So you’re not sure how drinking gin and eating beef jerky go hand-in-hand, peanut butter and jelly style? Well then you, sir or madam, clearly DON’T UNDERSTAND ART.Okay, in all seriousness, the ‘theme’ of the “Gin-Jer Bash” closing celebration for Ericka Richardson’s Night Moves show at QUAID gallery might be a little offhand — evergreen and leather sounds more like a great cologne formula than a party spread. But it upholds the proud tradition being formed around QUAID’s absurdist, nobrow casualism — in both art and party themes (past highlights: Margarita Beach Party on Florida Avenue; Anime karaoke).
And the real attraction here is, of course, the art (no, certainly not the free alcohol. What are you implying?).
Richardson’s collection of paintings includes maybe-creatures of worm-like visage crawling around (mostly daylit) skies pierced by kaleidoscope doors, ranks of Play-Dough druids chanting at inverted rainbows, and defeated, rumpled parallelograms trekking across Flatland. The emotional palette ranges from blankly ominous to downright cheery, like an organic reflection of and on the weirdness that lurks in Tumblr’s corners of digital abstraction.
Richardson is a recent graduate of the USF fine arts program, so this is a chance to catch her first steps out of the sheltering embrace of the academy, and perhaps to draw her into a long discussion of the enduring appeal of Bob Seger.
Bring floss.
Fri., Oct. 24, 7-10 p.m. 4636 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. 813-362-2832.