amateur warblers.

Flying through the season

Not to be slowed down by the holiday season, Fairhope’s Gulf ArtSpace continues into the New Year with the exhibit “In Motion” curated by acclaimed local sculptor Bruce Larsen. The show runs through the month at the Eastern Shore’s backwoods Bauhaus.

Larsen’s transformation of found materials-a great deal of it mechanical in nature-into organic form can be nothing short of breathtaking at times. His work can be found in variety of local settings but the most viewed is likely his immense and kinetic creation just outside the entrance to the Mobile Museum of Art.

For further inquiries, call 490-8262.

Swingin ‘Dem Bells

For area jazz fans, a pair of holiday events look to fit the Yule bill.

On Sat. Dec. 16, the Murphy High School Auditorium plays host to an oft-overlooked classic patterned for American tastes. In 1961, Duke Ellington took a shot at Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic “The Nutcracker” and rearranged the score in jazzier terms. Lea Herndon Fox, director of Mobile’s The Dance Center chain of schools has undertaken the task of introducing the version to her classes and presents this swingin’ tale for the second year in a row. The 6:30 p.m. performance, though populated mostly by younger students, serves a vital role in keeping the music alive for future generations.

The performance will be preceded by music provided by local jazz impresarios guitarist Corky Hughes and bassist JoJo Morris.

For more information, call 675-3461 or go to www.thedancenter.com.

The Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed will celebrate the season with its Holiday Jam on Monday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m.. The jazz society is staging the party at its customary home, the Gulf City Lodge adjacent to Dunbar Performing Arts School in downtown Mobile. The rhythm section for the evening is a Pensacola unit, the Guffman Trio led by Cynthia Neves, that wowed crowds at the 2006 version of the EthnicFest jam session. There is a nominal entrance fee that will be waived for musicians participating in the session and plenty of food (potluck style) for all attendees along with a cash bar.

For info, call 459-2298 or e-mail mobilejazz@bellsouth.net.

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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