Anyone who knows me at all can tell you that I’m less than warm and fuzzy when it comes to embracing work spawned by minimalism and conceptualism, two amorphous art movements/philosophies that hit their strides in the 1960s and ’70s. So I girded myself for profound boredom and/or bafflement before…
Last year, Phoenix-based design Steam Crow had a temporary display at Downtown Disney’s WonderGround Gallery in Anaheim. This year, the design duo, comprised of Daniel and Dawna Davis, was invited back to the gallery to display original art throughout the month of November, with in-person appearances during the first and…
When the arts blog Hyperallergic included brick-and-mortar galleries in its list of the 20 most powerless people in the art world, Becky Nahom and Julia Bruck took it to heart. The two women hoped to pursue their love of art without the constraints of the traditional gallery model. So they…
Shine, our annual pocket guide to all things Scottsdale, is out. And this year, local artist Luster Kaboom is taking readers on an illustrated ride through the city’s best spots for food, drink, art, and entertainment. Here, in no particular order, are the 10 best places for arts and culture…
These days, anyone with a smart phone is an amateur photographer. Or at least they think they are. Don’t get us wrong, we overuse Instagram filters as much as the next person, but we’re starting to wonder how this technology is affecting one of our favorite art forms. And we’re…
Dale Chihuly returns to Desert Botanical Garden this week in the form of “Chihuly in the Garden,” a highly anticipated exhibition of his signature hand-blown glass sculptures. His 12th garden exhibition, and second in the Valley, is installed throughout 55 acres of the 140-acre garden, with the landscape as a…
ASU’s Ceramics Research Center will be moving to a new home in the coming months, but luckily its extensive ceramics collection doesn’t have too far to go. The new ceramics center is slated to take over a portion of The Brickyard on Mill, the ground-floor space formerly occupied by Borders…
The first event in the second cycle of Scottsdale Public Art’s Canal Convergence series will be taking over the Scottsdale Waterfront this weekend between Soleri Bridge and Goldwater Boulevard. Canal Convergence | Water + Art + Light is a four-day event that celebrates the canal through a series of installations,…
Musicians remix songs all the time. Artists do the same thing, only they call it appropriation. So just think of “Messin’ with the Masters” at Mesa Contemporary Arts as a compilation of visual remixes of old art world masterpieces…
First Friday heats up tonight with creative works going up all over the city. Here are our picks for shows not to miss this artful evening. “Robots and What Nots! A Space Boy Robot Show” @ Practical Art While the rise of the robots has yet to happen, it doesn’t…
To most people passing by the Monarch Theatre in downtown Phoenix, the dance club’s exterior is like a big, gray, monolithic slab of nothing, save for its smallish sign over the door. To local artists, designers, and muralists, however, it could be their next canvas, and a large and prominent…
Community members will have the chance to view the works of local student photographers in the 44th annual “Western Eye Photography Exhibition,” which will open Monday, November 4, at the Eric Fischl Gallery at Phoenix College. The contest is open to all students in the Maricopa Community College district and…
Art Detour returns to downtown Phoenix for its 26th year on March 8 and 9, 2014. The annual event is organized by local non-profit Artlink and offers a weekend full of art appreciation through gallery openings, studio tours, and more…
At first glance, many of Kevork Cholakian’s paintings look like photographs. The Los Angeles-based artist works in both painting and sculpture to create still lifes that mirror reality, while somehow eschewing it at the same time. This month, a selection of Cholakian’s paintings and sculptures will be on view in…
Instagram is turning 3 years old this month, but we haven’t seen any signs that the popular social networking site is slowing down. These days, more and more people are using the app to take photos of things other than their breakfast (thank God). And if you love art as…
Even if you don’t know it by heart, you certainly know Tovrea Castle — the wedding cake-shaped building perched above Loop 202. Besides being a compelling visual landmark, Tovrea Castle is an eclectic piece of Arizona history. Alessio Carraro, the castle’s builder, was an Italian immigrant from San Francisco with…
Drive down 16th street between Thomas and Jefferson and you’ll take in more than just the sights and smells of of dulcerias, carnicerias, and a full spectrum of Mexican restaurants. Calle 16 is the road where art borders on action, as artists illustrate the ongoing struggles, injustices, emotions, and influences…
Who could have imagined that “Chaos Theory,” a three-day, ragtag invitational art exhibition uncurated by artist Randy Slack of Legend City Studios, would hit its teenage prime and actually force local artists to hone their skills for public review? Fourteen years ago, “Chaos Theory” borrowed its name, quite aptly, from…
Who could have imagined that “Chaos Theory,” a three-day, ragtag invitational art exhibition uncurated by artist Randy Slack of Legend City Studios, would hit its teenage prime and actually force local artists to hone their skills for public review? Fourteen years ago, “Chaos Theory” borrowed its name, quite aptly, from…
First Friday heats up tonight with creative works going up all over the city. Here are our picks for shows not to miss this artful evening. “Hot Plate!” @ R. Pela Contemporary Art Don’t mind us while we toot our own horn just a little bit. The series of commemorative…
Editor’s note: This post has been modified from its original version to reflect that the Vernon Avenue Pocket Park will open in fall of 2013, instead of March 2014. Like many Phoenicians, Christiaan Blok and Laryn Callaway-Blok, the husband-and-wife team behind Shine Coffee, grew tired of seeing the dirt lot…
Randy Slack’s annual exhibition at Legend City Studios is easily one of the most highly anticipated Phoenix art events of the year. But the anticipation won’t last much longer, because the show opens Friday, October 4…
