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.
The current exhibition at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) has a deceptive title: [con]text could lead one to believe there is some sort of trickery at work, a deception, a con. But this exhibit is the real deal, an inviting array of linguistic imagery, culled from […]
In the past, many artists and art critics dismissed pastel as messy, unstable, and useful only for sketching. But a revival of passionate painters with improved techniques has fostered a different perspective, establishing pastel’s reputation as a medium equally worthy of assessment, appreciation, and exhibition space. Curator Kathy […]
In Giorgione’s enigmatic “The Tempest,” probably the most famous image of lightning in art, an electric blue bolt slices open a stormy cloudscape, dividing the landscape in two. It’s title alerts us to look for visual contrasts and symbolic conflicts, appropriate and easily found in a work done […]
In the contemporary mode, portraiture should and does explore the extremities of the subject, to the extent that the content of the portrait is no longer the subject alone, but expands to speak on an expository, universal level, addressing relevant truths and unique ontological states of being. Such […]
Throughout history, when the vast majority of the populace was illiterate, the visual arts have been used to tell the stories and express the aspirations of religious and spiritual communities around the world. The arts could be a tool of enlightenment but also a tool of control, used […]
Sculptor Joe Norman returns to Utah this month with an exhibit of works at Park City’s Gallery MAR that marks a shift from practical to theoretical concerns. Norman first came to our attention in 2009, when he was selected for that year’s iteration of the 35×35exhibition, Artists of […]
The Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah is the recipient of a traveling exhibition composed of over 130 drawings, sculptures, collages, photographs and original artworks by the world famous husband and wife artistic team Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Initially organized by the Sonoma County Museum in Santa Rosa, […]
Ever since Magritte declared “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” artists have had their tongues planted firmly in cheek. This is Paul Davis’ playground. In an exhibition of new work at Modern West Fine Art in Salt Lake City, Davis shows perhaps a little bit of rebellion in this […]
On the radio recently, another self-proclaimed expert predicted confidently that from this day forward, the printing of maps would cease. Instead, from now on we will all find our way using the GPS-linked apps on our cell phones. An alternative future he unconsciously conjured, though, was of society […]
Water is one of art’s great subjects, and why not? One of four indispensable elements known to the Greeks, it’s the one that comes closest to being unique to our planet. Water makes life possible, but also shapes and even transports it. We know far more about water […]
What is a “medicine man?” He is not a shaman, often associated with personal gain; he is not a witch doctor, associated with witchcraft. He is a traditional healer and spiritual leader among Native Americans who secures the help of the spirit world, including the Great Spirit, for […]
It was a crowded opening with obviously interested viewers eagerly engaged with a variety of well-presented art: Marcee and Ric Blackerby’s “Freak Show” went off without a hitch. Except for the title, that is — which, shortly after the initial postcards were sent, was abruptly changed by the […]
From the clay tablets of the Minoans to the papyrus scrolls of the Egyptians, from the illuminated manuscripts of medieval monasteries to Gutenberg’s Bible and the pulp novels of the 20th century, the book has had a monumental role in the creation of civilization. It is history itself. […]
In 1968, I discovered Krishna. That year, I took a spiritual journey from being a University of Texas at Austin theater student and anti-Vietnam war demonstrator to a student of the Bhagavad Gita and chanting the Hare Krishna mantra in Los Angeles. After several weeks of instruction, I was initiated […]
Despite the obviously punning reference in its title, a first glance around Driven to Abstraction suggests a third layer of meaning: the impact of the open road on art. Here are three prominent canvases by Jean Arnold, her familiar perspective from her mobile studio—a public bus—condensing transport into a constellation […]
This month 15th Street Gallery has brought together three local artists, who, though individually working through their own aesthetic sensibilities, all create works that succeed through their exploration of space. Shown together, the works of Blake Luther, Anne Wolfer, and Jill Barton create a formal unity and harmony […]
California artist Kim Schoenstadt has returned to Utah, where she received a warm welcome from the Brigham Young University Museum of Art (MOA): an entire gallery on the museum’s bottom floor has been devoted to one of the artist’s sprawling, architectural mash-ups. “Block Plan Series: Provo” spans two […]
When you stop by the visitor’s desk at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, you’ll see a large glass bowl, placed there by curator Becca Maksym, topped full with apples. Red. Shiny. Delicious. The kind that greet you in hotel lobbies. As a fruit, it’s a sentinel of welcome, […]
You can be forgiven if you have a tendency, when visiting a museum, to pivot on your heel and turn around when you come across a projection room. They are becoming increasingly prevalent and the works on display can too often disappoint. Frequently the production quality is low, […]
