The Arts HQ Gallery’s newest exhibit, “Art Under Fire,” will be turning up the talent when it opens Friday, June 27.
Featuring over 30 local Arizona artists, the exhibit will showcase 90 pieces of artwork created through different types of heating processes.
The “Art under Fire” exhibit is set to run through July 31 at 16126 N. Civic Center Plaza, Suite 102, just north of the Surprise City Hall.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Wednesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.
Gallery Director and Curator Daisy Brady sparked the idea.
“Appropriately timed for the Arizona summer, ‘Art Under Fire’ is an ironic, clever exhibit for those seeking to escape the heat,” Brady said.
The exhibit will feature artwork baked in a kiln, melted, welded, torched or electrified. While most of the artwork will be a playful assembly of ceramics and colorful fused glass, the exhibit will also include encaustic wax artwork, Lichtenberg fractal burns and welded sculptures.
“As an artist and former teacher, I strive to make our exhibits unique, fun, and educational,” Brady said. “Beyond the play on words, I wanted to introduce examples of art techniques visitors may have never seen and present artists who had the courage to experiment with these interesting artforms.”
One of the artists Brady sought out for the “Art Under Fire” exhibit is Bill Battaglia of Sun City.
“Bill creates extraordinary sculptures out of molten glass and copper poured onto wells of sand,” Brady said. “As the materials solidify, the textures and colors form abstract designs and the finished sculptures are mounted on reclaimed wood. Gallery visitors can see the finished artwork and watch a video of his unique process.”
The front entrance to the exhibit will also feature an exposition of local potter and retired educator Robert Benson. With a career spanning more than 25 years in Arizona’s public education system, Benson has served as a K–8 art educator, high school ceramics instructor, director of arts education for the Peoria Unified School District and principal of the Foothills Fine Arts Academy.
The art pieces included in the “Art Under Fire” exhibit are a selection of Benson’s ceramic vessels and sculptural forms. In addition to traditional hand-thrown pottery techniques, the exhibit showcases his exploration of alternative firing processes, including raku, sager and pit firing. The exposition honors his dedication to shaping both clay and community.
The public is welcome to attend the exhibit opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. June 27.
“We have featured ceramicists and glass artists in this exhibit with decades of experience,” Brady said. “Our receptions not only celebrate the artwork, but also provide opportunities for emerging artists, patrons and students to meet professional artists from their own community.”
The gallery’s gift shop features keepsakes of jewelry, pottery, small original artwork, prints and more, and most of the exhibited art is for sale to support local artists.
Go to WestValleyArts.org for information, or call the Arts HQ Gallery at 623-584-2626.
