It's about time, Scottsdale.
Tonight, downtown Phoenix-based artist Fausto Fernandez is having his much overdue Scottsdale gallery debut with "The Virtue of Wisdom," opening tonight with a Scottsdale Art Walk artist's reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Gebert Contemporary Art Gallery, 7160 East Main Street in Scottsdale.
Read more about Fernandez's show and the Scottsdale v. Downtown art scene after the jump ...
For this exhibit, the Ciudad Juárez-reared, University of Texas at El Paso-schooled creative type will display twenty pieces that include creations on paper as well as large-scale collages on canvas. Many of the works, such as an 8-by-14 foot centerpiece, showcase images of tools, machines, and flowers as well as blueprints and sewing patterns.
According to Fernandez, the utilization of the architectural documents and sewing in his work "suggests that we live in a society that functions by helping one another. It is impossible to create, on our own, all of the things we need or desire to live," he says. "While we experience various levels of freedom within our society, we surrender some of our freedom to live and work in architecture designed by someone else."
Fernandez's show is the latest example of downtown Phoenix artists receiving solo show or group exhibit exposure in Scottsdale. For years, the two art communities haven't exactly jibed, mostly due to different philosophies on how galleries are supposed to function.
Scottsdale commercially gears its work so art spaces can pay its high rents while giving artists a healthy commission. On the other hand, the M.O. of many Phoenix galleries, who aren't willing to go the turquoise and kokopelli route, display art for the sake of hipping folks to contemporary work, even if dinner is a $5 pitcher of Pabst Blue Ribbon at Bikini Lounge.
But the trend has shifted of late, especially considering the recent collaboration between Grand Avenue-based photography space Tilt Gallery with Marshall Way's Method Art Gallery, as well as successful appearances of un-Scottsdale-like pop-up galleries like Squeeze Gallery (formerly Soyal Gallery).
Admission to tonight's reception is free. For more information, check out www.faustofernandez.blogspot.com and/or www.gebertartaz.com.
