He left for the Washington Post in 2002, but prior to that Tom Toles labored for years in the offices of the Buffalo News, the Courier-Express and UB’s Spectrum. Now the Burchfield-Penney’s Don Metz has assembled a show featuring more than 100 of Toles’ political cartoons, all made during his tenure at the News. Called Caustic Ink, the exhibit is one of four that debut this Friday. The others comprise work by painter Michael Herbold and media artist Diane Bertolo (part of the Burchfield-Penney’s 2/2 series of shared exhibits); watercolors by the brilliant Jeanette Blair; and a selection of work from the Annette Craven Modern Ceramics Collection. Toles will deliver a lecture on Saturday, January 27 (2pm) with News editor Margaret Sullivan; if you’ve never met the Pulitzer Prize winner in person, by all means go and listen. But don’t skip the opening reception this Friday—the Burchfield-Penney lays a better table than any gallery in town.

Friday, January 19 from 5:30-7:30pm. Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College’s Rockwell Hall, 1300 Elmwood Ave. (878-6012, burchfield-penney.org). FREE.