Artist Randy Slack, best known around these parts for presenting the annual “Chaos Theory” exhibition at Legend City Studios in Phoenix, recalls childhood days spent “toodling around” with his dad, an elevator mechanic whose beat included the Luhrs Building originally developed by German immigrants. Today it is part of the…
Throughout the past year, The Paper Knife has never ceased to bring something special to the creative scene in Tempe. Up until September of 2014, there were one or two Paper Knife events each month, if not more. This multimedia collective, encompassing visual art, music, and publishing, accomplished a lot…
It’s dark. The walls are black, the carpeting is black, and even the beanbags offered as seating are black. This dark environment pulls you in as you pass by. It’s hard to ignore the images on the screens and the sounds of revving engines and children screaming. This is the…
Upon entering Richard T. Walker’s exhibition “the predicament of always (as we are)” at ASU Art Museum, the viewer is immersed in sound. Sound sculptures utilizing neon, keyboards, guitars, and rocks surround the space, and a two-channel video, from which the exhibition gets its name, is projected on the back…
Amada Cruz will be Phoenix Art Museum’s new director, the museum’s board of trustees announced in a press release on Monday, November 17. Cruz will take on the role on February 1, 2015, replacing longtime director James Ballinger, who announced in April 2014 his intention to retire after nearly 40…
Before seeing the solo Fortoul Brothers exhibition inside a pop-up gallery in Phoenix, we never wondered what a cosmic stew of Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, and Steve Jobs might look like. But now we think we know, thanks to Friday, November 14’s opening reception for a seamless mix of art…
Man versus machine. To many, it’s a theoretical battle best enjoyed via books or big screen. For artists, it cuts to the very nature of their craft. How do the tools artists use shape their ideas, process, and finished product? It’s an intriguing question posed with full force in the…
We’re fortunate in metro Phoenix to feel the rich influence of Latin arts and culture not only during Dia de los Muertos celebrations, but year-round as well. Local artists including Lalo Cota infuse their work with skulls and other familiar symbols for death. In a world divided by geography and…
It’s been seven years since the Fortoul brothers had an art show in Phoenix. That’s because artist Isaac Fortoul and his manager, curator, and older brother Gabriel run what they call “a nomadic gallery.” Together, under their signature art brand, 40 Owls (a phonetic play on their last name, “for-t-ouls”)…
The Lab in Phoenix is a new space with a simple mission: to bring together creatives in a co-working environment. Located at 818 North Central Avenue, the space is a simple-yet sophisticated environment dedicated to building local culture through art, design, and outreach…
Put away the blowup mattress and clear that couch, because your out-of-town guests have a new place to stay in Tempe. Graduate Hotel opened its doors two weeks ago, and while the complete remodel of what was once the Twin Palms is still in progress (management expects the finishing touches…
Sure, you’ve heard of Marlen Grove and Al Beadle. You know the best spot to pick up a mint-condition Eames chair and the coolest Melrose District stores to stalk on Instagram. You also oughta know that the Midcentury Modern craze extends beyond the bounds of Phoenix. Southern Scottsdale happens to…
First Friday heats up tonight with creative works going up all over the city. Here are our picks for shows you will not want to miss on Friday, November 7. “The Higher Plane” November’s First Friday is filled with dreams and imagination. Ashley Macias’s “The Higher Plane” takes this to…
He’s best known around these parts as the man who made the colorful geometric designs that infuse the SMoCA Lounge gallery and performance space at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. But James “Dalek” Marshall was making brownies with his 8- and 10-year-old sons the day we chatted, and looking ahead…
With this year’s dizzying array of activities, we figured you could use a little help making your game plan for this year’s Grand Avenue Festival, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, November 8. The festival folks have partnered with the 9th annual Phoenix Annual Parade…
In the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, visual and performing artists have explored the delicate dance between privacy and protection. Some hunt for undisclosed information. Others highlight things revealed but never appropriated by our cultural consciousness. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art contributes to the ongoing dialogue with “Covert Operations:…
No need to wonder whatever became of the little boy whose mom sent him to his first drawing class at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. when he was just 10 or 11 years old. You’ll find Steven J. Tepper heading the Herberger Institute for Design and the…
If there’s one crucial thing that’s missing from the art scene in Phoenix, it’s dialogue. That’s precisely why Dana Buhl, photographic artist and curatorial coordinator at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, opened her own space, The Table. Existing in between an exhibition and a critique, The Table functions through fostering…
The hot spot on Friday, October 24, was definitely The Allery, a home turned collaborative art gallery that invited the public into its creative space. The Allery is helmed by J.B. Snyder, a local muralist and owner of the Fifth Street Paint Supply Store. Snyder lives and breathes paint. And…
Muralist J.B. Snyder has been teasing us all week. His vague social media posts on Instagram and Facebook seem to say one thing: Snyder will be opening The Allery to the public tonight at 7 p.m. with a multi-artist show entitled “Opening Day.” The Allery is set to be an…
Phoenix Design Week filled the downtown area with folks looking to beautify the city last weekend. The event featured workshops, seminars, and more, and we couldn’t help but join in for a letterpress workshop at Hazel & Violet. Being newbies ourselves, we had a lot to learn at the small,…
“Seriously, it’s all about making friends.” That’s one of the last lines in Phoenix photographer Hannah Minkner’s “about” section on her website Weekends Are for Lovers, or WAFL. But after spending even half an hour with Minkner, whose background is in design work, it is clear that this is not…
