Where to see flying girls, hot yams and shifting landscapes in PGH

Each month NEXTpittsburgh features new openings and special art events in our series, NEXT in the Gallery. Keep us posted on what’s new in your neighborhood; email me at lemccullough@mac.com.

Here’s a glimpse of what November brings to local galleries: shifting landscapes, flying girls, hot yams and welcome blankets along with excursions to fairyland, Moon River, gardens of grandeur and a mare’s nest.

“Frank Harris: Born to be Wild, Where Rock ‘n’ Roll Meets the Canvas” on view Nov. 8-30, opening reception Nov. 8, 6-9 p.m.

A prime destination for seekers of vinyl treasure, Groove Gallery has complemented its stock of several thousand new and used records with a dedicated exhibit space featuring Pittsburgh visual artists. November brings to center stage the music-inspired art of illustrator Frank Harris, showcasing original meditations on music mythology along with original portraits of Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and other pop icons.

Clockwise from top, “Feeling Summer” by Paul Rosenblatt; “Changing Landscape” by Brigit Shields; “Oregon Dunes” by Ann Rosenthal; “The Conversation” by Michel Demetria Tsouris (Spinning Plate Gallery). Photos courtesy of artists.

“Ground Shift: Four Artists Navigate a Shifting Landscape” on view Nov. 8-30, opening reception Nov. 8, 6-8:30 p.m.

“Ground Shift” presents new paintings by Paul Rosenblatt, Ann Rosenthal, Michel Demetria Tsouris and Briget Shields representing their artistic response to climate change, plastic pollution, habitat loss and other environmental threats faced by both nature and humans. A Nov. 30 closing reception (noon-4 p.m.) includes a 2 p.m. artist talk exploring the role art can play in providing a platform for debate and discussion about urgent environmental issues.

Detail from “Flying Girls” by Peju Alatise, photo by Joey Kennedy; photo by Ishara Henry appearing in “Picture This,” photo courtesy of Age-Inclusive Photo Bank. (August Wilson African American Cultural Center)

“Picture This: A Photo Exhibit Celebrating Intergenerational Connections” on view Nov. 8, 2025-Feb. 1, 2026; “Peju Alatise: I Will Belong to Only Me” on view Nov. 20, 2025-May 31, 2026.

Over the last few months, Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh commissioned photographers Ishara Henry, Martha Rial, Larry Rippel and Nate Smallwood to document dozens of community gatherings and interactive storytelling events highlighting the importance of multigenerational connection. Selections from the resulting image bank appear in “Picture This” coordinated by Casey Droege Cultural Productions. On Nov. 16 from 2-4 p.m. the exhibit features a “Artists Working with Intergenerational Themes” panel discussion with photographer/sculptor John Peña (Larimer Stories) and fiber artist/fashion designer Junyetta Seale (Golden Pillow Project).

The Center’s “I Will Belong to Only Me” exhibit welcomes back Nigerian-born Peju Alatise, a defining figure in contemporary African art and the first Nigerian artist to be shown at Venice Biennale. Anchored by the evocative installation “Flying Girls,” the show features two decades of her landmark work in sculpture, painting, writing and film.

“Untitled” by Rum Hansra; “Ganashatru (Enemy of the People)” by Sayak Mitra (Atithi Studios). Photos courtesy of Atithi Studios.

“Neither/Nor: Duo show by Rum Hansra & Sayak Mitra” on view Nov. 15, 2025-Jan. 3, 2026, opening reception Nov. 15, 7-9 p.m.

Atithi Studios presents two Indian-born artists marking the season of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights symbolising the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance. Rum Hansra works with acrylics, collage and worn textiles to process how memory is layered, altered and renewed in each person’s continual process of Becoming while traversing the porous boundaries between past and present, self and world. Painter and interdisciplinary artist Sayak Mitra exhibits internationally and uses a wide range of upcycled materials from incense stick ashes and zip ties to rice bags and wooden pallets to comment on class struggle, mass culture and notions of multiculturalism.

As part of EXPLORE: Pittsburgh Tech Week 2025, Atithi Studios presents a Nov. 5, 6-8:30 p.m. public forum “Art in the Age of AI: Inspiration or Disruption?” hosted by artists Michael Carroll, Dana Martinelli and Sasha Phillips looking at what happens when creativity meets code.

