First Saturday Gallery Walk is a lively scene

Saturday, May 7 is Gallery Walk Night in Coconut Grove. The monthly gallery night is the first Saturday of each month, from one end of the Grove to the other, all the galleries feature new exhibits with lots of refreshments and music. It's really a fun night out. There's so much to do.

It's hard to believe, but the Rodez Gallery at CocoWalk will be celebrating their one year anniversary. It seems as if George and Manny have always been here, they have become so much a part of the Grove community, always lending a hand and participating and donating to charities and all Grove events.

This month, George Rodez, along with artists Vicente Dopico-Lerner and Daniel Garcia, present “The Order of Chaos: A Group Exhibition.” The Vernissage event celebrating Rodez's anniversary at its CocoWalk location will begin at 7 pm.

“With a sense of composition, form, enmeshed colors, straight and jagged lines, light and depth, these artists come together to bring order into the spoken word of Chaos,” said George. “To view the work is to see the frenetic reality that life can sometimes be, but with the same token, it also offers a sense of serenity and the beauty of knowing that life is exactly what it should be at all times.”

The Cristina Chacon Gallery returns to the Gallery Walk this month, after returning from her ArteAmericas debut. Cristina's gallery presents a mix of established and undiscovered Latin American artists to a global audience. This gallery has a special worldly feel to it -- very SoHo, New York, too. This month, the gallery presents “Synergy," an exhibition of three young artists, each with a different artistic strength and offering. Milena Arango (Colombia), Patricia Michelangeli (Venezuela) and Keiko Gonzalez (Paraguay) combine their talents to form a true synergy of art.

The Grove Retrospective Gallery (2911 Grand Avenue) will present a temporary exhibition, displaying original French vintage posters from 1889 to 1938. The contemporary, pop art hub specializes in Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali originals and also offers more than 1,000 square feet of space for workshop, classrooms and special art education events. It's incredible to think we have Warhols and Dali's right here in Coconut Grove. Stop in and partake of the culture.

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery II, at the Mayfair Atrium, continues its “New Work” exhibition, presenting the art of George Bethea, a classic modernist and abstract artist who lives and works in Miami, characterized by sensuous, congested, textured surfaces and luxuriant color in his works. The exhibition will remain open until May 20.

Other galleries featured include ArtWay 66, Blue Moon Studio of Art, Dharma Studio, Frameworks Studio, GroveHouse Artists and Max in the Grove.

ArtWay66 also presents the Art Stroll at the Mayfair Promenade, where free food, music and drinks are available along with all sorts of art. It's a lively scene, we look forward to it every month. It's the spot where friends meet and hang out.

The Gallery Walk is from 7 to 10 pm. It's all free and open to the public.