10 Art Shows You Should See in Downtown Phoenix This Week

Despite the blustering rhetoric emanating from so many politicians these days, it's hard to tell at times what each might actually do to address the challenges dealt with in contemporary culture. Fortunately, local artists aren't waiting around for someone else to tackle these issues.

Several exhibitions on view during First Friday, May 6, will likely prompt reflection, conversation, and perhaps even action on some of today's biggest issues — including protecting the environment, embracing gender diversity, and creating economic justice.

Of course, if you're only in it for the cool artwork, that's okay too. We've found 10 free exhibitions to help you get started. 

“For Closure”
Artist Jonah Amadeus explores the modern American landscape, addressing “The preconceptions, expectations, and reality of manifesting” what’s been called “The American Dream.” His time-based ceramic works and video installations being exhibited at ASU’s Step Gallery at Grant Street Studios consider the “personal costs of attachments and the lure of consumerism” while tackling issues such as class, income equality, environmental disaster, and memory. First Friday hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the ASU Events website.


“Bilá Ashdlá' (Five Fingered People)"
Jeff Slim’s latest solo exhibition, happening at monOrchid’s Shade Gallery, includes not only works from two ongoing series, “Pollen Boy” and “Beyond the Reed,” but also works from his new “Beyond the Reed” series – which explore the Diné creation story while incorporating contemporary people representing what Slim calls “Navajo now.” In the adjacent Bokeh Gallery, monOrchid is showing works by students from Metropolitan Art Institute. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the monOrchid website.

Read on for new shows on Grand Avenue.
“777”
1Spot Gallery, which specializes in works created by indigenous artists, presents the first solo exhibition for artist Marlene Robbins, whose works reflect her interest in art and spirituality. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the 1Spot Gallery Facebook page.

“Trans Youth Art Show”
See works in various media created by trans and gender-variant youth at Phoenix Pride, located at 801 North Second Avenue — where you can also experience several activities, including arts and crafts and a silent auction. First Friday hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page.

“NSFW”
Focused on nudes, a prevalent theme in the history of art, this exhibition features works culled from more than 150 submissions. {9} The Gallery and Artelshow present works by 38 artists, including Abe Zucca, Colorology, Eric Cox, Jon Wassom, Marilyn Szabo, and Jeanna Delfin. The exhibition explores issues of aesthetics, beauty, gender, and morality through depictions of the human form in drawings, paintings, sculpture, and photography. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the {9} The Gallery website.

“Buffalo Woman”
Recalling a childhood memory of a buffalo seen in captivity, Amanda Adkins paints works that imagine the buffalo’s journey back home. They’re being shown alongside abstract paintings by Denise Fleisch at Lotus Contemporary Art. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page.

“Identity”
Artist Dave Naz explores the gender spectrum by “turning his camera on transgender, intersex, pangender, and every shade in between” in an exhibition being presented by Amy Young and Perihelion Arts at Chartreuse gallery. The exhibition includes images from Naz’s latest book, titled Genderqueer: And Other Gender Identities. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the Chartreuse website.

“Lisa Von Hoffner + Travis Rice”
Modified Arts presents works by two ASU MFA candidates — Lisa Von Hoffner and Travis Rice. Von Hoffner uses hyper-real and surreal portraits of women, created with “fanciful color palettes and a sense of play,” to address female sexuality within the context of pervasive patriarchy. Influenced by the works of renowned artists Gene Davis, Franz Kline, and Sol Lewitt, Rice uses digital models to produce drawn and painted pieces that prompt reflection on the viewer’s relationship with digital and analog art forms. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the Modified Arts Facebook page. 

“Dangers Ahead”
New works by artist Wendy Willis — which address the impact of human actions on coral, kelp, and assorted sea creatures — will fill the walls at Five15 Arts. The exhibition serves as a warning of dangers that await if human activity continues to have a negative impact on the environment. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the Five15 Arts website.

“3 Ways of Seeing”
See digital photography by William Douglas, Marcia Losh, and Cynthia Millikin in this exhibition at Olney Gallery designed to explore each photographer’s “intriguing combination of technical diversity and imagination.” Douglas creates stories by combining realistic scenes with fantasy characters. Losh transforms her photographs into kaleidoscopic images. And Millikin uses black and white to heighten the delicate appearance of exotic flowers. Firs Friday hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the Olney Gallery Facebook page.