Denise Fleisch's Lotus Contemporary Art Gallery to Reopen in Scottsdale

Lotus Contemporary Art gallery is relocating to Scottsdale. Gallery owner and artist Denise Fleisch will reopen the space, previously located in the Roosevelt Row arts district of downtown Phoenix, on Thursday, October 6, with an exhibition titled "Unraveled" at 7077 Main Street #6.

Lotus Contemporary Art, Five15 Arts, and Galleria Celtica were forced to shutter at the end of August after the building they occupied at Roosevelt and Fifth streets was purchased by new owners. Soon after, Fleisch began showing her works at V Tixi Gallery in Scottsdale, one of several galleries located in the 7077 Main Street building in Old Town.

Now she’s moving those works into her own studio and gallery space, and creating 14 new works she’ll feature in her first official show there, described in exhibition materials as “an art show after love and loss.” The past year has been a tumultuous one for Fleisch. Her mother passed away. Her studio space caught fire. And she lost her downtown Phoenix art space.

"It's a fresh start," Fleisch says of opening the new space. 

Fleisch says she'll be showing primarily her own works, but may also present some group exhibitions. She signed a one-year lease during the last week of September and immediately set about painting beige walls white and ordering new Lotus Contemporary Art signage to hang outside the gallery entrance.

She's keeping the name Lotus Contemporary Art in part because its logo was designed by local artist and graphic designer Tad Smith, whose paintings include pop art-inspired portraits of Fleisch and other metro Phoenix community members. 

Lotus Contemporary Art is one of several galleries located in the 7077 Main Street complex.

Tilt Gallery, created by Melanie and Michelle Craven, relocated to the Scottsdale complex from the Grand Avenue arts district in late 2014. Other occupants include Blink, Carstens, and Quantum Art. All surround a central courtyard that currently features works created by several artists for the IN FLUX Cycle 6 public art program.

The downtown Scottsdale gallery scene has experienced several changes during the past year. Geoffrey Gersten opened his new gallery in February. Others, including Touchstone Gallery and May Gallery, have closed. And gallery owners opposed to Artisan Markets, the tented marketplace on the Scottsdale Waterfront, convinced the Scottsdale City Council to curtail such events. 

More changes are coming, too.

Wilde Meyer Gallery, located on Marshall Way, is currently undergoing renovations. And Scottsdale Public Art is working with local artist John Randall Nelson on a new piece of public art to anchor the downtown arts district that’s already home to Ed Mell’s iconic Jack Knife sculpture.

The “Unraveled” exhibition at Lotus Contemporary Art opens October 6 and continues through October 27. Gallery goers can see Fleisch's works from 6 to 9 p.m. during Scottsdale ArtWalks on Thursday nights. But the gallery will also be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.