Seven Must-See Art Shows During Third Friday in Downtown Phoenix

By Claire Lawton Fri., Apr. 20 2012 at 12:00 PM

Categories: Visual Art

Monica Aissa Martinez

It's Third Friday in downtown Phoenix, which means there are plenty of excuses to get out an see the latest work by local and visiting artists.

In celebration of our second birthday (and Third Friday, of course), we're releasing our latest limited-edition Jackalope sticker by Monica Aissa Martinez.

The local painter says "we don't know the gender of the jackalope, and despite super technology we may never know, but we do know it's creative. It is North American." She describes the artwork beneath the jackalope as based on Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking of the jackalope wondering downtown Phoenix. "We imagine it's looking for a wall, a paper, a canvas ... Any fine surface it might locate to leave a mark or two or a hundred on."

Keep an eye out for one of the stickers at any of the Downtown coffee shops or galleries (especially the seven described below) tonight ...

Mary Meyer

7. Mirrored @ Eye Lounge
Mary Meyer's latest work is a series of installations she writes carry a progression of form and materials "inspired by symmetry and the formal similarities that connect us with all biological systems."

Meyers is a local artist who works with a variety of media including aluminum castings and waxed-dipped pigment prints. Her work will be on view tonight at Eye Lounge, 419 E. Roosevelt Street 6 to 10 p.m..

6. Wax, Slaps and Paperbacks @ Lawn Gnome
More than 20 local artists will show off their love for waxy, sticky, and paperback surfaces during Wax, Slaps, and Paperbacks at Lawn Gnome Publishing, 905 N. Fifth Street. Until April 30, you can check out candles, stickers, and Lawn Gnome's entire collection of paperbacks that are on exhibition and for sale (candles are $20, stickers are $4).

Artists include Jenny Ignaszewski, Tara Logsdon, Marco Turrubiartes, Jeff Hoopes, Casebeer, Randal Wilson, Aaron Johnson, Shaun Moss, and JJ Horner (to name a few). Tonight, admission is free and the show will be open at 7 p.m..

5. Cry Me A River @ Five15
Catherine Ruane and Christina Shelby present charcoal drawings and photographs of desert rivers in an effort to "bring attention to neglected urban rivers that serve communities and industries as well as desert eco-systems." Five15 opens tonight at 6 p.m..