Utah Visual Arts articles published in 15 Bytes, arranged by category.
Thomas Brewster Kass, 85, “an artist, a friend, a mentor,” according to architect Kenneth R. Pollard, passed away early Tuesday morning, the 26th of July 2022. “He was a brilliant teacher who touched many and made people see the color of the day,” Pollard says Born in Rochester, […]
If there’s such a thing as a leading strategy among Utah artists in the 21st century, it most likely has to do with working in layers: physical, metaphorical, conceptual. For some it’s the traditional array, from primer coat to underpainting and so on through glazing. For others, it’s […]
Twisted and overlapping tendrils cascade through Laura Sharp Wilson’s paintings like a jungle of vegetation and bright plastics. Overall, the painted forms resemble plants, however Wilson revels in intentional ambiguity, where the content of her paintings balances between being identifiable objects, abstracted botanics, and non-representational forms. These knotted […]
As a follow up to our article on the history of the serigraph in Utah, we take a look at three Utah artists working with screen prints. University of Utah professor Justin Diggle is known for the deep, rich qualities of his etchings, so you wouldn’t think that […]
A pair of photographs includes a full-page copy of a hand-written letter. Dated “Sat” at the top of the sheet, it’s addressed “Dear Jackson,” followed by travel notes of a visit to Paris, with added plans to continue to “the South of France” before continuing on to Venice. […]
Maybe it seemed to come to him in a flash of divine inspiration. Or maybe it was simply a mundanely obvious solution to the task at hand. When Anthony Velonis joined the Work Progress Administration’s poster division during the Great Depression, he became one of scores of artists making […]
If the number of selfies taken beneath it at the opening is any measure, the most appreciated work in the 18th Face of Utah Sculpture survey must be Nic Corry’s “Reach,” a giant hand that projects from the wall as if it were somehow passing through it. Cracked […]
As a general rule, masks are intended to conceal the wearer’s identity. Why, then, does Hakeem Olayinka routinely conceal the faces of his Nigerian subjects from view? Nigeria is a country that has seen its environment destroyed by outsiders seeking petroleum, even as its own government murders citizens […]
John Hess, 83, was reportedly a patient sort, a mandatory virtue in a successful weaver or, as he put it, “a mixed media textile artist, concentrating on folded, double woven cotton reliefs.” He died Friday night, July 15, at a cousin’s home, of causes related to age, after having […]
Artists of Utah is excited to announce the launch of a new program, Before Now. In more than one sense, it’s an old program. What we are gathering together under the rubric “Before Now” has existed in various preliminary forms throughout our twenty-year history: most prominently in the […]
“Sandwich” a shower into your week! At first, this sounds like rather tepid encouragement in the interest of hygiene, but further investigation reveals it to mean something altogether different. Trudy White, the late and sorely lamented grandmother of Alise Anderson — the Artist in Residence who titles this […]
One title, “Coffee Cake with Salmon Cream Cheese,” conjures in the mind’s eye a painted plate, an appetizing dessert, whether on a breakfast table or an inviting café setting, a sweet slice of crumbly baked goods supporting a thick layer of creamy pink frosting. Instead, though, while there […]
Photography brought many things to the visual arts, like permission to cut a figure in half at the edge of the canvas, or leave some undesirable empty space, neither of which was done much, if ever, before the camera made them necessary and convincing visual facts. The shutter […]
As it happens, the root meaning of the word “design” is to mark. That could be because designers do a lot of drawing, but it’s just as likely to be because what designers want is to leave their marks on the world. That might explain the significant changes […]
At Ogden Contemporary Arts (OCA), which just received the Utah Cultural Alliance’s 2022 Utah Exceptional Cultural Contribution Award, Survey: The West is an exhibit composed of Ya La’ford’s signature geometric design and ethnography. La’ford is an internationally recognized painter, installation artist, muralist, social practice artist and educator from […]
The cover of a chaise lounge looks more like a painter’s canvas than an invitation to lie down. One plant shades it, but another grows right through it. Yet it appears someone has succeeded in drowsing here, and further that whatever troubled their sleep has left a record: […]
Not all walls are created equal. Ask any mural artist. Some are relatively smooth, others worn rough with age. Some are broad and accessible. Others are tall or out-of-reach. Trent Call has painted just about every type. His works have been going up on walls in the Salt […]
Encircle is an ever-expanding non-profit organization that supports members of the LGBTQ+ community in Utah. Founded in 2016 by Stephanie Larsen, Encircle began as a gathering place and resource center for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. With locations now in Provo, Salt Lake City, and St. George, Encircle […]
In the foreground of “I Dreamt I Could Help You,” a large oil and acrylic painting on canvas by Eli Kauffman, two young persons confront each other through the open, driver’s side window of a bright, flame red car. We see the driver through a spiderweb of cracks […]
