5 Must-See Art Shows in Metro Phoenix This Week

All of 'em are free.

July 19, 2017

Detail of Zach Valent work previously exhibited at Step Gallery. Zach Valent/Photo by Lynn Trimble

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You can relax a bit this week if you made the gallery rounds during First Friday — but only a bit. Several art spaces are showing the same exhibitions this week, as Third Friday rolls around. But a blissfully manageable number are opening new ones on July 21, which means you have more time to linger over each one. Here's a look at five fresh art shows in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

"Anthology"
Zach Valent creates fictitious fossils of modern society, using concrete, ceramic, wood, paper, and other media to create icons of contemporary consumer culture. He's one of three artists with work being presented by Rhetorical Galleries in the Roosevelt Row shipping container galleries from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, July 21. Get details on the Rhetorical Galleries Facebook page.

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See work by Danielle Wood at Eye Lounge.

Danielle Wood

"Symbiosis"
Explore Danielle Wood's ceramic and mixed-media work addressing the intersection of the natural world and the urban landscape. She's a member for the Eye Lounge collective, which will be showing her work combining "science, social relationships and elements of surrealism" from 6 to 10 p.m. on Third Friday. Find more information on the Eye Lounge Facebook page.

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Work by Nick Gutierrez previously exhibited at Modified Arts.

Nick Gutierrez

"Intensity (Not) Purity"
See works by Samantha Rodriguez and Nicholas Gutierrez, two process-based artists who work with collage, found imagery, drawing, and printmaking. Rodriguez explores the anxiety, boredom, and mundaneness of over-scheduled lives. Gutierrez creates works rooted in nihilist philosophy. Third Friday hours at Modified Arts are 6 to 9 p.m. Get details on the Modified Arts website.

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Piece by Sharon Geels, whose work is being shown at Walter Art Gallery.

Sharon Geels

"Summer Coolness"
Check out work by Sharon Geels at Walter Art Gallery. Geels paints ordinary objects from her everyday surroundings several times to reflect differences of light and other conditions at different times of day. The opening reception on Third Friday takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. and includes live music. Find details on the Walter Art Gallery website.

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Work by John Armstrong, who is featured in a new exhibition at The Gallery at Mountain Shadows.

John Armstrong/Courtesy of Mountain Shadows

"Classic Abstraction"
Curated by John Reyes, this exhibition features work by Arizona artists and classic abstractionists John Armstrong and Dorothy Fratt, who passed away just before this show opened. The Gallery at Mountain Shadows is open during Third Friday, but if you want to attend the opening reception, visit between 6 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 20. Learn more on the Mountain Shadows website.

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