Curious Minds Exhibition

Jun 7, 2024 | Gallery Visit

Feature Image: Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts © Dennis Collins

I would like to start this blog posting with an apology. As far as I can remember in the 12 years I have lived here I have never visited the Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA).

BIG MISTAKE

While on this visit, I saw the Curious Minds juried summer exhibition and according to their own statement, “it is a celebration of the creative, inquisitive and sometimes quirky minds of artists. When painters, sculptors, film makers and photographers choose to get playful with new materials and ideas, the results are always interesting for the TCA visitors. Enjoy thoughtful art displays by Arizona artists who are just as curious about the world as you are.”

This statement could not be truer!  AZPA member Rebecca Ross is one of the nine exhibiting artist. The five images from her series Curiosities of the Sonoran Desert are so much different from, but add to, the overall collective of the other eight artists. Rebecca Ross’s own artist’s statement reads: “A visual exploration of flora unique to the Sonoran Desert, this work seeks to communicate the mystery, beauty and resilience of botanical life in the Southwestern United States. As an artist who has lived in this unique environment for more than 30 years, I have long admired desert plants. Recently, I have become more curious about them and have begun making a series of “plant portraits” to celebrate these unusual specimens.I found the small image sizes and shapes reminiscent of historical photographs; they were similar to photographs found in old family albums. Individual photographs are printed on vellum and backed with 24-karat gold leaf, creating a jewel-like appearance and suggesting an inner botanical world.”

What I found interesting about the three visitors to the exhibition was their conversation in a language I couldn’t understand as they were clearly sharing their ideas about what they were seeing in Rebecca’s images. Curious Minds is open until September 7.  Check it out.  I would be curious to know what you think!

Dennis Collins

Dennis Collins

Contributing Writer

Dennis L. Collins has over 30 years experience as a corporate photographer and has a BFA from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. His focus was on alternative process during his undergraduate studies. His interest lies in the timeless beauty of carbon printing being used by contemporary artists for modern images. Carbon printing is a particularly difficult and rare process that Dennis has painstakingly embraced; he is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others in hopes that this art form will continue. When he’s not in the darkroom, Dennis enjoys spending time with his family as well as volunteering at Art Intersection (Gilbert, Arizona) and Infinity Hospice.

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