The Best Art We Saw in June: John Toki, Beth Shook, Fiamma Montezemolo

Some of June's best art was displayed in Arizona State University art venues, ranging from the ASU Art Museum to the Harry Wood Gallery that exhibits student art in the School of Art building in Tempe. But there was plenty of great art all around the Valley, from Art Intersection in Gilbert to Carstens Gallery in Scottsdale. Here's a look back at some of our favorites from the month of June, created with materials including neon, a sewer pipe, and tea pigments.

Neon Afterwords
For this work created in 2016, San Francisco artist and cultural anthropologist Fiamma Montezemolo suspends seven sentences written in fluorescent LED blue light tubes, setting them near a trio of books that mark out the same words using blue tape. The installation is part of the “Staying Power” exhibit that continues through Saturday, September 2, at ASU Art Museum.

Sedona Pine
Sedona Pine is one of many pieces created by Scottsdale artist Cyndy Carstens, who often couples drawing and painting to bring fresh perspectives to landscapes of the Southwest. This piece is part of her larger body of work on view at Carstens Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale.

Into Sleep
Phoenix artist Jon Wassom painted this piece for an exhibition called “The Heart of the Dragon,” which was held at {9} The Gallery in June as part of an art auction benefiting gallery owner Laura Dragon, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Wassom is one of many artists who credits Dragon with helping to launch a thriving arts practice.

Synchronicity
California artist and arts educator John Toki is one of many ceramicists who work with the Arts and Industry program for Mission Clay in Phoenix. This 3,000-pound piece is part of the “Pipe Brothers: Tom and James Franco” exhibition, which continues through Saturday, September 23, at the ASU Art Museum’s Ceramics Research Center.

Never Ending in All Directions//On This Page the Map is Undone
This 2017 piece by Lily Montgomery and Krista Davis, which has a five-foot diameter, was created using video projection, sound, neon, and power supply. It’s part of the “Annual Summer MFA Exhibition,” which was juried by Sara Cochran, director and chief curator for Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibit continues through Friday, August 11, at Harry Wood Gallery inside the ASU School of Art building in Tempe.

The Evidence of Hope
For her June exhibition at Practical Art, Gilbert artist Beth Shook created a field painting which includes 33 individual compositions that form the image of a flock of sparrows in a field of lilies. Shook paired her ceramic drawings with frames made with repurposed parts of old furniture.

Crown
This 2016 oil on panel piece by Emily C. McPhie is part of the “All Art Arizona” exhibition, which continues through Saturday, July 15, at Art Intersection in Gilbert. The Chandler artist often creates figurative work with women and the worlds they occupy as her central subject.

Biophilia
Mary Meyer specializes in mixed media sculpture and installations, including a 2017 piece which measures 15 feet wide and 5 feet tall. Created using porcelain with tea and graphite pigments, sewing needles, and wood panel, it’s part of the “2016 Contemporary Forum Artist Grant Winners” exhibition that continues through Sunday, September 17, at Phoenix Art Museum.

Zue
For a June exhibition at Public Image, Christopher Oshana showed portraits of veterans, which are part of his black-and-white photography series exploring life with post-traumatic stress disorder. The exhibition was called “PTSD, The Invisible Scar.”

The Guardians
This acrylic on canvas painting, which features the artist Julio Cesar Rodarte's characteristic use of symmetry and abstraction, is part of an exhibition at monOrchid titled “A New New Wave!” It continues through August 25.

Editor's note: This post has been updated from its original version to include a specific closing date for "A New New Wave!"