Pots, photos, paintings, parties. There's plenty of arty stuff to do, see, buy and celebrate this weekend as the fall season kicks off in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Here's a sample of what's on.
Walker Art Center
Avant Garden Party
Nobody's allowed to spoon under the "Spoonbridge and Cherry" in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, but guests at the Avant Garden benefit for Walker Art Center can sip a stylish cocktail, nibble sweets and savories and dance to DJ Sye Young as the Walker kicks off the 75th anniversary of its multidisciplinary modernity. (9 p.m.-midnight Sat., $125. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. Tickets 612-375-7641 or www.walkerart.org)
Northern Clay Center
American Pottery Festival
For three days Minneapolis is the place for pottery as more than 20 artists from around the United States convene to show, sell and talk about their innovative platters, bowls, vases, cups and sculptural whatnots. The event, which attracts collectors and fans from around the country, includes workshops, artist talks, demonstrations and opportunities to visit private and public collections, tour studios, wine and dine. (6-9 p.m. Fri.; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sun., $5-$300. Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Av. E., Mpls. 612-339-8007 or www.northernclaycenter.org)
Weinstein Gallery
"Vera Lutter: Venice"
Lutter's wall-sized photos of Venice at high water shimmer with the ephemeral beauty of mirages, the city's Byzantine architecture and vast plazas marked by blacked skies and pools of bleaching light. The German-born, New York-based photographer achieved her strange effects by treating a Venetian hotel room as a gigantic pinhole camera, or camera obscura. Pinning huge sheets of photographic paper to the walls in the darkened room, she created images by admitting outside light through a simple pinhole. After hours or days, the light left an inverted, negative image of the outdoor scene fixed on the paper. (Reception with artist 6-8 p.m., Fri. Free. Weinstein Gallery, 908 W. 46th St., Mpls. Ends Oct. 24. 612-822-1722 or www.weinstein-gallery.com)
Burnet Gallery
"Phase Velocity: Andréa Stanislav"
Best known for her mirrored installations and public art projects, Stansislav now embraces taxidermy. She's plundering art history by turning Brancusi's iconic "Endless Column" sculpture into a coyote chew-toy, collaging Op and Pop Art cutouts onto a fragmented mirror, and pairing a stuffed ptarmigan with a shimmering geometric form. (Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Fri. Free. Burnet Gallery, Le Meridien Chambers, 901 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. Ends Oct. 12. 612-767-6900 or www.lemeridien chambers.com/art)
Mpls Photo Center
"Black & White"
Out of 1,200 entries in an open competition, juror Paul Berlanga picked 72 black-and-white images ranging from poised portraits to street shots, interiors to landscapes, backyards to mountain tops, old guys to kids, here, there, everywhere. (Opening event 6:30-9 p.m. Fri. Free. Mpls Photo Center, 2400 N. 2nd St., Mpls. Ends Nov. 4. 612-643-3511 or www.mplsphotocenter.com)
Soo Visual Arts
"The Persistent Present: New Paintings" by John Bell
"Quietus: Sculptural InstalÂlation" by Rollin Marquette
For his first Minnesota solo show, Bell is showing irregularly shaped, gestural abstractions. Frequent exhibitor Marquette plans to install a massive steel arch framing sheets of translucent acrylic. (Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Fri. Free. Soo Visual Arts Center, 2638 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. 612-871-2263 or www.soovac.org)
Murphy Gallery
"Near and Far: ContemÂpÂorary Landscape Paintings"
"Adé Bethune: The Power of One Person"
New landscape images by Minnesota artists Abigail Anderson, Dan Bruggeman, Rod Massey, Rebecca Silus, Carolyn Swiszcz and Andrew Wykes range from representational records to abstract analysis and droll studies, through Oct. 23. Commemorating the birth centennial of liturgical artist Adé Bethune (1914-2002), this retrospective focuses on her religious and social concerns, through December. (Reception 6-8 p.m. Sat. Free. Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul. 651-690-6644 or www.stkate.edu/gallery)
Nash Gallery
"thinking making living"
An exhibition and ongoing public programs by 51 artists are designed to stimulate social, political and ecological engagement. (Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Fri. Free. Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota, 405 21st. Av. S., Mpls. Ends Dec. 13. 612-624-7530 or www.nash.umn.edu)
Mary Abbe • 612-673-4431
Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame: A class-by-class list of all members
This retired journalist changed professional wrestling from Mankato
