
Provo artist Tyler Alexander opened Alma Gallery on Provo’s Center Street in November.
A Weber State University art grad who lives in Provo with his wife and two young children, Tyler Alexander has been working in the Utah County art world for several years—as a studio assistant to both Kirk Richards and Colby Sanford, and most recently as a gallery assistant at Provo’s Writ and Vision. When the latter shuttered earlier this year after a controversy involving founder Brad Kramer, and part-owner Esther Hi’ilani Candari opted to rebrand and open a new space called The Compass Gallery, Alexander couldn’t let the Writ and Vision’s space go. “I couldn’t see this space go to anyone else,” he reflects. “Writ and Vision … was the only place in Provo doing something interesting. When it closed, it left a void I felt I needed to fill.”
Gone are the shelves of books that lined the street-facing space at the front of the gallery. In their place, Alexander has hung drywall, patched and painted, and turned the formerly cluttered space into a classic white-cube gallery—though it’s actually more of a long rectangle, similar to Salt Lake City’s once-upon-a-time Kayo Gallery (for those who have been around for a bit.) Alma Gallery has a similar vibe: small, mostly unframed works, by artists of Alexander’s generation, thirty-somethings, some established artists, others still finding their way.

Evening sun bathes the front of Alma Gallery in a warm glow, November 2024.

The Tiny Art Show will host monthly exhibitions in a space at the rear of Alma Gallery.
Alexander wasn’t planning on using the rear space—formerly home to the “vision” part of Writ and Vision—for shows, but the inaugural exhibition mushroomed in size and spilled into the back. It hasn’t extended as far up as the back balcony, but you’ll still want to venture up the stairs: McKay Lenker Bayer’s Tiny Art Shows, a project that began in 2016 and features meticulously curated miniature galleries, complete with scaled-down art pieces, labels, lighting, and even tiny refreshments during openings, has found a permanent home at Alma. They have a space upstairs, against the back wall, as well as by the front door. Alexander’s long-term vision for the rear space is to create a multifaceted area designed to support artists designed to support artists, featuring a print shop for high-quality reproductions, a framing workshop for professional presentation, and a rentable studio space.
The name Alma carries a familial resonance for Alexander. It’s the name of his daughter, a nod to the inspiration he draws from his family, even as he balances the demands of running a gallery with raising his two young children. “Naming it after her was a way of rooting the gallery in something personal,” he shares with a wry smile. “Of course, my older child, August, wasn’t too thrilled. I had to explain why his name didn’t make the cut.”
Alma is a classic female name along the Mediterranean, but to those in the know it’s also the name of a Book of Mormon prophet. Don’t let that fool you. As much as Alexander loved the space he inherited from Writ and Vision, he wasn’t interested in its largely LDS-bent. “When I reached out to artists, one of the first questions I got was whether this would be a religious gallery,” Alexander recalls. “I made it clear from the start that Alma Gallery is a place for diverse perspectives and creative freedom.” The gallery showcases a mix of emerging talent and established names, pulling mostly from Utah County. “A lot of these artists had to go to Salt Lake or Park City to show their work,” Alexander explains. “I wanted to give them a home here in Provo—a space that’s just about the art.”

The rear of Alma Gallery was used to hang part of the inaugural exhibition including, at left, two works by Colby Sandford, who will be the featured artist in December.

Stairs lead to a studio space on the second floor of the gallery.
Alexander’s own work is mostly figurative in a style rooted in classical realism, with a strong sense of volume and three-dimensionality. The compositions emphasize group dynamics and human interactions, capturing subtle gestures and expressions. As much as he enjoys his time in the studio, he said it could be overwhelming. “The pressure to constantly create and sell was crushing my creativity,” he recalls. “I realized I needed to find another way to contribute to the art world while preserving my own passion for making art.” The stint working at Writ and Vision offered him invaluable insights into the business side of art. “I learned a lot from Esther, being on this side of art and working with artists, and just the business side of it. It was fascinating and I really enjoyed it.”
He hopes to blend this professional experience with his own experiences as an artist, including the intimidating experience of sharing his work with curators and gallery owners. “The thing that was most frustrating was the silence afterwards—What didn’t they like? What didn’t fit? And so I like seeing the proposals come in and looking at the work, and I’ve invited artists to come in and talk with me about their work, and I hope that I can offer something that’s constructive, that isn’t, you know, slam the door in their face.”
The gallery plans to hold monthly exhibitions aligned with Provo’s First Friday Art Stroll (6–9 PM), with regular hours Wednesday–Friday, 4–8 PM, and Saturday, 12–8 PM. Alexander intends to focus on solo shows, which he feels better maintain quality and cohesion than group exhibitions. The December lineup features Learning from Giants, a solo presentation by Colby Sanford exploring the artist’s connection to life and painting, inspired by a journey to the Redwoods and a deeper understanding of color theory. Upstairs, Tiny Art Show will host Holy Ground by Caitlin Connolly. Both artists have established reputations and promise to draw an eager audience. Alexander is optimistic about these inaugural shows, saying, “My hope is to create a new wave of collectors and patrons that recognize this is something different and want to support it.”

Located on Provo’s Center Street, Alma Gallery receives a lot of foot traffic. In the bottom right of the image, notice the storefront for Tiny Art Show.
Alma Gallery, 274 W Center St. Provo.
All images courtesy of the author.

The founder of Artists of Utah and editor of its online magazine, 15 Bytes, Shawn Rossiter has undergraduate degrees in English, French and Italian Literature and studied Comparative Literature in graduate school before pursuing a career in art.
Categories: Gallery Spotlights | Visual Arts
so wonderful, can’t wait for the December show!
Excited about this new Utah County space and very excited McKay will have a permanent home for Tiny Art Show and her creative vision!
Tyler is such a class act. Professional, kind, and really helps artists feel seen. So glad he took over this space, it’s totally transformed! Can’t wait to see more.
Definitely made me reminisce for Kayo. What a cool space, congratulations and good luck to Alma!
this is a wonderful article . I have known Tyler and Mackezie for a long time. I am so glad that this opportunity came along for them. I also love their little ones. can’t wait to see what the future holds for this intimate Art Gallery
Lee W