Artist Irma Sanchez left her Phoenix studio space early Wednesday afternoon on a mission. She was headed to a spot near Central Avenue and Buckeye Road, close to the neighborhood where she grew up, to install a set of three white tiles painted with black symbols and letters referencing a…
Odds are, you’ll be spending part of New Year’s Day recovering from celebrating into the wee hours the night before. But there’s some serious incentive to bounce back by nightfall, when many downtown Phoenix galleries will be open for the first First Friday of 2016. Here are five new art…
The historic Beth Hebrew Synagogue in downtown Phoenix will hold Shabbat services for the first time in nearly 40 years on Friday, January 8. Phoenix developer Michael Levine, who has been rehabbing the synagogue for the past year, and Crescent Ballroom owner Charlie Levy teamed up to organize the community…
Google “cats and guitars.” Go ahead, we’ll wait. A glamour shot of a mixed breed praising an electric. A Siamese strumming a six-string. A kitten peeking out from inside a guitar. These are but a handful of an ever-ascending number (at last look, we’re talking more than 4 million) of…
The metro Phoenix gallery scene saw some significant changes in 2015. Several galleries closed, some new ones opened, and a few moved to new locations. Here’s a look back at the most noteworthy changes. Openings Art|Object Jeff Zischke – an artist familiar to most locals for his public art created…
It was a banner year in metro Phoenix for exhibitions featuring works created or collected by some of the world’s most famous artists. Phoenix Art Museum presented exhibitions featuring works by Leonardo da Vinci, Andy Warhol, and Ai Weiwei. And the Heard Museum presented photographs from Frida Kahlo’s personal collection…
There’s a new reason to head to Grand Avenue’s arts district. Unexpected Art Gallery, located at 734 West Polk Street, opened during the Grand Avenue Festival on November 14. Since then, it’s hosted the annual exhibition of the ASU Sculpture Club, a one-night show held during First Friday on December…
In a couple of weeks, it’ll be time for everyone to wallow in shame over all the things they should have done in 2015 but never did. For those already starting to fervently wish they’d spent more time supporting local arts and culture, December’s Third Friday is a chance to…
There is a revolution happening in Phoenix, and it started in the unlikeliest of places. For the past decade, analog film photography — the method that involves physically loading a roll of film into a camera and waiting to see the shots until the film is developed — has been…
Casandra Hernandez has been named ASU Art Museum’s curator of Celebración Artística de las Américas, or CALA, Initiatives, according to a Monday, December 13, announcement from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Hernandez had worked at the Commission as artists program coordinator since September 2014. One of her most notable…
Perhaps 2015 blew by. Or is it that the year flew by? To say that it sprinted, rushed, or flashed past feels more accurate. That’s because we’ve reached a point where, thanks to great and near constant programming at venues and institutions across the Valley, there’s almost too much to…
Bea Velazquez stands in the center of a small gallery on the second floor of Phoenix Center for the Arts. Friends mill about, directed from photograph to photograph, as Velazquez offers insight into each individual, each portrait, each intimate experience. The 27-piece, black-and-white exhibition is getting a lot of eyeballs…
If you’ve been wanting to get your home in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons, you’re in luck. This Old House, the longtime PBS home remodeling show, is seeking Arizona homes for renovation. Give them your tired, your poor, and your stuccoed houses for consideration, but you’ll have…
Have you heard of this gal yet? You know, the one who made those Bob’s Burgers snails and got to quit her day job because of it? Turns out, she’s also a delight, and has plenty more to share. Simon Says Macy owner Macy McKenny, 30, is a full-time sculptor…
Artists with diverse styles took to exterior walls throughout metro Phoenix during 2015, creating a vibrant assortment of narrative, figurative, and abstract murals addressing themes from migration to desert wildlife. Here’s a look at the 10 best. For the Love of Color Phoenix artist Carrie Marill, an artist represented by…
December’s First Friday featured more exhibitions than anyone could possibly experience in a single outing. It’s a good problem to have, but it’s frustrating for those who want to really linger over the artwork or spend time in conversation rather than racing between destinations. Even with Third Fridays, which provide another…
If you’ve ever visited the Navajo reservation, then chances are, you’ve seen the work of Chip Thomas, a.k.a. Jetsonorama. His enlarged black-and-white photographic portraits are pasted on structures along the roadside. An artist, activist, and physician, Thomas has been living and working on the Navajo Nation since 1987. From December…
For the first time ever, color authority Pantone has given two colors the honor of color of the year. In 2016, Rose Quartz and Serenity will share the spotlight, serve as go-to trendy shades, and, according to Pantone, “reflect societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity.” Pantone officials describe Rose Quartz…
Ellen Nemetz knows animals. The youngest of seven children, she grew up on a small dairy farm in rural Minnesota. “I have always viewed animals as individuals,” Nemetz says by e-mail. For “Inquietude: A Humorous Take on Modern Anxieties,” Nemetz’s solo exhibition at Eye Lounge, the Phoenix-based artist paints realistic…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events and things to do from November 30 through December 3. ZooLights Your neighbor Carl and his Christmas display have nothing on ZooLights, the Phoenix Zoo’s annual showcase of flora and fauna dazzlingly constructed from millions of colorful bulbs. This year the zoo’s…
At a time in their lives when many families are shopping for their second house, the one with a media room and a guest suite, Paul and Keri Mosier have no plans of moving from their cozy home in the historic Coronado neighborhood. Built in 1928, the 914 square-foot Pueblo…
A mural once imbued with authentic local love has been transformed into an American Express ad. For several years now, people cruising down Central Avenue near Civic Space Park in downtown Phoenix have been greeted by a blast from the past —- a mural depicting a trio of local legends…
