Visual Arts

We were sad when Atomic Comics closed all of its stores last month, but luckily, there’s no shortage of alternatives for comic book fans in the Valley. Whether you’re looking for an energetic atmosphere filled with caffeinated gamers and superhero mannequins, or a quiet vault filled with endless boxes of meticulously…

is surrounded in his Tempe studio by tin, sketches of film cameras, and a huge inspiration wall that grows behind his desk. It’s a space that he’s shared with other local creatives and fellow grad students in the photography program at ASU. He says it’s a working space — and a good…

After taking a few courses at the East Valley Institute of Technology and interning at Honeywell, art was the furthest thing from Geoffrey Gersten’s mind.”I was doing static component tool design,” he laments of his post-EVIT sojourn, explaining that his Honeywell gig entailed designing tools to machine fixed (or non-revolving)…

​”When I was 4, I saw saguaros in an encyclopedia,” says Brian Harrison. “I was obsessed with them. They’re what brought me to Arizona.”Harrison says the Southwestern landscape is an inspiration for a lot of his artwork; it’s the reason he lives in Arizona. The local artist turned 50 this year,…

You’ll see some famous faces if you visit Eye Lounge on Friday, September 16. You could even tell Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio off to his face, and not worry about retribution. That’s because Arpaio’s head — along with those of Sarah Palin, John McCain, Tiger Woods, Kim Kardashian, and…

I’m always somewhat leery of museum exhibitions based on work collected by one person. Many times, these shows are less than stellar, with an unsuspecting viewing audience ending up a prisoner of the collector’s particular aesthetic and vision, which can, on occasion, be brutally banal and screamingly self-absorbed. I’m glad…

​To kickoff the Celebración Artística de las Américas Festival (Artistic Celebration of the Americas), a group of local artists will lead an informal discussion panel on the Phoenix Art Museum’s current Latino exhibition Modern Mexican Painting for the Andrés Blaisten Collection.Considered the world’s most significant private collection of Mexican art,…

Pete Townsend’s intentionally trashed countless guitars on stage. But the guitarist of The Who would probably be hard-pressed to smash a single axe in the “Six-String Masterpieces” exhibit that opened Friday at Mesa Arts Center. Each guitar in this exhibition is a custom work of art, painted by a well-known…

 ASU Art Museum’s season kickoff in September. While you might be tempted to touch the textured and intricate work of featured artist Juan Downey, you probably won’t want to put your hands anywhere near his piece that’s accompanied by a live, moody, six-foot-long anaconda.The exhibition, titled “Juan Downey: The Invisible Architect,”…

There was no shortage of spectacular and surreal art work at this year’s Burning Man festival in Nevada. Huge pirate ships, neon-covered Trojan Horses, and other mutant vehicles rolled around alkali flats of the Black Rock Desert during the annual event, which was held this past weekend. Meanwhile, an eclectic…

in downtown Phoenix since April. Come October, the oldest warehouse in Phoenix will host the city’s first Design Museum. Mark Dudlik, a local designer and the museum’s co-founder, says the project’s been in the works since 2009, and is an effort between himself and designer Tanner Woodford, with the help of copywriter…

​”It’s all about understanding that nothing is permanent,” says Elise Deringer, of her latest solo exhibition, Perception & Passage, opens tonight in the Harry Wood Gallery at ASU.Deringer’s handmade filters and containers (from silk and cotton nets) dangle from the gallery’s ceiling and walls. They’re filled and embedded with sand, salts,…

This past First Friday, an exhibit of all female artists called “Women’s Room” opened at Bragg’s Pie Factory. The exhibit (curated by Phoenix New Times contributor Robrt Pela) highlighted works in a variety of media by 14 artists, including Phoenix art scene veteran Annie Lopez.”It was a good time,” Lopez…

Painters James B. Hunt and Travis Vallance have a sure-fire way of getting people to beat a path to their show at Conspire: They’ll be dishing out ice cream.The pair will be hosting the Ice Cream Anti-Social at the vegan-friendly venue during the tonight’s First Friday art walk, where root…

Somewhere between focusing on his own work and collaborating with artists in the local community, Joseph “Sentrock” Perez continues to direct the Rise Project (a collaboration between the City of Phoenix and ASU Downtown that aims to get teens more involved in the arts), and operated the Rise Project pop-up…

Reanna Diehl and the other artists of Bloom Gallery Boutique have their game faces on as they frantically prep the Downtown space for tomorrow night’s First Friday artwalk. At 6 p.m., the artists will press start on “Revenge of the 8-Bit” — a Nintendo-themed art exhibition. Paintings of Princess Zelda adorn…

The breakup gods are being summoned at eye lounge. As part of the installation “Grief: Sukiyaki,” Jenna Duncan has organized the west half of the Phoenix gallery into an informal pop-up Shinto shrine, with different “stations.” First, there is a Purification Station, in case one might want to use the…

Don’t be alarmed if any artists you might know don’t answer their cell phones over the next week or so. Chances are, they’re partying out in the Nevada desert at Burning Man. The annual arts and culture freakfest attracts more than 50,000 revelers to a remote stretch of barren land…

Looking for something to keep your mind off the sweltering heat? Aside from a cold drink, here are a few suggestions to ensure that the only juices flowing are your creative ones: 1. Altar Submissions for Central Gallery: Burton Barr Central Library is seeking proposals for altars inspired by el Dia de…