Here's the Best Art We Saw in Metro Phoenix in December 2017

The best art we spotted in December ranged from a small tarot card-size drawing to an installation featuring more than 100 pots and pans. One artist created work inspired by her father’s recent death, and another made art infused with Venezuelan culture. Here’s a look back at the best works of art we saw during December 2017.

Cacerolazo
Inspired by her family’s Venezuelan roots, Scottsdale artist Saskia Jorda created an installation for a Phoenix Art Museum pop-up space at CityScape. The title references a tradition of banging on pots and pans as a form of protest. The exhibition continues through Sunday, January 7, 2018.

Bunny Ears Prickly Pear
One of several works featured in Jake Early’s “Printed Desert” exhibition, which filled nearly an entire wall at Practical Art for the month of December, this piece reveals Early’s gift for imbuing everyday sightings with warmth and charm. The exhibition runs through Sunday, December 31.

Untitled
One of many small drawings in the Fortoul Brothers’ “Total Eclipse” series shown at Shortcut Gallery, this piece depicts a woman using what Gabriel Fortoul calls “the power of sound/speech to make change amongst the turbulent waters.” In doing so, he says, she restores “the balance of energies above the pyramid.”

Windows
For a December exhibition called “Man + Man,” Aileen Frick showed several works exploring “peoples’ relationships with themselves and each other,” according to Found:RE Phoenix exhibition materials. The show includes several depictions of the Phoenix art scene, including this image capturing a familiar view of historic Grand Avenue.

Luster 29
This new piece by Mary Meyer was created using cast aluminum, wood, graphite, and sewing needle. It was one of several works featured in her solo exhibition in a gallery space at London Gold in Scottsdale. This year, Meyer’s work has also been shown at Phoenix Art Museum.