Weekend arts picks: Nov. 27-29

Art: Sculptor Bethany Krull’s technical expertise is matched by the strength of her intellectual concepts, which focus on the relationship of humans to the natural world. This Saturday evening, Mulry Fine Art in Palm Beach hosts the opening of a solo show by Krull called Dominance and Affection. “It seems that the most intimate connection we have with nature is with those animals we have chosen to keep as pets,” said Krull (at right), who holds a master of fine arts from the School for American Crafts in Rochester, N.Y. “The intense love and affection we feel toward these creatures does not erase the fact that the success of the relationship lies in our complete domination over all aspects of their existence.” The opening lasts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and the show runs through Dec. 18. Regular hours for Mulry Fine Art, which is in the Paramount Building on North County Road, are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 382-8224 or visit www.mulryfineart.com.

Further south on the island, Sarah Gavlak is debuting the new location of Gavlak Gallery at 249B Worth Ave. Its opening reception is set for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and will feature works by Rob Wynne, whose art is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Whitney and private collections. Call 833-0583 or visit www.gavlakgallery.com.

For the third year, the artist who calls himself Jefro and Studio 1608 are presenting Visions +, a one-night show featuring 42 artists, in order to show and sell their work. The list of artists reads like a Who’s Who of accomplished Palm Beach artists, several of whom have won the coveted South Florida Cultural Consortium. Some are FAU art professors; others also teach at the Armory Art Center, while others are regulars on the gallery scene: Paul Aho, Elizabeth Close Atterbury, Harvey Baron, Bhavana Bhen, Debra Bigeleisen, Clemente, Joel Cohen, Phyllis Cohen, Mary Brittain-Cudlip, Damon Dupree Fuller, Ruben Hale, Walter Hynatsh, Bill Janice, Jefro, Steve Johnson, Karyl Mae Karpinos, Helmut Koller, Kate Kuhner, Chris Leidy, Natalie Levine, Ellen Liman, Cheryl Maeder, Michelle A. M. Miller, Carolyn Nelson, Dan Newman, Nuné, Josphine (Jo) Pratt, Sam Perry, Patricia Peters, Montana Pritchard, David Redelhiem, Terre Rybovich, Scarmato, Sebastian Thibadeau, Elayna Toby Singer (at left), Victoria Skinner, Nancy Tart, Thomas Tribby, Joanie Van Der Grift, Rene Von Richthofen and Kat Winoker.

Singer, director of Palm Beach County’s Art in Public Places program, will be displaying her mixed-media designs, which incorporate found objects, architectural salvage, construction debris, vintage tools, natural materials, beads and wire into kinetic artworks. The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at 1608 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. For more information on Visions+, call (561) 596-1180.

Paintings and drawings by Astrid Mora are on exhibit through Dec. 3 in the lobby of the Eissey Campus Theatre on the campus of Palm Beach Community College in Palm Beach Gardens. A native of Colombia who now lives in West Palm Beach, Mora has a master’s degree in art history and exhibited in galleries, group shows and museums. Mora (at right) teaches elementary school in Palm Beach County, and has studied painting at Palm Beach Community College with Wayne Stephens and Alessandra Gieffers.

“Astrid is a tireless worker, spending long hours developing her technical skills as a painter, as well as teaching young children,” Gieffers said. “She paints with sophistication: her color is hot and emotional, yet controlled.”

The Eissey Campus Theatre is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and during performances. For more information, call 207-5905, or visit www.pbcc.edu//x13034.xml — K. Deits

Film: With quirky, but ultimately unsatisfying films such as The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited, director Wes Anderson seemed an odd choice to go animated, but he scores a surprise success with The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on a wily tale by Roald Dahl about a furry family of carnivores. He enlists such A-list voice talent as George Clooney and Meryl Streep, proves himself technically proficient at stop-motion low-tech kinetics and his script (written with Noah Baumbach) has plenty of adult humor to amuse grown-ups. Expect this one to be in the running for Best Animated Feature come Oscar time. In area theaters now. — H. Erstein

On stage: Yes, the Smothers Brothers look a lot older than they did in their Vietnam-era heyday, but their mom-liked-you-best, twisted-folk-songs shtick has a timeless quality. And when they take the Kravis Center stage Saturday night, here’s hoping they will have a few political barbs on our current state of war-waging. Perhaps to make themselves look young by comparison, Dick and Tom have enlisted the aid of comic Norm Crosby as a warm-up act. Tickets: $20-$55. Call: (561) 832-7469. — H. Erstein

Music: The Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches opens its season this weekend with three works of the Italian Baroque: the Gloria of Vivaldi, the same composer’s Beatus vir, and the great Magnificat of Pergolesi. Soloists are soprano Hilary Ryon and mezzo-soprano Ceci Grasso Dadisman. This season also will be the last for founding music director Jack Jones, who is retiring. The concert is set for 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Edward’s Catholic Church on Palm Beach. Tickets: $20, $10 for students. Call 845-9696 or visit www.masterworkschorusofthepalmbeaches.com for more information.

This season, chamber music groups such as the Delray String Quartet are expanding, not contracting. The same goes for Chameleon Musicians, a Fort Lauderdale-based chamber group founded by cellist Iris van Eck that regularly plays at the Josephine Leiser Opera Center off Las Olas Boulevard. This Sunday afternoon, van Eck appears with pianist Kemal Gekic for a recital that will feature a piece from the duo’s new disc devoted to the music of Gabriel Fauré: his Elegy. Also on the program are the Beethoven Sonata No. 5 (in D, Op. 102, No. 2), the A minor sonata (Op. 36) of Norway’s Edvard Grieg, and the Rondo, Op. 94, of Antonin Dvorak. 3 p.m. at the Leiser Center. Tickets: $30, which includes a reception with drinks and tasty things to nibble on. Call 954-761-3435 or visit www.chameleonmusicians.com. – G. Stepanich