{"id":87222,"date":"2024-09-25T08:53:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T15:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=87222"},"modified":"2024-09-26T09:32:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T16:32:35","slug":"continuing-a-legacy-celebrating-40-years-of-mentorship-at-art-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/continuing-a-legacy-celebrating-40-years-of-mentorship-at-art-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuing a Legacy: Celebrating 40 years of Mentorship at Art Access"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Installation view of the Partners exhibit at Art Access with work by Ben Carbone, bottom left, Andrea Sophoenix, top left, and Allianys Pupo Restrepo, right.<\/p><\/div>\n

Writing for 15 Bytes, the temptation is always to go straight to the art. In the case of the current show at Art Access, that might mean Allianys Pupo Restrepo\u2019s \u201cRoyalty Playing Cards\u201d\u2014decks of classic playing cards that have been digitally printed. The actual decks are laid out beneath large prints of the face cards, which are available separately. The King looks like European royalty, while the Queen sports the glamorous curls of an actress from the silent film era. Just what \u201cElli\u201d might have learned from mentor Martin Sanchez is anyone\u2019s guess: the cards and their presentations look thoroughly professional.<\/h4>\n

But that\u2019s not surprising at Art Access, where an alert viewer will spot unmistakable works by former Partners like Olivia Mae Pendergast, Caitlin Connolly, and Cori Redstone hung nearby on the office walls, archived among some of the many accolades Art Access has garnered. It\u2019s been standard procedure since the halcyon days of Ruth Lubbers\u2019 directorship that nothing separates the art space from the staff offices, or, for that matter, the mentors from their mentees, and as the program tags its 40th anniversary, current executive director Gabriella Huggins has clearly chosen to continue that democratic (with a small d<\/em>) tradition.<\/h4>\n

One thing that is different this year is the way the works are arranged in the new gallery, a fairly large, oddly-shaped space that presents a challenge to coordinate. In the past, a straightforward division was generally employed, with each pair of mentor and mentee shown together. This year they seem to be shown independently, perhaps in response to the way individual objects converse on the walls. It\u2019s a choice that can certainly be justified, though it challenges the audience to match works that presumably influenced each other in the making. For example, Giovinco Knox is showing two paintings that convey sophisticated ideas, and do so with a high degree of finish. \u201c<\/span>A Day in the Life\u201d surrounds a vivid canine image that radiates living energy with three flawlessly crafted triangular frames, shaped like caution signs and painted in swirling, high-contrast colors. Knox is also showing \u201c<\/span>I\/Me\/Myself,\u201d a striking diptych in which facing trapezoid panels create the feeling of two subjects\u2014a man and a dog\u2014 encountering each other as they emerge through facing windows that seem cut right through the wall. His mentor, Alex Gregory, contributes several larger-than-life moth reliefs made of carved and painted wood with stained glass inserts. Both artists display a high level of craft and finish, suggesting that either Knox took these qualities from Gregory, or else they were very well chosen to work together.<\/h4>\n