Progressive Galleries

On October 2nd take part in Progressive Galleries’ ‘First Friday Homage to the Classics.’ Opening-night of Eric Armusik’s month-long exhibition My Place in History will begin by asking you to decide if a contemporary realist painter achieves the apogee of the Old Masters. After an evening of contemplating the artist’s ego, the night will culminate with a newer sort of mastery in a mellifluous jazz journey performed by saxophonist Jonathon Ragonese and pianist Steve Rudolph.

Armusik employs oil-on-panel figurative art and the techniques of Caravaggio to chronicle the timeless narrative of a life’s journey and to question the mode of Modern & Contemporary Art. Creating an experience that is both deeply visceral and electrifyingly intellectual, Armusik contends that through a quality of craft unfamiliar in the 20th & 21st century he has maintained an honesty and vulnerability that is profound to contemporary viewers, and in doing so, that he has achieved an artistry on par with Europe’s great masterpieces. Confrontational in rhetoric and form it is evident that Armusik demands our attention; the question is, however, does he demand a respect equal to the icons of Gombrich’s History? After careful and enthralled consumption, I have weighed his claims and have come to my own conclusion. Now, it’s your turn.

Beginning at 7 p.m., a dynamic jazz duo will provide a nimble backdrop for the digestion of Armusik’s weighty questions. Soprano & tenor saxophonist Jonathan Ragonese will be down from New York where he currently studies at the Manhattan School of Music with composer Bob Minzer. Accompanying Ragonese will be Steve Rudolph on piano. A fixture in the Central Pennsylvanian jazz scene and founder of Central PA Friends of Jazz, Rudolph currently lives in Harrisburg where he has spent the last 30 years being an advocate for the jazz genre. Reflecting the sage sounds of the veteran performer and the fresh refrain of the nascent musician, Rudolph and Ragonese are sure to close the night with a performance that should not be missed.

It all starts at 5 p.m. on the 300 Block of Queen Street in the Old Candyfactory that is home to Lancaster’s favorite burgeoning ‘Progressive’ Gallery. So come out on Friday October 2nd: enjoy a narrative, consider a craft, throw in a verdict, tap your foot, partake anyway you see fit, but don’t miss the First Friday kick off of My Place in History.