Each month NEXTpittsburgh features new openings and special art events in our series, NEXT in the Gallery. Keep us posted on what’s new in your neighborhood; email me at [email protected]. 

Here is a glimpse of what’s opening in June: pop-ups, nebulas, artist markets, studio tours, world weavers and a Lost John Lennon Weekend in Sharpsburg.

From June 5 to 8 the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival infuses Pittsburgh with its annual flow of visual artists from around the U.S. This year’s Artist Market expands northward into the Strip District showcasing 191 artists and artisans daily from 12 to 9 p.m. At SPACE Gallery on Liberty Avenue, the Juried Visual Arts Exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will run through Aug. 3.

“The Lost Weekend: The Photography of May Pang” on view June 10-11, 1-7 p.m.

“Philip Soucy Ceramics Solo Show” on view June 21-July 5; opening reception June 21, 7-9 p.m. 

In 1973, Apple Records executive and ex-Beatles manager Allen Klein assigned his office receptionist May Pang to assist John Lennon and Yoko Ono with their latest avant-garde film project. Pang ended up living with the couple in New York, working on numerous albums and spending almost two years as Lennon’s lover in what Lennon would refer to as his “lost weekend” before reconciling with Yoko Ono.

Her two-day appearance at Atithi Studios provides a rare opportunity to see Lennon through the lens of someone who knew him intimately during a period rock historians view as the peak of Lennon’s post-Beatles creativity.

From June 21 to July 5, Atithi also hosts a new exhibit by Pittsburgh ceramicist Philip Soucy with opening reception June 21, 7–9 p.m. 

“On the Wall: Caroline Heckman (CARO)” on view June 1-30. 

The contemporary American eatery just off Market Square has begun showcasing Pittsburgh artists with rotating monthly “On the Wall” exhibits. June’s artist is painter Caroline Heckman (CARO), who conveys traditional portraiture into adventurous and unexpected territories. Revel also offers a confirmed specialty cocktail during the month with a percentage of sales donated to MCG Youth Programs at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.

“Stephanie Gonzalez: Nebulas”; on view June 4 through July 4; opening reception June 7, 5-7 p.m. 

Nebulas are glowing space clouds of dust and gas marking the birth and death of stars. For painter Stephanie Gonzalez, they serve as metaphors for creation, destruction and the cyclical nature of existence. 

Her BoxHeart Gallery exhibit explores not only the mysteries of the cosmos but also the internal landscapes of emotion, memory and resilience. Ethereal and luminous, her paintings investigate light, space and transformation through the lens of the metaphysical and personal.

“Fiberart International 2025” on view June 6 through Aug. 30 at Contemporary Craft; on view June 20 through Aug. 30 at Brew House Arts.

Since 1967, Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh has presented the Fiberart International triennial. This year’s show is organized by Contemporary Craft and Brew House Arts and features 36 artists from 11 countries, each offering an intriguing look at new trends in contemporary fiber art.

“Natalie Westbrook:  Corners of My Mind” on view June 14 through July 19; opening reception June 14, 5-8 p.m.

Painter Natalie Westbrook’s new solo show delves into life’s generative forces via an intricate interplay of baroque ornamentation, optical illusion and sensorial abstraction blending influences that include 17th-century Dutch vanitas, contemporary graffiti and her own formative years studying music and dance.

“5th Annual Art Open House” on view June 1 through June 7, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Since opening their Hilltop studio in 2000, Johno Prascak and Maria DeSimone have created a wide array of Pittsburgh-centric art spanning jewelry, clothing, home décor items, enamel and sand art and city and sports paintings that have found their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and an episode of the television show “Will & Grace.”

Their annual open house features guest jeweler Joan DeSimone with her Moon Heart Studios collection, alongside a curated flea market of vintage art objects and art supplies.

“Adam Welch: AT CLEARING…” on view June 1-8; opening reception May 31, 6-8 p.m.

Over a six-year sojourn as curator at Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Adam Welch put together over 60 solo and group exhibits of regional and national artists. Now he’s debuting his own work at a pop-up space formerly occupied by Perrico Plant Co. It’s a collection that, he notes, “lingers at the threshold between wilderness and clarity – exploring the disorienting, luminous moment when a clearing appears, only to reveal new types of uncertainty.”

Check these art happenings, too:

•  June 6, 6-10 p.m. Pittsburgh’s longest-running visual art stroll, Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn Avenue, picks up its full summer stride with an evening of art gallery openings, live performances, sidewalk markets and innumerable eclectic food and beverage offerings along the 4800–5500 blocks of Penn Avenue in Bloomfield/Garfield.

•  June 6, 7-11 p.m. The Mattress Factory holds its gala fundraiser Garden Party: Pink featuring live music, open galleries, open bars, delicious food by Pittsburgh-area restaurants, an art auction by Pittsburgh creatives and the celebrated Pink Costume Contest. 509 Jacksonia St., North Side. 

•  June 6, 6-9 p.m. Pittsburgh Glass Center presents its monthly Hot Jam featuring acclaimed glass sculptor and multidisciplinary artist Jaime Guerrero. 5472 Penn Ave., Bloomfield.

•  June 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tyler Gedman leads a Plein Air Paint-Out open to painters of all skill levels interested in exploring Pittsburgh’s ever-shifting light and landscapes in a live painting session. Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, 1047 Shady Ave., Shadyside.

More June openings:

•  Lawrenceville Open Studio (Radiant Hall Lawrenceville, June 1)

•  CROZZ DRAWS: New Work by Josh Criswell (Ketchup City Creative, June 6)

•  Paula Martino: Progression; Jennifer Harding: Ethereal Dance; Jake Motosicky: I’ll Never Be an Artist (Manos Gallery, June 6)

•  50 Years, 50 Works (Sweetwater Center for the Arts, June 6)

•  Group Hang Residency Exhibition with Radiant Hall and BOOM Concept artists (Emerald City PGH, June 8)

•  Cecilia Beaux: Inventing the Modern Portrait (Westmoreland Museum of American Art, June 13).