Margaret T. Hance Park is now the home to public artworks by two staples in the Phoenix art community. Jay Atherton is an artist and architect whose work — including installations, exhibitions, public buildings, and private residences — is all over the country. Atherton installed “Towards Time (130811 11:52)” on…
Paolo Soleri was an artist and an architect known for his critical views on urban sprawl and the development of Arcosanti, an experimental community near Cordes Junction. As a public figure and champion of ecological architecture (which he coined “Arcology”), Soleri drew crowds of fans and critics alike to see…
If you’ve always wanted to raise a glass to internationally celebrated photographer Ansel Adams, you’ll have a chance to do so this weekend at World of Beer in Tempe. Arts and Drafts is a partnership between World of Beer and the Tempe Festival of the Arts, which have teamed up…
For the past five years, Casebeer has been taking notes. The Phoenix artist (who goes by her last name only) went to school for creative writing and says she started painting and collaging when she had a bad case of writer’s block. But for the past few years, the words…
It’s no secret we’re big fans of letterpress, so when Cindy Iverson, local artist and co-founder of Letterpress Central mentioned a Wayzgoose slated for this summer, we took a few notes. The traditional Wayzgoose began as a celebration hosted by a master printer for his workmen that marked the end…
When local artist Adam Dumper learned that fellow painter Jules Demetrius had been diagnosed with colon cancer, he didn’t waste much time being bummed out about his longtime friend’s misfortune. Instead, he and other mutual friends immediately got busy planning a benefit in Demetrius’ honor. “Since the first week we…
Continuing with its goal of challenging institutionalized art, the Tempe Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting an “alternative artist lecture by celebrity guests” as part of the opening for Vision Quest, an exhibition curated by Jill Marie Mason and Caroline Battle. The ‘celebrity guests’ might not be from Hollywood, but…
When we heard the famous potter and interior designer Jonathan Adler was collaborating with JC Penney to create an affordable home accessory collection, we jumped in the car. Adler, who designed the Parker in Palm Springs and has 19 of his own namesake stores worldwide, has an iconic style that’s…
It’s true, they don’t teach you everything in art school. Specifically, the skills to actually, ya know, sell some art. Former director of Segura Publishing Company and Scottsdale native Crista Cloutier recognized this flaw in the system and set out to do something about it. “I worked in the art…
It’s hard to beat a birds-eye view of the landscape and the structures assembled on it simply for the context of how everything fits together. Pilot and photographer Adriel Heisey has been flying across the southwest for nearly 30 years, casting his view upon a plethora of prehistoric ruins and…
With the numerous galleries that now populate both Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Row (not to mention the staggering crowds that flock downtown each month for First Friday), it’s sometimes hard to imagine the Phoenix art scene of times past. For those of us who have been here over the years,…
Good news, Frank Lloyd Wright fans and historic preservation junkies. While the latest buyers of the David and Gladys Wright House wishes to remain anonymous, they’ve hired local attorney Grady Gammage, Jr., who announced this morning that new plans for the house would include public access. See also: – Frank…
Long after Jackie Kennedy left her design mark on a Lockheed Jetstar used to transport high-profile military personnel, Kenny Scharf picked up a couple of hi-quality spray paint cans and added his own layer. The L.A.-based artist has made a name for himself with large-scale paintings and installations based on…
Mary Shindell, Carolyn Lavender, and Monica Aissa Martinez are no strangers to working together. The three Phoenix-based visual artists work in a variety of media, but with similar scientific and obsessive attention to detail. Shindell, Lavender, and Martinez have showcased their work around the Valley, including Modified Arts in downtown…
In January 2012, Eric Firestone and Carlo McCormick (with the help of a few heavy-machine-driving professionals) dragged three DC Super 3 planes, a C45, a Lockheed VC140, a C97 cockpit, and dozens of nosecones out of the Tucson boneyard near Pima Air and Space Museum, and gave them new life…
The six-foot saguaros dangling from the ceiling in “Creature-Man-Nature” at Mesa Contemporary Arts look like they could descend on you at any moment, so you’ll have to overcome the urge to duck while walking through the exhibition. Up through April 28, the multimedia show features works by Mary Shindell, Carolyn…
The back room of Scottsdale’s Lisa Sette Gallery has been transformed into something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Inky black walls create a mysterious cave-like effect, the perfect foil for the gleaming bronze sculptures sitting atop jet-black pedestals of multimedia artist Siri Devi Khandavilli. At first glance, they…
Sideshow performer Jeremy Kinison of Cut Throat Freak Show loves to shock and awe with his dangerous-looking antics. And he did plenty of both while living in the Valley for more than a decade, whether it was juggling chainsaws at local bars or leaping on broken glass on street corners…
Visiting Christopher Torrez’s Habitations can be a surreal experience. After participating in Mesa Contemporary Arts’ 33rd annual Contemporary Crafts exhibition last year, Torrez was awarded the Juror’s Choice Award, resulting in his current show. The gallery room in the back of Mesa Contemporary Arts is scattered with black boxes containing…
In April, ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning will set the stage for local creatives, academics, and urban planners for a week of discussion and brainstorming. Phoenix Urban Design Week, from April 4 to 13, will include workshops, lectures, a film screening, a community gathering, and celebration of…
Given that its moniker evokes notions of automatons, androids, and cyborgs, one would think that two-year-old Jobot Coffee Shop already would’ve hosted a robot-themed art exhibition When we asked Joey Grether, who’s organizing a showcase of robot artwork at the Fifth Street establishment for March’s Third Friday, why it’s taken…
Downtown Phoenix’s Third Friday and Art Detour combined make a weekend full of local artwork. The 25-year-old event, officially organized by Artlink, will take over galleries and studios on Grand Avenue, Roosevelt Row, and 16th Street (and a few in between). Here’s a peek at our Field Guide for Art…
