Galleries: Matt Sesow, RedHanded 8, Kim Shively and Alicia Ordal

Third Friday brings a hero of the disabled artist community and a quickie show dedicated to the color red to the Art District on Santa Fe, while Kim Shively’s video about pumas slinks into Forest Room 5 on Saturday. Here's where to go this weekend to enjoy some artist appreciation at local galleries.
Matt Sesow: Divide & Conquer
Access Gallery/VSA Arts of Colorado
August 19 through September 10
Opening reception: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, August 19
Washington, D.C-based outsider artist Matt Sesow’s occasional stand at Access Gallery is always a stunner, especially if you like your canvases raw and colorful. “Matt’s work has been described as angry, immediate and frantic,” Access director Damon McLeese told Westword the last time the artist came through. “All of those terms might be appropriate, but I find his work engaging, thoughtful and often provoking, which is what I think art should be.” Well, he’s back. Check it out.
RedHanded 8 : Pop Up Exhibition
Kanon Collective
August 19 through 21
Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, August 19
Curator Sharon Meriash brings back RedHanded — an annual paean to the both the color and its changing moods — for year eight, with a fifteen-artist group show juried by Nick Ryan of William Havu Gallery that Meriash says “truly raises the ‘red’ bar.” The mostly local show pops up for only three days at Kanon Collective, so catch it while you can.
Kim Shively and Alicia Ordal, Witnessing Place
Forest Room 5
Artist reception: 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, August 20
Videographer and Westword MasterMind Kim Shively shows work researching the effect of encroaching civilization on pumas wandering the Santa Monica mountains; there will also be mixed-media work by artist Alicia Ordal. Knowing Shively, this won’t be your typical nature doc.

Want more? See the Westword event listings for current gallery and art museum exhibitions and openings in the metro area.