Utah Visual Arts articles published in 15 Bytes, arranged by category.
Tony Smith and Sam Wilson—both men had other names they rarely or never used—died at almost the same time a year ago. The University of Utah, where they taught during what history will almost certainly record as its greatest half century, has mounted a too-brief, two-master exhibition of […]
When someone writes the history of Utah’s modern mural scene—not the indoor ones of the WPA era and the early Latter-day Saint temples; nor the ancient one of pecked and painted sandstone; but the mural scene of latex paint and aerosol cans—they’ll want to devote at least an […]
Back in the days when cameras were simple machines and photographers were expected to make all their own decisions, film came with instructions for how to set the exposure, depending on the ambient light. One of the trickiest conditions was known as “Cloudy Bright,” which meant a hazy […]
No one work of art can “say it all,” but the poster image for Landscape and Identity tells the story that led Jason Lanegan to once again gather a group of artists whose works address some concern they share with him. Unlike curators who start from a notion […]
You may have seen Steve D. Stones’ work at the Ogden Farmers Market: the flaming Barneys and fish-headed Edwardians alongside video game icons like Pikachu and Mario hanging out in trippy, offbeat worlds, all tangled up with Halloween masks and comic book chaos. Stones’ art is a mashup […]
Nancy Steele-Makasci shares the Front Gallery at Finch Lane with Marcus Vincent in a group show titled Losing Ground. Their work is introduced by one of the longest statements I’ve ever seen on a gallery wall, which makes among the most complete summaries I’ve yet seen concerning the […]
When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah and laid down their grid system, they emphasized the cardinal directions with a series of right angles. The Interstate system did something similar a century later. But nature doesn’t work in right angles: one of the longest natural pathways in the […]
There are some very colorful artists’ books at Finch Lane this month, but two in particular stand out for their bold use of red, white and … black. This trio falls just shy of the colors of the American Flag, the artist’s point likely being that her subjects […]
I have noticed that people are very fond of views out of windows which show the window in the picture. I think the idea that the picture itself is a kind of window, that the view comes readily framed, is part of it. – Peter Campbell, British artist […]
In a composition that fills the entire 15 by 15-inch surface with detail, we see a stern-faced man, holding a pistol and festooned with bandoleers, surrounded by a mixture of beautiful women, an intimidating rooster with wings outstretched, and a menacing clown—all rendered in fine, meticulous line work. […]
Throughout history, artists in every medium have crafted monuments to those killed in wars, but the 20th century challenged not only their adequacy, but their right to do so. The critic most often cited, Theodore Adorno, summing up all art as poetry, wrote that after Auschwitz, there can […]
Diana Alberghini told her bosses it was time to get rid of the prints. “We have really elevated furniture in here, so we need elevated art,” she told them. And that’s how Forsey’s Fine Furniture, a family-owned business that’s been around since 1951, became a gallery space. Forsey’s […]
Entering the gallery, I am greeted by five wooden pedestals of varying heights, each supporting dried lavender. The subtle fragrance permeates the air, though not as strongly as I might have expected, relying more on the memory of its scent. It immediately pulls me inward, evoking a sense […]
“I could do that in five minutes.” It’s a common refrain, frequently and flippantly said, usually while looking at a Pollock-esque paint splatter worth an amount north of your mortgage, but, really, it’s said of any kind of modern art. Which is unfair, because “modern art” can mean […]
When June Harwood moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1950s, she found a fertile environment for her own artistic interests in the Hard-Edge movement then taking shape. She became friends with several artists, including Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, who were developing a new, reduced, classic style […]
The first question you may ask yourself is, Why? Why stick a piece of chewed bubble gum onto a brightly-painted Volkswagen Bug in downtown Provo, Utah? Surely, not to be transgressive: the owners have encouraged you to. Nor likely out of necessity—that is, a big wad of gum […]
Most of “The Sound of Many Books” is taken up by the wall of tomes: going on five shelves of them, no two the same, the gaps between them like missing teeth that testify to regular use. This is an avid reader’s library. Who that reader may be […]
Walking into Allen and Alan Fine Art—(or ‘A’ Gallery, as it’s generally known)—it’s clear you’re stepping into a space that reveres artwork. Past the desk, on the left, two large-scale paintings by Jennifer Rasmusson draw you in with a subtle yet dignified seduction. The space, lit by natural […]
