Artist Frank Picazo is opening Sundown Gallery in downtown Phoenix this April. The art space is located in a house at 921 East Roosevelt Street, in the Garfield neighborhood just east of Roosevelt Row.
Picazo and his girlfriend, Kristin Payestewa, have lived in the space for several years.
"We decided to live in a smaller space and turn our other space into a gallery," says Payestewa, who is handling publicity for the new gallery.
Previously, Picazo had studio space at The Allery, JB Snyder's gallery and collective studio space. But The Allery closed in February 2017 after the building's owner decided he had other plans for the property.
At that time, Roosevelt Row was in the midst of changes fueled by rampant development. New multilevel apartments were going in, and several arts venues closed or relocated in the process.
That got Picazo thinking about opening his own space. Now, he's making it happen.
Sundown Gallery will open on First Friday, April 6, with a group exhibition called "Prelude." Featured artists will include several of the Valley's best-known muralists like Snyder, Tato Caraveo, and Volar. Brothers Seth and Isaac Fainkujen, as well as Picazo, also will be part of the inaugural show.
Picazo plans to have monthly exhibitions that open on First Fridays. The gallery will also have Third Friday hours. Expect to see work by local artists such as Adam Dumper and Jeremy Arviso in future shows, Payestewa says.
"We want to bring artists here that don't get seen a lot," she says.