Six Arty Things to Do on First Friday in September

Kick back and kick off your Labor Day weekend with art. Here are six First Friday openings all set smack in the middle of metro-area arts and cultural districts.

Mary Mackey Art Sale
Rule Gallery
520 Santa Fe Drive
Friday, September 1, 6 to 9 p.m.
Saturday, September 2, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
720-271-9601
Longtime Denver artist and touted former gallerist Mary Mackey is leaving the city behind for woodsier digs in southern Colorado and has to unload a ton of artwork she’ll no longer have room to store. So Mackey is resourcefully inviting friends and fans to stop by her studio space at Rule Gallery and pick up some art bargains on First Friday and the day after. Mackey says she’ll have “hundreds of works of art and other items for sale at prices ranging from $25 on up.” Collectors, take note.

Peter Brown, Journey to the Center of the Earth
Pattern Shop Studio
3349 Blake Street
September 1 through October 20
Opening Reception: Friday, September 1, 6 to 9 p.m.
Pattern Shop introduces work by part-time Coloradan Peter Brown, whose layered acrylic paintings on wood panels are rooted in the landscape’s geological bones, but take off visually into more supernatural territories. Voyage there with Brown during an artist's salon from 4 to 6 p.m., October 14; there will also be a second reception on First Friday in October, or you can visit the gallery by appointment. For more information, call 303-297-9831.

Hold Hands: Frankie Toan + Tootsies
Tootsies the Nail Shoppe
4230 Tennyson Street
Friday, September 1, 6 to 9 p.m.
Soft-sculpture artist Frankie Toan will take over Tootsies for a six-week collaboration, festooning the Tennyson Street nail salon with touchable hand sculptures and more surprises in honor of its eleventh anniversary. To kick off the partnership, Tootsies will be offering $10 mini-manis (with one Frankie Toan nail wrap included) and tunes by DJ L.A. Zwicky.

Drew Austin, Current State
Kelly Mansfield, Love of Labor
Next Gallery
6851 West Colfax Avenue, Unit B, Lakewood
September 1 through 17
Opening Reception: Friday, September 1, 5 to 10 p.m.
Next Gallery gets into a groove at its new Lakewood home with shows by recent RMCAD grad Drew Austin and Kelly Mansfield, who celebrates her Labor Day weekend member slot with Love of Labor, a tribute to her motorcycle-building Uncle Glenn. Inspired by his welded sculptures and mechanical facility, Mansfield collected junk and parts from auto shops to build her own storytelling artworks.

Ben Siekierski, 60 Degrees Is Perfect for Living
Zine Shelf 2.0
Dateline
3004 Larimer Street
Reception: Friday, September 1, 5 to 10 p.m.
Ben Siekierski, who’s known for sculpting monsters, is building a site-specific installation for Dateline’s First Friday show. The gallery will also unveil a new zine collection, curated by Julia Belamarich and Kyle Warfield of Extra Vitamins, and showcase zines found at art-book fairs in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as select work from local artists.

Colleen Tully, Human / Nature
Boxcar Gallery
554 Santa Fe Drive
Reception: Friday, September 1, 6 to 10 p.m.
Just across the street from Rule, Boxcar member Colleen Tully will mount her first solo show with a selection of new representational and fantasy paintings with gothic undertones. Have a look and head north up Santa Fe for more First Friday gallery-going.

See Westword’s calendar listings for more art events and openings.