FRIDAY

On view at Hidell Brooks Gallery: Bill Braun, Wooden Canoe, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 inches.
Southend First Friday Gallery Crawl
Southend Neighborhood
FREE
- Hidell Brooks: Reception for Ruth Ava Lyons, Bill Braun, and Amanda Talley
Hidell Brooks will open a new exhibition with an evening reception for three artists we love. Bill Braun creates hyper-realist acrylic paintings that look like paper collages; Amanda Talley’s big, loopy abstract paintings are favorites for many of Charlotte’s interior designers; and Ruth Ava Lyons continues to explore tenuous environments in her beautifully colorful paintings. On view through February 27. 6-8 p.m., 1910 South Boulevard.
- Ciel Gallery: Reception for “My Life as a Dog”
This juried show contains artworks created with the prompt “show us what the life of a dog is really like.” Ciel Gallery has partnered with the Humane Society for this event and will accept donations to their Wish List during the opening. 6-9 p.m., 128 East Park Avenue.

Preston Drum’s hosts an open studio night at C3 Lab.
C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution Street
January 8, 7-9 p.m.
FREE
C3 Lab’s artist residency program continues with an Open Studio evening with artist and filmmaker Preston Drum. We aren’t sure what to expect, but he says: ‘”we will be screening my ‘deconstructed’ film, ‘A Saturday In the Summer’ at 8:00pm. A 15 min piece with audio recorded in a closet in MN and about 100 ink drawings on a wall.” Worth experiencing, we think!
SUNDAY

Eugene Thomason, Boy with Chrysanthemums, c. 1936-1937. This paintings is a part of the Mint’s permanent collection and is included in this traveling exhibition.
Mint Museum, 500 South Tryon Street
1-4 p.m.
Free for members, $6 for nonmembers
Our Mint Museum has adopted the “special exhibition fee” trend in a big way, but this Sunday you have the opportunity to see the new Eugene Thomasson show for a steal! The special exhibition fee of $12 (on top of $12 admission) will be waived. Admission to the museum and From New York to Nebo: The Artistic Journey of Eugene Thomason is free for children and members, and only $6 for nonmembers. This Sunday Fun Day event will also features crafts for kids of all ages.