Dan Higgins’ “In. Memory. Of” Photo by Dat Nguyen. Dan Higgins captured the human condition in its rawest form in his new evening-length work, “In. Memory. Of.” There were moments of intense vulnerability paired with stark confrontation that allowed the dancers to unveil deep human feelings often hidden […]
Two feisty spirits with plenty in common makes for an interesting friendship, one that can be traced back to when Claudia Sisemore was Trent Alvey’s uber-cool creative writing teacher at Hillside Junior High. Their artwork, though, has less in common, which makes for an interesting show at The […]
Taking place on a set with almost 20 clocks, Jenifer Nii’s “The Weird Play” has the calculus, the mind-numbingness of geometry. The set, by Halee Rasmussen, contains the gaping hollows of one actual door-opening and one window-opening, opening into the darkness of the Plan-B Theatre backstage, itself clearly […]
It has been almost five years since playwright Shawn Fisher first ventured into Utah’s theater scene with his play Do Not Hit Golf Balls Into Mexico at the Salt Lake Acting Company. It began as two performances on a minimal set. “I admire [SLAC’s] commitment to developing new work and […]
From left to right: Austin Hardy, Nell Rollins, Natalie Jones, and Micah Burkhardt in rehearsal for “La Mela.” Photo by Tori Duhaime. What determines how we view identity? This question lay at the heart of La Mela, a program recently presented by Austin Hardy that featured works by local […]
From impossible staircases to gravity defying waterfalls and hands that draw themselves, Dutch artist M. C. Escher’s paradoxical works defy logic and reason. His use of mathematical objects and operations allowed him to create works that play with perspective and conceptions of reality, creating impossible constructions and infinite […]
“The airplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars Imagine life as Leonardo da Vinci: you want to know everything. The land, the sky, how things work, how things within invisible spheres exist, how to make brand new […]
Sundance artist Kent Christensen takes human obsession seriously: Like food, especially food, with an emphasis on dessert. And typically, that is what he paints. He recalls growing up “in the orange, lemon, and avocado groves of Southern California, where I acquired a fondness for orange crate labels, pop […]
In the memoir An American (Homeless) in Paris, the reader is invited to la mansion of author Chris Ames, a tent pitched atop an abandoned golf course overlooking the bourgeois center of Paris. Having returned from a sabbatical year of travel after being extricated from French domesticity as a result of divorce […]
“Gitana,” Philip Buller, 60″ x 60″ Collecting and displaying damaged artifacts, like broken pottery and scuffed postcards, was almost certainly a matter of necessity before it became a preference, but if the choice is between a flawless replacement and an original that shows a mixed patina of age, […]
“Venus and the Gift,” Sunny Taylor, acrylic on panel, 29×25,” 2017 When she’s creating her paintings, Sunny Belliston Taylor thinks in terms of “constructing” an image, or “building” a surface. “I piece visual information together in a way that feels very sculptural,” she says. “And although my works are […]
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and guest artists in Alwin Nikolais’s “Tensile Involvement” (1955). Photo by Tori Duhaime. The work of Alwin Nikolais presented in Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Strata spanned three decades, but the exploratory nature of Nikolais’ work appears to transcend time. What was once progressive still feels to be so; […]
“Cloven,” by Nicole Pietrantoni, at the Kimball Art Center, photo by Stanna Frampton “Reader, this is a record of loss and abundance. Let me be clear – what is vulnerable has potential for change. Reader, as this is consequential, so let us be systematic.” So opens an excision […]
Ballet West Principal Artists Chase O’Connell and Beckanne Sisk in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella. Photo by Beau Pearson. Ballet West’s production of Sir Frederick Ashton’s 1948 story ballet Cinderella, last performed by the company in 2013, was well-wrought and thoroughly charming. Production decisions were made in appreciation of the […]
Shawn Porter’s works are derived from observation, developed by idea, and realized through a mastery of diverse materials and technique. The physicality of his installations capture the viewer with an aesthetic composed of formal elements and a playful taste for pushing the boundaries of material, balance and weight, […]
Jean Valentine, when once asked about the difference between a short poem and a longer poem, answered that a short poem was “like putting your face in icy water.” The water in Mike White’s Addendum to a Miracle, winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize in Britain, is indeed […]
Two artists featured at Art Access, beginning Feb. 16, bring similar precision to abstract design using different mediums. Eric Fairclough paints with acrylic or aerosol paint on birch panels, while Jessica Springman cuts her geometric designs out of paper using a very sharp knife. Fairclough is a […]
When Phyllis Forsey left for New York City in 1957, she was not headed for The Art Students League like some of her Utah peers. She took a more circuitous route to a painting career. Forsey had just finished her freshman year at BYU, where she had taken […]
Stewart Seidman creates expressive acrylic works on canvas and with recycled FedEx envelopes that once served as his paint palettes, transforming everyday materials into compelling contemporary art.
To discover more artists, visit our Utah Artists Directory
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