“Afternoon at the Pour House” by Kit Paulsen; “Sisters” by Patrick Lee (Mark Rengers Gallery). Photos courtesy of Mark Rengers Gallery.

“Collective Gestures” on view Nov. 1-Dec. 31, opening reception Nov. 1, 6-8 p.m., holiday party Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m.

Collective Gestures offers an eclectic gallery sampler featuring new work from ceramicist Chris Ross, glassmaker Margot Dermody and painters Kristin Divers, Casey Haugh, Lisa Marie Jakab, Patrick Lee, Melody Lockerman, Dan Marsula, Bryan McCormick, Mark Mentzer, Kit Paulsen and Ron Thurston.

“Dreamer” by Todd Pinkham; “Grief Like a River” by Annie Heisey; “Wisdom from Our Ancient Mothers” by Tiffany Budzisz (BoxHeart Gallery). Photos courtesy of BoxHeart Gallery.

“These Walls Talk: BoxHeart Gallery 25th Anniversary” on view Nov. 12, 2025-Jan. 23, 2026 opening reception Nov. 15, 5-7 p.m.

BoxHeart Gallery kicks off its silver anniversary year with 112 works by 54 artists whose voices have shaped the gallery’s unique identity. Says the gallery website, “This won’t be your typical gala. It’s a reunion. A thank you. A little punk. And 100% BoxHeart.” On the 2026 schedule are exhibits by Joshua Hogan, Craig Marcus and Jason Sauer; Sonja Sweterlitsch; The Narfs; Nichole Gronvold Roller; Erika Stearly; Seth Clark and Jeffrey Smith.

“In The Forest No Life Is Isolated” by Nevada Tribble; “Stinging Caterpillar” by Aira Loren Burkhart (Brew House Arts). Photos courtesy of artists.

“Our Appalachia: Community & Visions of the Solar Ant Arts Collective” on view Nov. 20, 2025-Jan. 17, 2026, opening reception Nov. 20, 6-8:30 p.m.

Based in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest in Elkins, West Virginia, the Solar Ant Arts Collective attracts multifaceted artists who grapple with environmental issues, placemaking, cultural identity and their changing rural communities. Featured in this exhibit are Kelly (Kiki) Alba, Aira Loren Burkhart, Corrina Bloom Burkhart, Rosalie Haizlett, Serafelle E. Hightower, Sarah Miller-Herrera, Wilhelmina McWhorter, Emily Prentice, Kathryn Prentice, Domenica Queen and Nevada Tribble.

Selections from “Forests” by Rick Bach (ZYNKA Gallery). Photo by Rick Bach.

“Rich Bach: Forests” on view Nov. 1- Dec. 21, opening reception Nov. 1, 5-8 p.m.

“The world is a forest, the original muse,” declares painter/sculptor Rick Bach, and his latest ZYNKA Gallery show strives to translate the organic natural forms of the wilderness into forests of metal and paint. Steel and aluminum become stand-ins for bark and root, their surfaces layered with color and corrosion to suggest growth, decay and renewal. The exhibit features a wall of 64 6-inch aluminum canvas steel pieces. Notes Bach, “There will be 64 of them because I am 64 years old and 64 is just a good number. Along with some big sculptures with awesome tree trunk pedestals.”

Check these art happenings, too:

• Nov. 2-Dec. 13. Artists Image Resource welcomes German-born artist Stefan Hoffmann for a six-week residency in innovative screenprinting techniques. Hoffmann is known internationally for his elaborate and expressive site-specific screenprints on public walls and windows. 518 Foreland St., North Side.

• Nov. 6, 6-8 p.m. International Sculpture Center celebrates its relocation to Pittsburgh with a grand opening exhibit showcasing fiber sculptures by Welcome Blanket, a national immigrant-inclusion art project. Founded in 1960 in Kansas, the center was housed for decades at New Jersey’s renowned Grounds For Sculpture that featured more than 270 contemporary sculpture works. The Welcome Blanket exhibit uses original art to weave a powerful symbol of unity and welcome; it runs through March 2026. 5126 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

• Nov. 7, 5-8 p.m. Hazelwood First Friday features a monthly visual arts component by Offroute Art and includes stops at Hazelwood Café, Arts Excursions Unlimited, Hazel Grove Brewing and a “Sparking Joy Art Show” at Hazelwood Brewhouse featuring live painting by local artists. 5007 Lytle St., Hazelwood.

