This weekend kicks off a fresh year of 2nd Fridays for the Chicago Arts District in Pilsen. Don't let the frigid temps keep you home: You'll only have to walk a matter of yards in this studio- and gallery-packed 'hood. Check out these favorite stops (where the there may even be a cup of wine awaiting): Dubhe Carreno Gallery, Sally Ko Studio and 4Arts Inc., where the Xclusive Group Show series continues with artists creating artworks "live" at the reception. Read on for more hot art shows in the coldest of Chicago months.

"Family First?"
Skestos Gabriele Gallery
through February 4
On the heels of the holiday season, nothing feels fresher than thoughts of our families, whether it's how much we miss them already or how nuts they drove us in just a matter of days. Independent curator Jennifer Jankauskas brings the first group exhibition to this new West Loop gallery with six artists who work in a variety of media and represent a variety of places: Albert Chong (Boulder, CO), Zuzanna Janin (Warsaw), Christopher Miner (Queens, NY), Annee Olofsson (Sweden and NYC), Karen Skloss (Austin) and Francine Spiegel (upstate New York). Cheaper than therapy and infinitely more visually stimulating, these symbolic takes on familial relationships include Olofsson photographs of herself being grabbed by her father, Spiegel's mixed-media "skins" using found objects, website imagery and raw materials, and the Asian and Jamaican Chong's portraits of his family as extensions of himself.

"Made in China"
Museum of Contemporary Photography
opening reception/gallery talk Jan. 12, 5-7 p.m.
through March 4
Thursday night's art scene to-do list certainly includes a stop by the opening of "Made in China." Always managing to curate shows that examine the modern condition, this time the MoCP considers how industrialization affects both Chinese and American cultures. From an installation by Michael Wolf that juxtaposes toys sold at a California flea market with portraits of the Chinese factory workers who made them to Danwen Xing's photographs of piles of electronic trash (obsolete computer products from the West that are recycled daily and by Chinese workers), the show spotlights how American consumerism affects Chinese culture and "develops" its economy. Another highlight is Jun Yang's "HERO—this is WE," which was on view at the 2005 Venice Biennale; two documentary-style videos focus on the power of the flag as a symbol of dominance both in China and in the U.S.

"Art-See Fart-See Show"
wag artworks
one-night viewing only: Jan. 12, 6-9 p.m.
donation: $10 at the door
With a show titled "Art-See Fart-See Show," it's no big surprise that artist Erik Sosa doesn't take himself too seriously. While bodily functions will be kept to a minimum, you will see a maximum of new colorfully inventive work by Sosa, a Mexican-American painter who grew up in the Uptown/Edgewater area of Chicago. For his achievements with painting and for his devotion to community service programs (both with AIDS and arts education), Sosa received the 2005 Vox/Out Emerging Voices of Style + Design Award. "Art-See Fart See" will be Sosa's fourth annual show at wag artworks; for one night only he'll display a series of somewhat kaleidoscopic paintings. Learn from Sosa's example and donate a ten spot at the door to benefit Urban Gateways, a nonprofit organization that provides arts programming to kids in Chicago. Some vino and light noshes will be your second reward, after drinking in the colorful fun of art.

"Louis Gonzalez Palma"
Schneider Gallery
through Feb. 25
Artists receive solo shows at galleries perhaps once a year, more likely every two years, but I always hope that the next exhibit at Schneider Gallery will be Luis Gonzalez Palma's work. Much to my excitement, the artist's photos finally are back in town. Palma visualizes the kind of spirited tales that only a Gabriel Garcia Marquez or an Isabel Allende could write about. The Guatemalan focused on Mayan Indians as his photographic subjects for many years, metaphorically retelling stories of the discrimination they historically suffered under a tyrannical government by dressing his subjects in 19th-century garb and casting them in historically ritualistic scenes. His recent work has taken him to Argentina, where his images are sometimes devoid of people all together. In "Did Not Want to Talk All Those Years," a stool sits in front of a dusty piano whose keys are covered with rocks. His technique, hand painting silver gelatin prints with gold leaf and embedding them in resin, achieves a beautifully romantic affect.