Scottsdale artist Saskia Jordá, whose flocks of suspended wooden birds were recently featured at both Mesa’s Spark! Festival of Creativity and Scottsdale’s Canal Convergence, received the 2015 Arlene and Morton Scult Contemporary Forum Award at Phoenix Art Museum on Wednesday, May 13. The Contemporary Forum, a support organization for Phoenix…
Seeing everything on your Third Friday wish list is going to be more challenging than usual this month if your top picks include ARTELPHX at The Clarendon Hotel, which features 29 performances and installations. So we’re sharing a relatively short “must-see” list, but also offering a friendly reminder that ARTELPHX…
You might think, walking the aisles separating large cases of ceramics at the ASU Ceramics Research Center, that ceramic works are simply objects. Grouped by decade, they appear to be mere artifacts from bygone days. Some are functional, decorative, or both. But few beckon viewers to consider the fluid nature…
“Everybody knowns mid-century is a money maker,” Dominic Fasano says. He’s sitting on his Paul McCobb-designed Widdicomb couch with his girlfriend Alba Serrato and their French bulldog Remi, in the small but well-staged 1965 Al Beadle Boardwalk condominium that they share. From big-time TV shows like Mad Men to highly…
What happens in the studio, shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit Q+A is a weekly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This week: Phoenix artist Nathaniel Lewis. Since returning to…
You submitted nominations for the best and brightest emerging Valley creatives, and the results are in. Presenting the 2015 Big Brain finalists. Leading up to the announcement of winners at Artopia on May 9, Jackalope Ranch, Chow Bella, and Up on the Sun will introduce the finalists. Up today is…
Building an entire city would be pretty rad. The one million people who bought the latest city-building video game, Cities: Skylines, in the past month probably agree. If only constructing a perfect metropolis in real life were as simple as a few mouse clicks. Of course, that’s not the case…
What is it that makes us different from one another? How do we define ourselves in relation to others? These expansive questions are probed by the 22 artists participating in “Equal Parts,” currently on view at Frontal Lobe Community Space and Gallery. Co-curated by Amanda Adkins and Ashley Macias, the…
During an age when some think the best bit of photo technology is a selfie stick, it’s refreshing to spend time surrounded by fine art photography created with old-school tools and techniques — many created during the mid-19th century. The fourth annual “Light Sensitive” show at Art Intersection in Gilbert…
First Friday seemed to ramp up a bit earlier than usual on Friday night, as people hit local galleries, explored tables covered in artwork and other wares for sale, and watched a few aerosol artists painting live during outdoor demonstrations. Story strips at Eye Lounge Art lovers got to double…
April’s First Friday has plenty to offer — including vintage film posters, princess glam photography, and street art by metro Phoenix muralists. Take advantage of weather that’s merely warm rather than blistering to explore a new film offering, celebrate the life of a local arts activist, and consider issues related…
If Tim Burton and Betsey Johnson were to build a life together in downtown Phoenix, it likely would look something like John and Liz Tavarez’s 1926 Sears Craftsman home. Located in the Fairview neighborhood just east of the Arizona State Fairgrounds, the historic abode is best described as gothic glam…
What happens in the studio, shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit Q+A is a new weekly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This week: Tempe artist Kristin Bauer. Tempe-based artist…
Midcentury Modern masters and mavens, we don’t have to remind you what’s happening April 10 through 19 in Phoenix. For everyone else, we’ll give you a hand: It’s Modern Phoenix Week. With 26 speakers and seven event locations, the weeklong architecture and design bonanza is going to be something every…
Indigenous art collective Postcommodity’s two installations currently on display at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as part of its “southwestNET” series until April 26, 2015 transform idyllic imagery into a subversive spectacle, utilizing Western culture to critique itself. The Southwest-based interdisciplinary collective currently consists of Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martínez, Kade…
Plenty of ink has been spilled on the topic of minimalism, a particular type of art process and product popularized during the 1960s. John Reyes, director for Bentley Gallery, describes it as art meant to be “totally objective, unexpressive, and non-referential.” It followed something called abstract expressionism, a style prevalent…
Winners of the 2015 Arizona Governor’s Arts Awards were announced in a Tuesday, March 24, ceremony at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel. The awards honor both individuals and businesses who have made substantial and outstanding contributions to arts and culture in Arizona and are presented by the Office of Governor…
Recent reflections on the state of the arts in Arizona have called to mind both areas needing improvement and what’s working. Lisa Sette Gallery, which moved to midtown Phoenix after 28 years spent in Scottsdale, is clearly in the “getting it right” column — as evidenced by the quality of…
Suzanne and Bud Selig have donated $2.5 million to Phoenix Art Museum, the museum’s board announced in a March 19 statement. Suzanne, a member of the museum’s board of trustees, and Bud, former Major League Baseball commissioner, reside in Scottsdale. Their donation will be used to fund a chief curator…
When Jackalope Ranch issued a 10-question survey asking Phoenicians (and anyone with an opinion of Phoenix) to sound of on the state of the arts in the Valley of the Sun, dozens provided insights on what’s happening in the city’s creative realm. We’ll present a selection of survey responses here…
We’ve finally hit the art-meets-weather sweet spot, when temperatures are just right for making the art walk rounds during First and Third Fridays. A whole new crop of shows opens this week, and some cool shows are about to close. So start early, and enjoy this mix of art and…
When Jackalope Ranch issued a 10-question survey asking Phoenicians (and anyone with an opinion of Phoenix) to sound of on the state of the arts in the Valley of the Sun, dozens provided insights on what’s happening in the city’s creative realm. We’ll present a selection of survey responses here…
