Psychic visuals, alchemy and shrines to matriarchs in Pittsburgh

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 lemccullough@mac.com.

With February being a short month, it makes perfect sense that Pittsburgh’s visual arts calendar gets a head start the last two days of January. Don’t miss these before the month is out:

• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Downtown Gallery Crawl, happening Jan. 30 from 5:30-9 p.m., features conversations with artists Ben Schonberger (707 Gallery), Stamatina Gregory and Sharmistha Ray (Wood Street Galleries), Brian Eyerman and Lu Eyerman plus Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators (Harris Theater).

• Hey Friend: Ceramics by Artist-in-Residence Nikki Lau (Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, Jan. 30, 6-8 p.m.)

• The Painted Planet: Sue Abramson, Hand Colored Photographs, 1984-1989 (Bottom Feeder Books, Jan. 31-Feb. 28, 6-8 p.m.)

• Joe Lupo: Chronic Uncertainty and Found: Work by Jamie Earnest, Alli Lemon, Natalie Moffitt, Zoë Welsh (Concept Art Gallery, Jan. 31-April 4)

• The Atithi Collective: A Community Exhibition (Atithi Studios, Jan. 31, opening reception 7-9 p.m.) featuring works by Atithi Creative Lab members, studio residents and 2025 Art Battle winners: Ellastaire, Eleni Manganas, Kate Lindrose, Rae Ovesney, Hannah Powell, Raheem Perry, Julia Ischinger, Mallory Tadaki, Sarah Sloneker, Kayla Monteiro, Giovanna Ferrari, Dodi Dean, Jacki Temple and Julia Toal.

• Live • Worship • Shop: Nine Iconic Exhibits from the P.J. McArdle Collection continues at John A. Hermann Memorial Art Museum in Bellevue with Saturday opening receptions from 6-9 p.m. and Sunday artist talks from 2-3 p.m. Jan. 31-Feb. 1: The Genius of Philip Rostek; Feb. 7-8: The Alchemy of Christine Bethea; Feb. 14-15: English artists Helen Bryant and Hilary Best; Feb. 21-22: “The State of the Arts” curated by Sydney Pascarella; Feb. 28-March 1: “A Salon of Working Pittsburgh Artists” curated by P.J. McArdle.

Once February begins, the art doesn’t stop.

“Stuck in Saṃsāra” on view Feb. 6-March 22, opening reception Feb. 6, 6-9 p.m.

“Stuck in Saṃsāra” presents 10 Asian American & Pacific Island artists from around the U.S. (Christian Bañez, Martin Castro, Jon Chao, Anne Chen, Eriko Hattori, Marius Keo Marjolin, Brent Nakamoto, Anthony Park Kascak, Sara Tang and Song Watkins Park) working in painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and video.

In Buddhism, saṃsāra describes the world’s endless cycle of repeated birth, life and death. Curator Brent Nakamoto was inspired by the Buddhist “Parable of the Burning House” to artistically examine the saṃsāra concept. “Central to the exhibition,” he says, “is the image of fire in its many forms. Fire is destruction and death, but it’s also energy, purification, rebirth, life itself. Flames destroy but they also bloom.”

“Scrublady, New York, 1920”; “Sadie, a cotton mill spinner, Lancaster, South Carolina, 1908”; “Powerhouse Mechanic, 1920-21” (Frick Museum & Gardens). Photos by Lewis Hine.

“Lewis Hine Pictures America” on view Feb. 21-May 17

Lewis Wickes Hine (1874-1940) was a pioneering American documentary photographer whose art drew attention to the country’s Progressive Era social reform movements. Starting in the 1890s, he produced riveting photos of immigrants, farmers and factory workers — including some powerful portraits of steelworkers in Pittsburgh and the neighborhoods where they lived. Hine refined the technique of what he called “photo-interpretation” to transform black-and-white images of everyday working Americans into eloquent and empathetic fine art.

This is a ticketed exhibit,with tickets on sale at the Frick’s website. All the way into May, when the show closes, the Frick will host a dozen film screenings, workshops and lectures related to the social themes that Hine’s photography shed light on.

