Free BBQ at SL Art Center

2009-07-01T17:28:56Z

The Salt Lake Art Center is hosting a Community BBQ this evening (July 1) in conjunction with the opening of their new exhibit All American: Defining Ourselves in a Time of Change. The Community BBQ is from 4 - 7 pm and will also include a Gallery Talk at 6:30 pm.

All American features 13 contemporary artists working in a variety of media, whose work raises questions about the traditions and history that define us as a way of exploring what it means to be an American. National and regional artists include Eric Beltz, Jerry Bleem, Joe Compean, Brian Dettmer, Gajin Fujita, Jacqueline Goss, Scott Greiger, Patrick Lichty, Tracy Linder, Larry McNeil, Robert Reynolds, Brad Slaugh and Steven B. Smith

The Gallery Talk, at 6:30pm, will include All American artists Joe Compean, Robert Reynolds, Brad Slaugh and Steven B. Smith.

Reappropriated Passion

2009-06-22T06:15:58Z

Frank McEntire is one of Utah's most prominent artists. Though he is also well known for his ancillary activities -- directing the Utah Arts Council, curating a number of museum exhibitions and writing art criticism for the Salt Lake Tribune for a number of years -- McEntire has made his mark on the state because of his stunning sculptures and innovative installations.

When Jason Lanegan, Curator and Gallery Director for Gallery 303 on the Brigham Young University campus, first saw McEntire's work he says he was "perplexed." Lanegan says that when he converted to the LDS church, he had to grow accustomed to the fact that members of the LDS faith do not generally employ many of the symbols used by other Christian denominations. So when he saw how McEntire, also a convert to the LDS church, made assemblages out of relgious objects and ordinary items, he wasn't sure what to make of them: "was this work disrespectful, sacrilege, or some act of devotion?" he wondered. Over the past six years, as he has gotten to know McEntire and his works, he says "I saw that each piece utilized subtle, yet clever juxtapositions that actually expanded upon and enhanced the religious symbol without diminishing its value. Each assemblage couples the sacred with the common as it explores different facets of faith and belief as they relate to issues of our day, often from a unique LDS perspective."

Lanegan has curated an exhibition of McEntire's work entitled "Reappropriated Passion," which opens this Friday, June 26th. The opening reception (6 - 8 pm) will be preceded by a panel discussion in the BYU Museum of Art's Auditorium at 4:30. Jason Lanegan, Jay Heuman (curator of exhibitions at the Salt Lake Art Center), and Joe Pasley (assistant Dean of Humanities at BYU) will discuss the use of religious iconography in art.

Reappropriated Passion will be at Gallery 303 in the Harris Fine Arts Center through July 15. The opening reception will be held June 26, from 6 to 8 pm.

Frank McEntire's website
BYU Museum of Art

Face Off at the Urban Gallery

2009-06-16T04:02:08Z

After weeks of rainy weather the clouds finally broke this weekend to pour sunshine down on the parking lot of Salt Lake's Neighborhood House, where individual artists and teams of artists faced off in an 18-hour long competition to create original works of art on the nine of the facility's nine garage doors.

The latest of 337 Project's art experiments, Face Off took the Project's original idea to paint the doors at Neighborhood House (which they did in 2008, dubbing it the Urban Gallery) and turned it into a timed event in which the artist's vied for $2000 in prize money. Over 800 people attended, watching the artists from the moment the first mark was scrawled across the gray doors on Friday afternoon, to the last frenzied sprays on Saturday evening.

The Chuck Landvatter and Dave Doman team walked away with both the Audience Choice award and the Juror's award. When the second award was announced Landvatter said he'd be using the money to take all the artists out for a party, a promise, he said, they should be sure to hold him to (something we hope to help them do by publishing this post).

images:

A young assistant works on Ruby Chacon's door.
Gailon Justus works on his door.
Chuck Landvatter working on his door on Friday afternoon.

VAI's GARFO Gallery

2009-05-26T15:33:08Z

The Visual Art Institute's new GARFO Gallery opens this weekend with an exhibition entitled 1982: let's start here. The Gallery has been carved out of empty space in Sugarhouse's Garfield School by VAI staff Kenny Riches and Cara Despain. The Visual Art Institute has been in the Garfield School since the building stopped operating as an elementary school in 1982, hence the title of the exhibition.

