Cherri Lakey, co-founder of Anno Domini gallery, never met Zack Luchetti, an artist and teacher who grew up in Oakland and studied under illustrator Barron Storey at San Jose State. But his work was so compelling that she and partner Brian Eder produced a tribute show for him that will open during this week’s South First Fridays art walk in downtown San Jose.

Luchetti, sadly, won’t be there in person. He died from colon cancer in 2021 at age 47 in Murphys, where he had been teaching.

“Illuminate the Wolves,” a show featuring 100 of his paintings and illustrations, had its beginnings last year when Anno Domini did a retrospective of Storey’s “golden age” work. Cathy Luchetti, Zack’s mother, came to that show because of her son’s admiration for his former teacher and asked if the gallery at 366 S. First St. would be interested in seeing his work.

“Typically with submissions, they’re not always a fit, but this was incredible work,” Lakey said. “He definitely has a very unique perspective on how he sees nature and humanity and the BART station and all the exotic places that he visited. It really started to stand out to us that this guy was really stellar.”

The show takes its name from a painting of a man holding a lightbulb up to a pack of wolves, an image meant to illustrate Luchetti — who was an elementary school teacher — trying to bestow knowledge on his unruly pupils. Some of his other colorful pieces are evocative of Pablo Picasso, surrealist Salvador Dali, muralist Diego Rivera and even underground cartoonist R. Crumb — but synthesized through Luchetti’s lens into something new.

“They’re just so convoluted,” Lakey said. “There are so many layers to his work. Those are the things that really resonated with us.”

The South First Fridays art walk — which has grown beyond the SoFA district to include Fountain Alley and Martha Gardens — runs from 5 to 9 p.m. at various locations. You can get the full lineup and a downloadable map at www.southfirstfridays.com, and here are a couple of other highlight’s from this week:

• Chopsticks Alley, the Asian fusion art collective at the new Open San Jose space at 38 S. Second St., will have an opening reception for “Me Earth,” and exhibition of work by Vietnamese American artist Tuan Tran, who “artcyles” found objects that were once headed to the landfill. A fashion show featuring his designs is scheduled for 7 p.m.

• Works/San Jose, another tenant at Open San Jose, is showing the exhibition for its community art auction, featuring more than 170 pieces contributed by local artists. Friday is the last night to preview the auction before the closing night and auction party on March 4. You can get more details and see some of the pieces available for bid at www.workssanjose.org.

• You also can catch the group show “Pertenecer: To Belong” at the MACLA gallery, which closes March 19 and features work on the themes of acceptance and not belonging by artists including Pilar Agüero-Esparza, Rayos Magos, Kristina Micotti, Héctor Muñoz-Guzmán, Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales, and Jennifer White-Johnson.

BANK ON A MUSEUM: With more wet weather looking likely this weekend, it might be wise to spend some time indoors. And wouldn’t you know that it’s the first weekend of the month, so Bank of America is offering free admission to its cardholders to various museums and other cultural venues. This weekend, the “Museums on Us” program includes the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, the San Jose Museum of Art and the Tech Interactive in San Jose.

What if you don’t have a BofA card? Go anyway and consider your admission price an investment in culture. In the long term, that may even beat the stock market.

A DECADE OF SUPPORT: Blues singer and musician Lara Price again will lead a strong lineup of musicians for Girls Got the Blues, the 10th annual fundraising concert to support Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence on March 12 at the San Jose Woman’s Club. Joining Price on stage at the 2 p.m. show will be Robin Roth, Vicki Grossi, Nancy Wenstrom, Janice Maxie Reid,
Dolly Rappaport, Pam Hawkins, and Tia Carroll, along with Sweet Nectar featuring Sue McCracklin and Maureen Smith.

Next Door Solutions Executive Director Colsaria Henderson says the fundraiser’s success for a decade is the result of the commitment of these talented performers year after year — as well as the support the South Bay community shows for the event and the cause. “It is not often that our community can come together in a fun way to support survivors of domestic violence,” she said. “Girls Got the Blues is that great opportunity to raise awareness and to be in beloved community”

Tickets are available for $40 in advance at www.nextdoorsolutions.org/GGTB.