Friday January 29th, I found myself in a very packed hallway as I viewed the newest exhibits at the Indianapolis Art Center (IAC). "Art from the Heartland", a juried exhibition by Paul Klein, a Chicago based curator, art critic and writer. Many of you may not know who Paul Klein is or why the IAC would select him to curate a show when we have a director of exhibitions, who I like to believe does a fairly good job bringing in art that intrigues the mind. Why did the IAC select Klein? I can not answer that, but I can say that Klein has a rather noticeable hand in the art world in Chicago, maybe not so much here in our community, which is why he may have been the chosen one for the task of selecting from over 400 works of art submitted by over 200 artists. Klein currently writes "ArtLetter," where he previews exhibitions in the Chicago area and until 2004 ran his own gallery space, so he has had a bit of experience in selecting artists for shows. I had the chance to meet and talk with Klein a little over a year ago when I was the curator at the Dean Johnson Gallery on Mass Ave. I am sure he was in attendance, however, I never got a chance to say hello on this evening. Klein was invited into town for the IDADA annual meeting to be the guest speaker last year and I have to say the man was full of energy and ideas for the art world in Indianapolis. I wouldn't say I was surprised by his selections in this show; very contemporary pieces were selected and the show over all kept you looking to see the next artist he selected and what they had created. What did surprise me were the artists, I didn't see a lot of familiar names, which is nice to see, but again the show was packed so I could have missed a few pieces as I made my way through the crowd. This show features more than 70 works by 50 artists from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. I personally have been to many openings over the last couple of years at the IAC and have not seen a crowd as diverse and plentiful as this one for the dual opening on this frigid winter evening. Walking through the halls I believe I said "pardon me" more than twenty-five times simply bumping into friends of the art world and new on-lookers as we squeezed up and down the halls and into the gallery spaces. If you didn't get a chance to make it out then you are probably wondering what I meant by "dual opening". Tom Casalini, an Indianapolis-based photographer was also on spotlight this evening as he unveiled 14 portraits of artists from Central Indiana. The title of the show is An Indianapolis Legacy: Photos by Tom Casalini, as he refers to these 14 chosen artists as legendary. Now as I would agree with many of the selections that Casalini chose to photograph, legends are often tales that due to historical events are believable although not necessarily believed by all. I am just one of those skeptics when it came to this show. Although Casalini's images are timeless and classically created in all aspects I have to question how the artists were chose for this title of "Legendary". I will say this about the choices of artists, there was a range from a contemporary umbrella sculpture to classical landscapes painted in oils. When the gallery wasn't too full of people you would get a sense you were surrounded by friends you have known from galleries past, but at the same time there were some essential friends missing from these images.

Moving on through the week, we are back in the swing of things for a great First Friday Gallery walk in downtown Indy. On February 5th from 6 to 9pm, the Athenaeum's ArtSpace will host its first ever "Salon Show", with 14 local artists showing more than 40 new pieces, this show is going to be a crowd pleaser, with artists like Gayla Hodson, Kevin Smola and Susan Hodgin all weighing in with some beautiful abstract paintings that cover the walls in the expansive ArtSpace. If the art doesn't move you, then hopefully the lyrics by local Indianapolis singer Cari Ray will as she performs at the ArtSpace from 6:30 to 8pm. And if that still isn't enticing enough to bring you out in to the cold for the evening, then how about some delicious wine and treats to enlighten your taste buds provided by the Mass Ave Wine Shoppe? Hmmm, sounds like a perfect evening to me, entertainment, art, wine and food. (Athenaeum ArtSpace 401 E. Michigan Street) You can also check them out on Facebook to see what their next show will be.

After you have been delighted by the ArtSpace, may I suggest a chilly brisk walk for First Friday, the Dean Johnson Gallery (646 Mass Ave) will be opening a new show, "The Secret Museum", featuring work by Kristofer Bowman, Kipp Normand and Deanne Roth. Just a bit farther down on the avenue in the 800 block check out the McFee Gallery and Kuaba. And if by chance you haven't snacked enough swing into the Best Chocolate (880 Mass Ave) in town for some perfectly delicious truffles to finish off the evening, may I recommend the Cheesecake Truffle! Yum.

A show I must give some props to visit on February 5th from 5 to 9pm, "Art from the Fourth Chakra" will be on display in the Stutzartspace (212 W. 10th Street B110). The American Heart Association and the Stutz Artists Association teamed up to put together what I hear to be an energy sensing exhibition during the American Heart Month. Participating artists will donate 20 percent of sales from this exhibit that will run through February 26th. More than 20 artists from the Stutz explored aspects of the human heart and the concept referring to chakra. The Stutz building will be illuminated with red lights that evening and all attendees are encouraged to wear red to help AHA and women fight back against their number one killer ~ heart disease. When artists are creating art for more than just the mere factor of creating and wanting to make a difference to help fight something as powerful as a disease it is something I can get behind and hope you will too. For more information visit www.stutzartists.com