From left, “A Sea-Change” by Darlene Durrwachter Rushing, “Platanthera” by Chris Clarke, “Icons casting spells” by Wesley Bull (Pittsburgh Glass Center). Photos courtesy of Pittsburgh Glass Center.

“Gathered Locally – 25 years of Glass Art at Pittsburgh Glass Center” on view Feb. 6-April 19, opening reception Feb. 6, 6-9 p.m.

Pittsburgh Glass Center celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special exhibit featuring 100 local glass artists and their custom-made work. “Gathered Locally” includes Sandra Bacchi, Chris Clarke, Lisa Demagall, Margot Dermody, Percy Echols II, Matt Eskuche, Jason Forck, Elizabeth Fortunato, Jaime Guerrero, Leslie Kaplan, Rocky Kindelberger, Zach Layhew, Heather McElwee, Michael Magiafico, Gillian Preston, Chris Ross, Rebecca Smith and more.

One of the world’s most respected glass art institutions, the center was founded by artists Kathleen Mulcahy and the late Ron Desmett and has blossomed into a destination for artists, students and visitors from around the world while helping to transform a Pittsburgh neighborhood and revive a historic regional craft.

“PGC was built on the belief that glass art should be accessible, collaborative and inspiring,” says Executive Director Heather McElwee. In addition to its regular exhibits, the center has educated nearly 75,000 people in glassmaking through classes, free demonstrations, exhibitions, school partnerships, artist residencies and community events including the popular monthly HOT Jam demonstrations.

“The Lesser Lights of Heaven” by Gabe Felice (Groove Gallery.) Photo by Gabe Felice.

“Gabe Felice Solo Show” on view Feb. 6-28, opening reception Feb. 6, 6-9 p.m.

Self-dubbed “psychic/visual artist” Gabe Felice began to draw while learning to write the alphabet. “My father was an encyclopedia salesman,” he says, “so I had access to a broad variety of images and concepts from A to Z which definitely impacted my style. I drew as a way to decode and communicate the hidden information I was receiving and seeing within my environment.” His current primary medium is acrylic on wood, and he works without preliminary sketches or visual references, preferring to create by following “internal instructions … a subtle voice guiding me toward new techniques or a particular color.”

“Lor Lor” by Sasha-Loriene McClain (Kelly Strayhorn Theater). Photo by Sasha-Loriene McClain.

“Practices of Holding: Sibyls Shrine” on view Feb. 4-June 14, opening reception Feb. 4, 6-8 p.m.

Curated by Jessica Gaynelle Moss, “Practices of Holding” honors ancestral and living matriarchs with an eclectic array of artwork by Elizabeth Burden, Tiara L. Burtin, Lisa Brown, Dail Chambers, Lish Danielle, Cheré D. Gordon, Olivia Guterson, sarah huny young, Miracle Jones, Melike Vivastine Konur, Sasha-Loriene McClain, Chanell McCollum, Victoria Ramlalsingh-Hinton and Anqwenique.

The show is a salon-style installation blending portraits, written reflections, memory work and collective altar-building to form a collective portrait infused with deep reverence for each matriarch.

Art is popping up everywhere!

Morgan Overton. Photo by Ryan C. Hamilton.

New studios and galleries are filling Pittsburgh storefront and retail spaces each month. Morgan Overton Art Gallery & Shop is the newest arrival at historic Lawrenceville Market House (4112 Butler St., Lawrenceville). A nationally exhibited multidisciplinary creator, Overton employs paint, drawing and mixed media to explore intersections of identity, ancestral memory and resilience — a committed Afrofuturist inspired by Harlem Renaissance energy.

She’s started a monthly “UnStuck: A Creative Reset Series” for artists and non-artists; on Feb. 14 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., she will offer personalized Valentine’s Day portraits rendered in watercolor to capture love in its many forms.

“Seeing Voices”, “Failing”, “A Nice Smile” by Jesse Solomon (Arriviste Coffee Roasters). Photos by Jesse Solomon.

Through March, the walls of Arriviste Coffee Roasters will display recent work by graphic designer Jesse Solomon. “Love Me in December as You Did in May” is a portrait series devised from original tape transfer collages of retro magazine advertising art intended to evoke, says Solomon, “cathartic, therapeutic visual storytelling.” 5730 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside.