The crowd at Unblurred. Photo by Brian Conway.

• Nov. 7, 6-10 p.m. Pittsburgh’s longest-running visual art stroll, Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn Avenue, presents an evening of art gallery openings, live performances, sidewalk markets and innumerable diverse food and beverage offerings along the 4800–5500 blocks of Penn Avenue in Bloomfield/Garfield/Friendship featuring openings at Irma Freeman Center for Imagination (Reflections Out of Mind: Allan Rosenfield & Geoffrey Gordon, 5006 Penn Ave.), VaultArt Studio (Moon River, 5100 Penn Ave.), Moss Architects (Shapes of Any Kind: Adam Kenney, 5122 Penn Ave.) and the newly reopened Fréchard Gallery (Fairyland: Terry Irwin, Paul Meidinger, Jordan Monahan, Bobbi Rose, 5005 Penn Ave.).

• Nov. 7, 6-9 p.m. Pittsburgh Glass Center’s monthly first Friday “Hot Jam” transforms into a “Hot Yam” session featuring actual hot yams cooked in the kiln while PGC artist-in-residence Josh Raiffe provides glassmaking demonstrations; Raiffe delivers an artist talk on Nov. 20. 5472 Penn Ave., Garfield.

• Nov. 9, 2-5 p.m. The annual Art & Soul: Of the African American Woman fundraiser for THAW Inc. (Transforming the Health of African American Women) spotlights the work of Pittsburgh artists DaShaun Burgess, Kiarra Chapman, Marlon Gist, Jezline Loretta, Sherri Randolph, Aliyah Zion Smith, Marinda Taliaferro and Tyler Watts with music by Dennis Garner & Tempo Noir and spoken word from Karla “Spirit Lead” Payne. Edgewood Country Club, 100 Churchill Road, Churchill.

• Nov. 13, 5-7 p.m. Stop by the Studio Mixer at Radiant Hall Homewood showcasing the current work of over two dozen resident artists. 7800 Susquehanna St., Homewood.

• Nov. 14, 5-9 p.m. Downtown Cultural District Fall Art Crawl features Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Projects (820 Gallery), Celebrating 45 Years of CAPA: Alumni and Faculty Exhibition (SPACE Gallery), Ben Schonberger: Hi-NRG (707 Gallery) along with music and improv comedy events.

• Nov. 15, noon-9 p.m. Celebrate the new Blacksmithing Studio at Contemporary Craft with a Torch-a-Thon presented by Allegheny Metals Collective. Open to the public, metalsmiths of all skill levels can create holiday ornaments for Contemporary Craft’s upcoming “Crafted” fundraiser. 5645 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

More November openings:

• Maryam Safajoo: Our Story Is One (Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Nov. 1)

• A Mare’s Nest (the structure of things): Photographs by Jake Reinhart (Bottom Feeder Books, Nov. 1)

• In Full Bloom: A Celebration of African-American Women Quilt Artists (Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Nov. 6)

• Radial Survey No. 4: Photography of Amelia Burns, McNair Evans, Christine Lorenz, Juan Orrantia, Ian John Solomon, SHAN Wallace (Silver Eye Center for Photography, Nov. 6)

• 115 X 115 (Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Nov. 7)

• Moon River (VaultArt Studio, Nov. 7)

• Fairyland: Terry Irwin, Paul Meidinger, Jordan Monahan, Bobbi Rose (Fréchard Gallery, Nov. 7)

• Shapes of Any Kind: Adam Kenney (Moss Architects, Nov. 7)

• Reflections Out of Mind: Allan Rosenfield & Geoffrey Gordon (Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, Nov. 7)

• Garden of Grandeur (Manos Gallery, Nov. 8)

• Winter Tales: An Immersive Experience (Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Nov. 14)