Oakland Museum hosts artists' 'Gallery Hop'

Tony Roderick makes little plaster skulls on magnets for Dia De Los Muertos ("Day of the Dead"), otherwise known as Halloween. You might not notice one at a time, but all of them together made a grand and scary display at the Oakland Museum's recent "First Friday" gallery hop.

Craftspeople gather the first Friday of every month to display their wares at the Oakland Museum's lower lobby. This is just the first stop on a 17-stop gallery hop that spans 36 galleries between 2nd and 51st streets in Oakland.

City Hall has contributed to the event free half-hourly buses, for those who can't find their way in the dark or who need someone else to drive them from one watering hole to another.

Drivers stop upon request, and also when they see someone waiting at the "First Friday" sandwich boards placed near selected art establishments. (The shuttle service might not be available in November, so check with the museum, www.museumca.org.)

It is a great opportunity to squeeze a lot of art viewing into a few short hours, and to add into the bargain a street party at the corner of 23rd and Telegraph. Most of it is free.

The Lukas Taproom can look warm and inviting, with lots of people inside and paintings hung on the walls. But if you are under 21 or no longer drink, walk on until you get to the Mercury 20 Gallery.

Laney art instructor Anna Vaughn was there, explaining that the gallery has 20 members who split the rent and the work. On display were large dramatic digital photos of still-life objects imbued with lots of social commentary by Peter Honig. More information is at www.mercurytwenty.com.

Chandra Cerrito Contemporary gallery is upstairs; next door is Industrielle, with an eclectic collection of sculpture objects in its historic window space, including a scary papier-maché skeleton by Erik Quarry. Inside is a beautiful frame collection, little black Rocksteady dresses from www.steadyclothing.com, alluring books and other objets d'art.

Down the street a little way, Front Gallery contains an enchanting installation of braided rugs, by Mae Long, which blend into long-stemmed flowers suspended from the ceiling. Called "Plastic Jungle," it is made from plastic bags and twine that give an Alice in Wonderland feeling because they are so high.

Up the street and around the corner, at Grand and Telegraph, is the gallery group that centers around the Esteban Sabar Gallery and the Mama Buzz Café. One block of 23rd street is closed to traffic on "First Fridays." Crowds of college-aged kids watch a street performer create his own stage on a garbage can, put a spoon in his nose, pretend to be caught in an animal trap and do other outlandish things to make the crowd laugh. The enjoyment of the evening in the big city street is contagious. Videos are projected on to the blank wall of a very large building a few blocks away.

Esteban Sabar was staging a blockbuster show called "Full Frontal." If you like looking at naked men, you will love this show, since they have a lot of drawings, paintings and photos of male nudes. Fernando Reyes' charcoal drawings are especially appealing. Marty McCorkle paints nudes with swirled and swoopy ribbons of color. Don't miss the three assemblages of the freedom fight of a black man. More information can be found at www.estebansabar.com.

In this gallery group, Rock, Paper, Scissors (RPS) proudly proclaims itself to be a collective. The artists' statement in the window refers the viewer to www.rpscollective.com. Inside, a black ball gown, and tent-like structures of knitted green wool in various shades and textures, are suspended from the ceiling. There is also a great collection of hand-made pamphlets and books, clothing and trinkets.

On the corner outside RPS, Zack charges $1 and up for a poem, which he can write for you right there on the spot. His email address is cloudsoftoday(at)yahoo.com.

Mama Buzz is a five-seat-counter coffee shop with racks of newspapers and art postcards along one wall. The gallery is in the next room. There is a back room with seats under a canopy that lightly shields from the night sky.

There is also outside seating in front. A tasty panini sandwich and a cup of tea were promptly and politely served. They also have their own web site at www.mamabuzzcafe.com. A big sign behind the sink proclaims that no alcohol will be sold to persons under 21 years of age.

The more ancient gallery hopper may be all tired out by 9 p.m. and want to take the shuttle back to the Oakland Museum. The rest of the galleries may have to wait for another month. Be prepared for a half-hour wait. The only thing lacking in a great art evening was a place to sit down to wait for the bus.