FOR THE WEEK OF
08.10-08.17.17 Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com Cleveland native Stephanie Armbruster came to Pittsburgh to study painting at Carnegie Mellon University; she graduated in 2006, and within a few years became a presence on the local scene with her striking abstract encaustic paintings. Numerous solo and group shows followed. But for most of 2016, Armbruster took a sabbatical from painting, partly because of her travel schedule as a digital marketing consultant for higher education (with clients including
Penn State). Travel, however, has since repaid her art. What Hath Night to Do With Sleep, Armbruster’s new solo show at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, was inspired by those trips — which included, more recreationally, her first visit to Europe. The large-scale title work, for instance, was sparked by taking in the Louvre — “Nothing prepared me for the scale of it all,” she says — where several works referenced John Milton. (The show’s title quotes the famed British poet.) Armbruster traces “Speak Your Name by the Secret Door” to a site in Berlin, and “The Moon as Viewed From the Bottom of a Well” was inspired by a Haruki Murakami novel she read while flying to San Francisco. While Armbruster’s three new works in molten wax and pigment reflect a palette that still forefronts deep, dusty blues, she’s also including examples of a new technique, with five mixed-media works on paper, incorporating oil paints and coal blacks: “I’ve completely fallen in love with it.” What Hath Night is one of seven new shows opening Aug. 11 at PCA. Also featured is work by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, and Allegheny Metals Club, and by solo artists Christine Lorenz, Laura Jean McLaughlin, Desiree Palermo and Amy Schissel. BY BILL O’DRISCOLL
PITTSBURGH CENTER FOR THE ARTS Opening reception: 5:30-9 p.m. Fri., Aug. 11 (free). Exhibits continue through Oct. 29. 6300 Fifth Ave., Shadyside. 412-361-0873 or www.pfpca.org
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY MARGESON}
^ Thu., Aug. 18: BikeFest
thursday 08.10 CYCLING Bicycling has gotten so big here that it was an issue in the mayoral campaign. Mark the growth with Bike Pittsburgh’s 13th annual BikeFest. The 18-day fest includes some 40 events, mostly independently organized rides — long and short, urban and rural, easy and hard — but also safety seminars and other fun stuff for every interest and experience level. Start with tonight’s BikePGH beer er release, at Grist House, or Saturday’s kickoff party, rty, at the Wheel Mill, and ride on from there. BikeFest concludes Aug. 27 with UPMC Health Plan PedalPGH, the region’s biggest ride. Bill O’Driscoll Aug. 10-27. Various venues. Most events are free. Complete schedule at www.bikepgh.org
MUSIC Contemporary Broadway tunes sung by local professional talents, for free, alongside one of the most spectactular views of Downtown: Broadway at the Overlook has all that, this weekend and next. On the West End’s Elliott Overlook, hear Pittsburgh Musical Theater artists, backed by a live band, offer selections from shows in PMT’s upcoming season, including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Evil Dead: The Musical and High School Musical. Picnickers are welcome
08.09/08.16.2017
starting an hour prior to the 90-minute program. BO 7:30 p.m. Also 7:30 p.m. nightly Fri., Aug. 11; Sat., Aug. 12; and Aug. 18 and 19. Free. West End. www.pittsburghmusicals.com
friday 08.11 POP CULTURE The Steel City Con returns to the Monroeville Convention Center today, bringing comics and toys to buy, and celebrities to see, including headliner Burt Reynolds. Hundreds of vendors are promised, plus contests for costumes and trivia. Panel participants include cast members of The Brady Bunch; the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio; and Beverly D’Angelo and Dana Barron, who played Ellen and Audrey Griswold in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies. Matt Petras 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Also 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat., Aug. 12, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun., Aug. 13. 209 Mall Blvd., Monroeville. $23-50. 724-502-4350 or www.steelcitycon.com
^ Fri., Aug. 11: Zinzi Clemmons {PHOTO COURTESY OF NINA SUBIN}