A group show, consisting of nine Salt Lake artists—Trent Call, Jan Andrews, Tessa Lindsey, Brian Patterson, Gentry Blackburn, Davina Pallone, Mary Toscano, Jim Williams, and Allison Baar—the exhibition looks back at the year 1982, through several different lenses; using a cross-section of ages and media. Installation, video, and paintings—both vintage 82’ and new—will reflect the peculiar collision of pop-culture, science, and politics in a year when the computer was named Time Magazine’s Man of the Year, and the artificial heart, the compact disc, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller were released to the public.

The opening reception is Friday, May 29, from 6 to 10 pm and the exhibit will continue through June 20. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 2 to 7 pm.

The Pickle Factory

2009-05-20T15:26:16Z

During the May Gallery Stroll Gavin, of Gavin's Underground, stopped by the Pickle Factory and talked to Executive Director Kristina Robb about the space's past, present and future. The exhibition space is currently showing works by University of Utah students.

Read the article here.

An interview with Shawn Rossiter

2009-05-14T15:48:05Z

Local artist and art promoter qi peng interviewed Artists of Utah Executive Director and 15 Bytes editor Shawn Rossiter for examiner.com. You can read the interview here.

Tom Mulder at Captain Captain

2009-04-21T05:00:21Z

Those of you who read our January 2009 edition will recall our article on the late Tom Mulder and the exhibition at the Rio Gallery put on by his former studio mates at Captain Captain Studios.

If you missed the show at the Rio, or simply want to see more of Mulder's work, you'll want to check out the open studio for Tom Mulder being held at Captain Captain Studios April 25th and 26th. Recent and past works will be on sale at the open studio: beautiful bright colorful landscapes, garden nooks, Pastel drawings of Indian women and early career lithographs and abstract paintings. The works are both framed and unframed and will

This is a two day event May 2 and 3rd
Captain Captain Studios
825 SOUTH 500 WEST
Hours: Saturday 12:00pm to 8:00pm-Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm
Credit cards accepted

Meyer Gallery's Adam Hansen

2009-04-16T21:37:21Z

In our March edition article on the State of the Community, the one piece of bright news in the local art world was the opening of the Meyer Gallery in downtown Salt Lake City.

You can read a recent interview with gallery director, Adam Hansen, at Gavin's Underground.

Join the Young Benefactors at Art Now

2009-04-14T21:34:45Z

The Art Truck at the Trib

2009-04-14T00:09:59Z

"The first-graders of Providence Hall charter school walk up to the 1998 Ford F-Series van full of chatter and shouts. Once inside its 40-foot cargo space, however, they settle into whispers. They walk a meandering path surrounded by inflated plastic bags stuffed into cardboard boxes and suspended from the van's ceiling. Morning sunlight shoots luminous rays through the plastic bags, while blowing fans keep them inflated. . . "

READ: Art on wheels: Truck rolls out modern art for schoolchildren in mobile exhibit AT THE SL TRIBUNE.

Cat Palmer

2009-04-08T17:17:19Z

Cat Palmer has become one of the most prolific photographers in the Utah arts scene. Capturing works that both intrigue and defy while still maintaining a lure that almost mesmerizes, seizing your interest beyond first glance. With multiple gallery and festival appearances, and just as many awards to follow suit, Palmer looks to be one of the inspiring mainstays in Utah for years to come. I got a chance to chat with Cat as she's now opening up her new photography business about her career, her works and freelancing, thoughts on the scene and some other topics here and there.

READ THE INTERVIEW AT GAVIN'S UNDERGROUND.

Artspace: Building in a bad economy

2009-03-30T18:57:01Z

In our article on how the economy is (or isn't) affecting the local art community (March edition), we forgot to mention Artspace, the local non-profit that has developed numerous properties as affordable living spaces with an emphasis on artists. Their fifth housing project, the Artspace Commons, is now being developed at 824 S. 400 West. Due to open in 2010, the 50,000 square-foot property on a 3.7 acre lot will provide 102 affordable housing units. The Salt Lake Tribune's front page article on the project highlights what vision and determination can accomplish, in good or bad times.

