Visual Arts

Artist Yuko Yabuki was born and raised in Japan, and studied at Tokyo Women’s Art College, but the painter, who’s been living in Phoenix since 1995, says she continually learns new things about Japanese art from tattoo artists.So it’s only fitting that Yabuki will be painting live at the Hell City…

Artist: Rose Johnson Medium: mural on the Mercer Mortuary building on 16th Street near Thomas Road. (Description below is written by Kathleen Vanesian in 2009. See her full story on the life of Rose Johnson here.)Painted by an artist named Rose Johnson in 1998, with the help of some school kids,…

Central Phoenix’s Samurai Comics opened a temporary location in Mesa this Wednesday — and it’s right next to Atomic Comics’ former Mesa location.”It’s been insane,” says Samurai owner Mike Banks.On Sunday night Banks got a call from Atomic Comics owner Mike Malve, who said Atomic was closing. Banks says he…

After hearing their shop of choice closed, local comic book fans and loyal Atomic Comics customers had a big question: What will happen to the comics I ordered?No need to panic. All About Books and Comics in Phoenix has an answer…

Whether it’s a three-headed dragon creature from Japan or a cuddly zombie bear, monsters have long terrified, fascinated, and influenced various artists. And through August 31, you can see a menagerie of monsters on display at Cade Gallery downtown. The gallery’s “MONSTERS!” exhibit features figures, paintings, and drawings of fantastical…

Atomic Comics owner Mike Malve confirmed in a newsletter to industry folks that the Arizona comic shop chain closed all four of its locations as of yesterday, Sunday, August 21…

[jump] ​Current plans for the castle-like project include such design features as plenty of ramparts, parapets, and bulwarks, giving the library the appearance of a medieval-style fortress. (No word on whether or not they’re also planning on building a moat.) The three-story building, which will be finished in January, will…

A pair of burgeoning local artists will debut their first-ever solo shows tonight at eye lounge, and the subject matter in their respective exhibitions is somewhat unique, to say the least. Hookups and breakups are the heart of Michael Max McLeod’s Misc. Romance and Jenna Duncan’s Grief: Sukiyaki, both of…

Between the debt ceiling crisis, a yo-yoing stock market and early campaigning for the next presidential election, it’s tempting to tune out of the 24-hour news cycle that chronicles — in painstaking detail — every cloud on the horizon in this volatile political climate. Opening at Trunk Space this weekend, Tommy…

In Russ Kazmierczak, Jr.’s comic renderings of Arizona, superheroes travel back in time from the future to communicate with Governor Jan Brewer, Sheriff Joe sends Lou Ferrigno to the border to combat a “marijuana catapult,” and a young immigrant from Mexico finds an alien sombrero in the desert that gives…

It’s about time Phoenix sees some serious mural love. In the interest of giving credit to their artists and because we’re losing track of the times we’ve said, “Whoa, when did that go up?”, we bring you Mural City, a series on the murals springing up around town — their…

​Mexican Contemporary art fans (and anyone looking to see some great local art) have until the end of the month to check out what the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center calls a “new wave” within an old tradition.The New Wave of Mexican Contemporary Art is a collection of recent works from Phoenix artists…

​​During a trip to Flagstaff in the late ’80s, Melissa Zaki wandered into a bead store carrying a diamond stone with a peculiar request. She didn’t want the jeweler to create a piece for her, and she didn’t want to sell it. Instead, Zaki asked woman behind the desk to drill a…

If you’ve been to The Icehouse in downtown Phoenix in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a garden that’s slowly growing on the asphalt of the art venue’s modest parking lot along Jackson Street. The “Garden of Thorns,” as it’s called by owner Helene Hestenes, occupies about 20…

Phoenix Design Week (actually a three-week event) will begin in October, and local designers are finalizing personal projects and joining efforts to raise awareness about local design and the importance of creative collaboration. In the works, says PHXDW founder Mark Dudlik, is a pop-up Phoenix Design Museum, which will host…

The space was chosen for its claustrophobic atmosphere, says Hazine, with ceilings low enough to touch that echo foot traffic from the gallery above.”It’s the feeling of pressing down on you, and I kind of liked it. Like when you’re under water and you don’t know which way is up…

Legendary French bohemian Jean Cocteau once described art as “a marriage of conscious and the subconscious” influences — a  seemingly a perfect subtitle for the new group exhibition In Your Head and Under Your Bed, which opens tonight at Modified Arts. According to the show’s curator Lindz Lew, each of the…

​There’s plenty of work to do for the members of local glassblowing group Circle 6. The team was spotted setting up shop inside 501 E. Roosevelt (formerly Pravus Gallery) building shelving and additional wall space. The gallery, to-be-called Circle 6, will house artwork from the collective, as well as local glass artists. …