The Walter Art Gallery to showcase ‘Visual Days,’ through March 24

The Walter Art Gallery will present an installation by local artist, Heidi Dauphin, “Visual Days,” inspired by the artistic discipline of creating one piece of art every day.

“Visual Days” opens with a reception from 6:30 to 9 p.m., today, Feb. 17. This exhibition runs through March 24 with a closing reception at the same time that evening, according to a press release.

In 2000, Dauphin decided to record her daily life by creating a 4x6 collage for each day as a visual history of that day, and in 2010, did another year-long project. She collected a small object or objects for each day and pinned them to wall calendars.

For this exhibition, the objects are collected in small plastic bags. In 2020, Dauphin returned to a daily practice by creating small, patterned pencil drawings on 2.5x3.5 cards daily. Each of these 365 day projects were completed with an abundance of art, as more than 1,000 pieces, are being shown together for the first time at The Walter Art Gallery.

“I think of my creative process as a journey … I am a collector traveling through life picking up bits and pieces of memories, items, places, and people along the way. All affect my work,” said Dauphin in the release.

Drawn to patterns, grids, numbers, calendars, and math, she examines the ideas of micro and macro and loves to incorporate small details, which are discovered upon closer inspection, the release said.

“Heidi’s work is an integration of fine art creation and gathering, saving, and an interest in calendars and calculations,” said Charlotte Strawn, gallery manager, describing Dauphin’s work of using multiples and repetition.

Dauphin earned her Master of Fine Arts in 2001 from the University of Michigan. She ran two galleries in Massachusetts. Her artistic career in Phoenix has been mainly as a public artist creating large-scale projects for The Valley Metro Light Rail, cities of Phoenix and Avondale, the release noted.

Hours: 11a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday; 6-8 p.m Wednesday, and 12-2 p.m. Thursday at The Walter Art Gallery, 6425 E. Thomas Road, Scottsdale.

Email: gallery@thewalterhive.org for questions.

More information: walter-art.com.