Bryon Draper: Embracing the Imperfections
15 BytesUTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bewitched by Stuff: Joe Carter Looks Closely To Find the Humanity of Things
Joe Carter in his studio. Photo by Simon Blundell. Joe Carter might not look like a “Burning Man” regular, but this summer’s gathering is the first he has missed in years. “We went to Element 11, instead,” he says, referencing Utah’s new, cozier version of the enormous desert […]
To Embody Truth: A Profile of Street Photographer Ryan Trimble
Ryan Trimble “Man can embody truth, but he cannot know it,” said Yeats. This is the motto photographer Ryan Trimble lives by and the thesis of the personal introduction on his website. Trimble is a photographer, writer, and father of three daughters, but he is first and foremost […]
Pam Bowman: Tied Up in Repetition
Pam Bowman came to installation later in life, but over the past dozen years she has been making up for lost time, with numerous exhibitions here and abroad that have garnered respect and recognition, as well as a Utah Arts Council Visual Art Fellowship. Her most recent installation […]
Finding That Thing: The Layered Art of Laura Sharp Wilson
Laura Sharp Wilson’s studio reveals the many influences that inform her work — the room in her basement in Salt Lake City s brimming with books that include botanical drawings, Asian art, outsider art, calligraphy, cartooning, abstract art, and Soviet art posters, so it’s no wonder her canvas […]
Bonnie Phillips: For the Art, For the Community
Bonnie Phillips at Phillips Gallery, 2014. Photo by Zoe Rodriguez Photography. “I’m not so sure you have to like art as much as be stirred by it; we’re so easily stirred by something we like, but can we find that emotion inside with something we question?” That’s how […]
Stephen Goldsmith: The Ontolotor of Bonneville Basin
Stephen Goldsmith in Salt Lake City, 2014. Photo by Zoe Rodriguez. “What—exactly—are you?” I ask Stephen Goldsmith as we walk through City Creek Park, past an elegant little flume that Goldsmith created when he was involved in the redesign of the park back in the ‘90s. Making sense […]
Pinballs and Paintsticks: A Profile of Bonnie Sucec
Bonnie Sucec in her Salt Lake City studio. Photo by Simon Blundell. While her father was busy shaping his young daughter into a pinball wizard, Bonnie Sucec’s mother encouraged her to paint pictures on the walls of their Midvale home. And later, at Jordan High, revered Utah abstract […]
Marcus Vincent: Color Conveys Nuances of Life’s Experiences
Figure painter Marcus Vincent turned to narratives of experience through color dynamics in his collection titled “Objekte,” on display at Utah Valley University’s Woodbury Art Museum. Here, he examines barely perceptible sheens and subliminal color pops in one painting in the exhibition. Photo by Gary Brodeur When an […]
Bret Hanson: Unpacking the Self
Salt Lake City artist Bret Hanson. Photo by Simon Blundell. Bret Hanson has been playing guitar since he was 16. “At one point, I wanted to start using a slide guitar but I didn’t want to buy one because it was so expensive,” he says. “I thought to […]
Matt Clark Navigates the Dark Nights of the Soul
We often conform our lives to the expectations of others: family, medical professionals, religious doctrine, local culture or society as a whole. These choices help us to navigate our path through life and grant us acceptance by our chosen “tribe.” Sometimes, unquestioning conformity is to our detriment, eroding […]
Personal Mythologies: The Search for Identity in the Life and Art of Fidalis Buehler
Identity is a tricky thing. It’s hard to know anymore if we are supposed to proudly declare our differences or attempt to blend them seamlessly into the larger tapestry; be aware of color, gender, ethnicity, or blind to it. The task is made more difficult for the hyphenated […]
Authentic Fabrication: The Life in Art of John O’Connell
photos by Simon Blundell John O’Connell’s new work fascinates on several levels: they are abstracted 3-D compositions with spare painted portions that beg for lots of time to absorb. Mark-making and writing are there but mostly obscured beyond recognition; inexplicable cuts are evident in the surfaces of the […]
Lay of the Land: A Profile of Wayne Geary
Wayne Geary is a big fan of Salt Lake City’s Main Library. He’s a frequent patron, and holds a Friends’ annual membership, which has allowed him to buy hundreds of CDs from the bi-annual library sales a day before most everyone else can. ”That’s when you get the […]
Asking “What If…”: Stacy Phillips and the Creative Life
One of the most annoying questions you can ask an artist is: “How long did this take to make?” Stacy Phillips’ solo exhibit at Trove Gallery, opening Dec. 30, demonstrates the long gestation time it takes to bring creative ideas to life. In fact, it provides a glimpse […]
Be Wild and Original: Art and Life Burn Bright for Maureen O’Hara Ure
photos by Simon Blundell Maureen O’Hara Ure shares her truth, however whimsical, however wrenching, in mixed media on panel. The incident in “The Night of the Fire,” which is part of Love & Work, her fascinating solo show at Phillips Gallery through Nov. 11, actually occurred in 1978, when […]
Joe Marotta
Seemingly a bit lost in the 21st century, Joseph Marotta finds a number of things wrong with now; and particularly with here. His photographs explore the concept of time – the way we experience its passing and how that experience now seems to be accelerating. So when […]
