Utah Visual Arts articles published in 15 Bytes, arranged by category.
“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 […]
Doran Taylor is an interior designed firm formed in 1987, but for their headquarters in Sugar House they have paid as much attention to the design outside as inside. An abstract steel sculpture by Utah artist Cordell Taylor, perched on the grass just outside the parking lot, announces […]
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 […]
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 […]
Completed by Chris Peterson in the spring of 2017, this 54-by-20-foot mural on the north wall of the Crank SLC bike shop, provides the biker’s view of Salt Lake City, including the city’s bikeways and prominent landmarks. You’ll also find graffiti tags further down the building’s wall. Discover […]
“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 […]
Photo by Zoe Rodriguez Long a big deal in Utah’s arts community, Victoria Panella Bourns has just been named director of the Utah Division of Arts & Museums – a very big deal, indeed. She’s one of those maddeningly brilliant right brain and left brain people who readily switches from […]
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 […]
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 […]
SLC Bikeways Mural Project by Chris Peterson Despite the recent chilly weather, there are definite signs that Spring is here: the blossoms on the trees, the bikers on the streets, and the new public art going up in our cities. SLC Bikeways Mural Project Salt Lake City-based muralist […]
