This Thursdaf Half/Dozen Gallery opens “Plans for the New City” by artists Gala Bent for this month’s First Thursday event. Plans for the New City examines the way that a city, and even a single building, can act as a utopian vision of paradise on earth or a mystical vision of “The New City.

The imagery in Bent’s work explores how the buildings we reside in can take on a life of their own, almost becoming creatures in themselves. Cities have neurological systems in the form of communication networks, venal systems of water and waste. In a conceptual parallel, Bent’s drawings make use of hair, eyes, bodies and animals that become biological-architectural systems. But the work is also skeptical of the possibilities of finding perfect civic balance, and the cracks and leaks are plainly visible.

Half/Dozen Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition featuring six artists. This exhibition brings together work that is at once akin and in stark contrast. This group of six artists complement each other in peculiar ways, from the dreamlike drawings of Gala Bent to the heavily conceptual digital collages of Laura Mackin to the opposing forces in John Berry’s paintings; there are themes of observation, searching and discovery. The photos of Lisa Berry take a quiet, subtle look at the world just outside our view while Artur Silva’s provocative video speaks boldly and pointedly about capitalism and culture. Lisa Kowalski’s tempting paintings invite us to forget where we are and soak up the vibrant colors and bold marks. The show will run from September 3^rd to September 26^th.