UTAH'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.
Utah’s Great Salt Lake is a unique ecosystem that provides life for millions of birds. But there is also death. Every year, 10 to 20 thousand bird carcasses wash up along the shore, their bodies preserved by the salt and cold. “The birds are victims of the […]
In “AQI 151,” five digital photographs printed on aluminum panels are arranged in a pinwheel shape. The work’s title refers to the U.S.’s Air Quality Index (AQI), in which 151 represents a level of pollution that is unhealthy for everyone. The images, taken along the urban core […]
Bené Arnold, a seminal figure in Utah’s dance community and Ballet West’s first Ballet Mistress, passed away on January 25, 2024, at the age of 88. Arnold’s legacy is marked by her significant influence in shaping the careers of countless dancers at Ballet West and the University of […]
Abel Vasquez’s “Brain Fog” is an evocative installation that materializes the complex interplay of memory, perception, and the transience of the physical form. The artwork consists of a series of images transferred onto a resin material and made to look like crumpled pieces of paper or delicate pieces […]
These four photographs are from a series called “Prague 2022,” by Salt Lake City-based photographer Simon Živný. Živný’s father grew up in Prague, at a time when Czechoslovakia was part of The Eastern Bloc. Under the post-1968 regime, the family came under increasing pressure when a tapped […]
“I find myself staring at the mountains by my home trying to understand them, transfixed by them,” says Laura Hope Mason, who lives at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Draper, Utah. “Is it possible to capture the familiarity and memories of growing up so close to […]
1/21 Utah Cultural Celebration Center gallery to be named after Pilar Pobil The Pilar Pobil Legacy Foundation has secured naming rights for the art gallery housed inside the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City. “We are honored that PPLF has secured the naming rights for our […]
Sara Luna’s piece hanging above the fireplace at Finch Lane Gallery is a striking work that immediately pulls the viewer’s gaze down the gallery. A face is obscured by what looks like a painted graffiti tag. Closer inspection, however, reveals that both the portrait and the tag are […]
Kristen Tye’s “Marymere Forest” is a vibrant and texturally rich depiction of a forest scene. The composition is filled with various species of trees that tower vertically across the canvas while fallen dead wood creates a strong horizontal base at the center of the painting. The forest floor […]
The word “blueprint” comes from the distinctive hue of the cyanotype process, an early photographic process limited to the blue light spectrum. Since it is an economical process, cyanotype was patented for commercial use in 1872 and was widely used as a means to reproduce technical drawings and […]
“Circles #5” and “Circles #7” are vibrant explorations of color and form by John Somppi. In these formalist studies, Somppi engages with a rich and limited color palette to investigate various color theories, creating a dynamic interplay of hues that includes magenta, red, orange, goldenrod yellow, lemon yellow, […]
Comprising 12 individual watercolors pasted to panel, Aloe Corry’s “Care Instructions,” is representative of her narrative approach to art. Words frequently appear in her work, but in the case of “Care Instructions,” the gestures of the hands propel the narrative. The panels depict a step-by-step process for bandaging […]
Salt Lake City artist Trevor Dahl’s artistry is a visual odyssey that intertwines the personal with the universal, translating his inner experiences into a language of dream-inspired figures and landscapes. With a practice rooted in “free doodling,” Dahl forgoes conscious thought to tap into a realm of […]
“90 Minute Permissions” by Holly Rios is a thought-provoking collection of cropped film stills that scrutinize the portrayal of gender roles in horror films, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. Rios selects scenes that depict women in states of distress, stripping away context that might provide a more […]
Currently a student at the University of Utah studying art and biomedical engineering, Pablo Cruz-Ayala creates multi-media works that explore the complexities of Latin American identity. The work weaves together elements from pre-Colombian Indigenous cultures and contemporary Western standards to foster dialogue on cultural value, identity, and the experiences […]
Light is often thought of as a means to an end — a source of illumination rather than a subject in and of itself. In works like “Phototropic Delicatessen,” Liza Trépanier focuses on light as a subject. This vertical panel appears to be a palimpsest of colors, […]
Artists of Utah’s regularly occurring showcase of young artistic talent in Utah has returned to Salt Lake City’s Finch Lane Gallery this month. Last time we did this, the atmosphere was ominous. As artists brought in work, we wondered if we should shake hands. A few wore masks. […]
The 15 Bytes Book Award, which has been recognizing literary excellence since 2013, honors Rio Cortez’s Golden Ax, published by Penguin Poets, with its 2023 award in poetry. With her debut poetry collection, Cortez offers a window into the complexities of the Black experience in the American West. […]
Craig Childs’ Tracing Time, a compelling work of creative nonfiction inspired by the author’s excursions through the American Southwest, has been awarded a 2023 15 Bytes Book Award. With a career spanning several decades, Childs has distinguished himself through a unique blend of adventurous exploration and deep scholarly […]