"Peter Cook, real-estate agent for the development, concurred. 'To close this deal of this size and quality in a bad economy is almost a spiritual experience,' Cook said."

You can read the full article at http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12013664

An Interview with Chew

2009-03-24T16:01:12Z

Gavin (at Gavin's Underground) recently, interviewed Chew, a local business owner, father of two and a Graff artist who actually gets paid to do his work.

To read the interview go to: http://community.kutv.com/blogs/games/archive/2009/03/18/3735560.aspx

Infinite Beauty

2009-03-21T15:05:19Z

Infinite Beauty – an art exhibit inspired by mathematics is currently showing at Utah Valley University Library Fifth Floor Gallery and will continue through the month of March. The eclectic collection includes works from university students, as well as local and national professional artists presenting classical and modern paintings, digital prints and sculptures.

The Infinite Beauty exhibit explores the classical side of mathematical art by including a number of portraits, landscapes and figure drawings from Utah artists. Daniel Jonathan Fairbanks, the associate dean of the College of Science and Health at UVU is both a scientist and an artist. His charcoal and chalk drawings Kinsi and David demonstrate typical uses of geometry in classical art. During his lifetime, Avard Tennyson Fairbanks was a master sculptor and anatomist who followed the work of the ancient Greek sculptor Polykleitos who used mathematical proportions to define what he believed was the ideal human figure. On display in this exhibit is male torso by Avard which depicts these proportions, as well as the contraposto pose which was developed by the Greeks to lend a sense of movement and mathematical balance to the figure. Other Utah artists represented in the exhibit include Peter Myer, Wulf Barsch, Anna Campbell Bliss, David Dean, Craig Hone, Rett Ashby, Roland Thompson, Bob DeWitt, Andrew Kosorok, Cathy Erdmann, and James Gunter.

Increasingly more new and interesting works are being created by mathematical artists across the country. Infinite Beauty features the work of a number of such artists who explore recursive designs (Phiberspace by Doug McKenna, see above), fractal equations(Anasazi Suns by Michael Sussna, below), 3-dimensional geometry (Dragonflies by George Hart) and computer simulation of fluid flow (Boil by Mark Stock).

The Art and Mathematics theme of this exhibit explores the unique beauty that can be found in and created through mathematics. One purpose of the exhibit at UVU is to raise greater appreciation among the student population for the usefulness of mathematics. Student artist Tammy Ballard said, “I’ve heard some artists say that they became artists because they weren’t very good at math. In my case, with out math, I don’t think my sculptures would be nearly as successful at conveying my allegorical messages.”

Altar of Apollo, by stained glass artist Andrew Kosorok, is representative of a math riddle from ancient history, yet holds a message for us today. The challenge of Apollo’s Oracle in 430 BC was never solved, perhaps because of an inability to think creatively at a frightening time in history. The story serves as a lesson to us that a mind clouded by fear can not think or create, but when the mind is allowed to see the beauty that is inherent in form and structure, we can produce marvelous creations.

Talking to Tesla Book Launch

2009-03-11T17:04:25Z

This evening at 6:30 pm the Springville Museum of Art will celebrate the launching of Alex Bigney's book Talking To Tesla, The Mirror That Is The Door. Bigney will also make an announcement about The Talking To Tesla Project, and will unveil the project’s upcoming plans.

Talking to Tesla was reviewed in the February 2009 edition of 15 Bytes.

At the event, attendees will experience the music of renown Celtic performing artists Kirkmount, the music of the multi-ethnic Studio A Childrens’ Choir, directed by award-winning musician Gael Shults, and a discussion with artist Kent Wing, winner of the 2008 Springville Museum of Art Director’s Award, about the painting Identity that is the cover image of Talking To Tesla. The event will be moderated by Frank McEntire, artist, writer, curator and former Executive Director of the Utah Arts Council whose body of work “paints a picture of distinction and unparalleled dedication to the arts” according to gallery owner and critic Ivar Zeile.

Alex Bigney will share a brief reading from Talking To Tesla as well as make an announcement about the next steps for The Talking To Tesla Project. Light refreshments will be served. Signed copies of Talking To Tesla will be available at the event. The public is invited to attend and can RSVP to cheryl@snappconner.com.