Utah Exhibition Reviews published in 15 Bytes, Utah’s art magazine, including reviews of local Utah artists, regional artists, group exhibitions and traveling exhibits of national and international artists.
“Becoming Whole” by A.J. Oishi. Acrylic on canvas. 60″ x 72″ Notifications pinging and screens flashing: the average person’s day is filled with hundreds of stimuli demanding attention. In The Human Condition, philosopher Hannah Arendt writes that the point at which the world passed into modernity is when […]
I’m standing on a sandstone cliff, about to make my way down to “False Kiva,” a Class II archeological site located beneath a dramatic overhang in Canyonlands National Park. In the distance, Candlestick Butte is unmistakable. It’s a flat fin of a rock that juts out into the […]
Also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain, sleight of hand refers to the manual dexterity used by conjurors and magicians to manipulate commonplace physical objects so that they appear to materialize and dematerialize right before our eyes, making the impossible and remarkable appear normal and ordinary. The painter Jeff […]
Sculptures by Richard Johnston, including “Helmet” (front) with paintings by Joe Ostraff at Phillips Gallery. Mahonri Young won his largest sculptural commissions in Utah only after he left the state (he had been in New York for three decades when he began work on This is the Place monument). Something […]
“The idea for Sun Tunnels became clear to me while I was in the desert watching the sun rising and setting, keeping the time of the earth. Sun Tunnels can exist only in that particular place – the work evolved out of its site. Words and photographs of […]
In her latest work, Laura Erekson Atkinson explores a very intimate experience in her life – pregnancy. “It’s a beautiful process, but it can also be hard, painful and difficult,” she says. “I wanted to explore all parts of pregnancy from the moment you know you have a […]
“Jackson Lake at Twilight” by George Beard, Courtesy of L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University. The LDS culture places a strong emphasis on family history, encouraging its members to research genealogical data as well as preserve the stories of family members. In this cultural endeavor, a […]
“The Man Behind the Zion Curtain” by Ben Steele Gallery owner Diane Stewart conceived Art Behind the Zion Curtain as a challenge to artists with local ties to reflect on Utah’s social, political, and cultural issues. Fourteen painters, sculptors, and photographers responded with pieces on view at Modern West Fine […]
Barbara Ellard has mastered the ability to combine simplicity of form with complexity of surface, a fact that easily can be seen in her ceramics show, Organic Geometry. For this exhibition, open at Finch Lane Gallery until June 9, Ellard has managed to create several pieces that are strikingly […]
“Wound” by Whitney Horrocks, 48″ x 48″ In Personae, her current exhibit at Salt Lake City’s Marmalade Branch Library, Whitney Horrocks has managed to bring emotion to the surface through many layers of abstraction, showing the viewer the depth of the work even as the initial presentation may seem […]
What is the role of the artist: storyteller, activist, documentarian? In this time of ever-increasing globalization, complete with rising concerns about our rights and our future, the lines between roles continue to blur. As artists seek to create works that will appeal to many, they also find themselves […]
Doug Tolman exhibits his photographs of abandoned structures in Utah, Mexico and Central America at Art Access beginning Friday, April 21. Ben Sang, of Shaded Minds, discussed this body of work with the artist in 2016 (see the original article here). Doug Tolman is a young photographer based in Salt […]
Christopher Lynn Misplaced Wall Latex paint on cardboard 2017 What defines sculpture and painting? How do we understand the difference between flat surfaces and dimension? What colors represent contemporary misery? Specific Abject, a group show open through May 12 at the Rio Gallery, features two- and three-dimensional pieces that […]
“In Arcadia” by Madeline Rupard, acrylic on panel, 2017 In ancient Greek mythology, Arcas, the son of Zeus and Callisto, ruled over Arcadia, a utopian paradise that later housed the god Pan. Arcadia eventually eclipsed its namesake to become a symbol for a mythical and unblemished landscape, a […]
“Cows in Feedlot” by Mark Crenshaw Do we really know where our food comes from? How it grows? If it’s really nutritious? Unless we grow all of our own vegetables, spices, and raise our own livestock, we cannot know for sure. In his new exhibit the Edible Landscape – now […]
“Mecklenberg Autumn” by Romare Bearden As the American artist Barbara Januszkiewicz once noted, people need to “be drawn to the visual arts [to] expand [the] imagination.” On the power of art and progress, Januszkiewicz further stated, “creative thinking inspires ideas [and] ideas inspire change.” Embracing Diverse Voices: A […]
Enter the quiet Alvin Gittins Gallery in the Art & Art History Building on the University of Utah campus and your eyes are drawn immediately to the right wall. A massive 9’ x 32’ work of art, full of black and gray washes, lines, and squiggles calls for […]
Spring is coming (if not already here), which means you can expect to find exhibitions of student works in venues across the state. In Cache Valley a group of students at Utah State University has been getting the jump on everyone else. Under the direction of sculpture Professor Ryoichi […]
I don’t usually think much of exclusionary shows, unless it’s by medium or genre, but it was just International Women’s Day and I trust that the curators at and for Adobe took that into account when they organized this exhibition of strictly female Utah artists. (Did you, Andrew Ehninger?) […]
