Arts Devo

Art alive! Drought fears aside, Arts DEVO is enjoying this beautiful, cold, clear, blue, dry February. But, if you’re not impressed with the “cheap showiness of nature” (to borrow a line from the good Reverend Lovejoy), there are some impressive, or at least intriguing, new art shows in local galleries and cafes offering an escape from all this mid-winter sunshine:

• Chico State: There are a couple of traveling exhibitions showing at galleries in the Arts & Humanities Building: The Jacki Headley University Art Gallery continues hosting Revolutionizing the World, 1917-2017, an art-and-culture exploration of the Russian Revolution of 1917; and early next week, A People’s Museum of LGBTQ History—a project curated by AK/OK, a two-person Austin/Montreal-based artist/design collective made up of Kate Jarboe and M. Wright—will visit the Janet Turner Print Museum and the MFA Gallery for two days of exhibition/activities. Visitors are invited to visit the gallery Feb. 19-20, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., to contribute drawings to the “socially engaged artwork that brings people together in … telling the stories of family members, friends, coworkers, classmates, teachers, neighbors, lovers and selves,” and Feb. 20, 5-7 p.m., for a reception and talk (5:30 p.m.) by AK/OK.

Also opening Monday at the Turner is a solo exhibit by Florin Hategan, winner of last year’s Turner National Print Competition. Artist talk with Hategan, Thursday, Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m, with reception to follow.

And across way in Ayres Hall, the B-So Space has a quaint exhibit—Acid, Rocks & Rollers: Mini Print Exchange 2018—up for a couple more days (through Feb. 16), featuring 20 small prints from the Chico Print Club.

• MONCA: The Museum of Northern California Art continues What, Us Worry? (through March 31), its colorful three-artist exhibit of sculptures by Tony Natsoulas, Paul DiPasqua and Michael Stevens. The museum is also looking for volunteers, from docents to researchers. If you want to help out visit www.monca.org and fill out a volunteers form.

• Upper Crust Bakery: What a treat to have so many pieces by the always excellent Kandis Horton-Jorth in one space. Her mixed-media paintings are on display through March 4.

Lew shall be released This Sunday, Feb. 18, the family and friends of Lew Gardner are holding a couple of events to honor the memory of the Chico poet/thespian/beatnik who died Oct. 13 at the age of 86. The afternoon kicks off with a tip of the cap to the man of many chapeaus and the Hep Cat Crazy Hat Bike Ride starting at Children’s Playground at 1:15 p.m. and ending at the CARD Center (545 Vallombrosa Ave.) where a “soul-release party” and potluck will run from 2-5 p.m. Bring a dish and all your Lew memories to share.