Back in January, New Times issued a survey. We wanted to take the pulse of Phoenix’s arts scene — to find out what was happening and what people wanted to see happen in the near future. Curators, artists, performers, art lovers, and assorted movers and shakers responded with their opinions,…
Bentley Gallery officials announced Monday, June 1, that it’ s planning a “major restructure” that involves “dramatically changing its facility.” Brian Stark of StarkJames, LLC is spearheading the design of a new exhibition space within the existing 25,000-square-foot facility. The Scottsdale-based architectural firm designed Lisa Sette Gallery within a historic Al Beadle…
It’s a word that’s fallen out of fashion, but still “potpourri” seems the best way to describe this month’s First Friday offerings — which feature everything from ceramic iterations of fish in frying pans to projections of anatomy onto a planetarium surface that looks almost like a canvas. This month…
“You may have heard the rumors and they are true.” So begins a statement recently posted on the Method Art website by owner and photographer Davin Lavikka, who says he is closing the gallery at the end of June in part because Scottsdale’s art market has collapsed. But he’s not leaving the…
Both the artist’s interest in celebrity and his own eventual fame form a loose theme in “Warhol: Portraits,” now in its third month at the Phoenix Art Museum. The traveling exhibition, which debuted in 2010 at Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum, features nearly 200 works from Warhol’s childhood and…
Once the season of blooming cactus and spring breezes is behind us, it’s time to trade the glorious outdoors for indoor experiences that offer the added bonus of air conditioning. Happily, metro Phoenix has all sorts of art spaces that fit the bill — including those offering this year’s crop…
For those who feel they can never be too close to arts and culture venues such as Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Theatre, or Arizona Opera, there’s a new condominium development being built right in the heart of midtown. Jason Boyer is both architect and developer for the new residential development…
For several weeks the house at 314 East Roosevelt Street sat raised off its foundation as curious neighbors and tourists wondered why. Months before, it was one of three buildings at the heart of a controversy about the future of Roosevelt Row. Even as developers eyed and purchased lots along…
“Collective Dissent: The SMS Portfolios,” on view at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, is marked by a turbulent year in America: 1968. Along with the Cold War and conflicts in Vietnam, there was traumatic violence on U.S. soil. The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, in…
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: Tempe artist Ben Willis. Ben Willis has…
The interplay of art with commerce has long been a controversial topic in the arts world. Artists fear that the business side of things might somehow stifle their creative muse, and yet they lament the fact that their artworks aren’t in higher demand. It’s sometimes tough for artists to strike…
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: Tempe photographer Thomas Locke Hobbs. Thomas Locke…
Visitors to the Arcadia Community Association website are greeted these days by a colorful banner proclaiming “Stop the Madness! Help us Preserve Arcadia!” In this case, the madness concerns the David and Gladys Wright House, the recently rescued and controversial “round house” designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright toward…
“Momentum” Desert landscapes, posable wooden mannequins, and a PT Cruiser. These are some of the subjects you’ll find in Heather J. Kirk’s multimedia pieces shown within the Herberger Theater Art Gallery. Kirk’s “Momentum” features a range of photographic art from straight prints to prints on aluminum with 3D elements added…
Astronomy in the Garden Humankind has often looked to the skies for answers, but when was the last time you, personally, got a good look at the stars? This weekend you can become re-acquainted with the Sonoran sky at the Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway. An instructor from…
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…