Known for its Middle Eastern cuisine, Ali Baba Restaurant enhances the culinary experience with work by local artists. Currently, diners can enjoy paintings by printmaker, quilter and fiber artist Michelle Browne. “My art practice is a visceral response to what hurts, vexes and inspires,” she notes. “My most primal and obsessive expression, my drawings, are an intuitive reflection of my inner world, a narrative that travels to the unexpected.” 404 S. Craig St., Oakland.

“Fallopian Krater” and “Fabrication” by Michelle Browne (Ali Baba Restaurant). Photos by Michelle Browne.

Check these art happenings, too:

• Thursday, Feb. 5, 7-9 p.m. “Alchemy” is the theme for this year’s Assemble 6×6 Exhibit that asked participating artists to use science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) to transform the world around them, especially when it comes to impossible and insurmountable challenges. 4824 Penn Ave., Bloomfield.

• Friday, Feb. 6, 6-10 p.m. Pittsburgh’s longest-running visual art stroll, Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn Avenue, returns with a lively evening of art openings, live performances, sidewalk markets and innumerable diverse food and beverage offerings along the 4800–5500 blocks of Penn Avenue in Bloomfield/Garfield/Friendship.

• Thursday, Feb. 12, 6-10 p.m. Eberle Studios hosts a closing reception spotlighting its current exhibit A Love Letter to the Mon Valley: The First Annual Mon Valley Invitational featuring work by Tyler Gedman, Cue Perry, Curtis Reaves, Paige Henry, Douglas Lopretto, Ed Parrish, Lindsey Peck Scherloum, Glen Gardner and Zachary Rutter. 229 E. Ninth Ave., Homestead.

• Friday, Feb. 19, 6-10 p.m. August Wilson African American Cultural Center presents the winners of the third annual Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh competition that invited Western Pennsylvania artists to respond to the question: What if our beloved region worked for everyone? It’s an evening of visual art, music and performances celebrating artistic interpretations of justice in Pittsburgh; see the winners here. 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown.

• Friday, Feb. 20, 5-8 p.m. Artist Image Resource holds A Celebration of Ian Short commemorating the life and art of AIR co-founder and printmaker Ian Short who passed away in January. 518 Foreland St., North Side.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in December 2023. Photo courtesy of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

• Sunday, Feb. 22, 2-4 p.m. Westmoreland Museum of American Art features a screening of “Danielle Scott: Ancestral Call,” a PBS film spotlighting mixed-media assemblage artist Danielle Scott and her artistic explorations of ancestry, memory, diaspora and resilience.

More February openings:

• FIGURATIVELY: Six Artists Sharing Their View of the Human Form – Peggi Habets, Annie Heisey, Heather Heitzenrater, Jeannie McGuire, Josh Mitchel, Mychal Vens (ICON Fine Art Gallery, Feb. 4-March 28)

• The Pittsburgh Group (Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Feb. 5-March 27)

• Peregrination: Xiaojing Yan, 2026 Tomayko Solo Artist Elevation Series (Contemporary Craft, Feb. 6-May 2)

• Alloy 13 Artisans (Aluminum City Arts, Feb. 7-28)

• Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh “Soulbeats: Expressions of the Spirit in Fiber” (The Harlan Gallery at Seton Hill University, Feb. 10-March 20)

• Joshua Hogan + Craig Marcus + Jason Sauer: Piecing It Together (BoxHeart Gallery, Feb. 11-March 20)

• What Remains: New large-scale collages by Emily Krill (The Portal, Feb. 13-March 31)

• Shaping the American Landscape (Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Feb. 13-Jan. 18, 2027)

• Dream Sequence: Carnegie Mellon University 1st and 2nd Year MFA Exhibition (SPACE Gallery, Feb. 13-April 5)

• RISE (Castle Consortia, Feb. 14-April 30)

• Skin Tight: Fiber Art from Durags and Pantyhose by Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola and Turiya Magadlela (Carnegie Museum of Art, Feb. 26, 2026–July 25, 2027)