The Central Tucson Gallery Association once again exhibited a creative and indulging venue for the local community on Saturday.
The Art Safari proved to be a successful event in which some the most famous artists of the Southwest collaborated. Conveniently located on Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue, Art Safari captured a grand amount of attention from passersby and art enthusiasts.
Art Safari was built in a walk-through fashion, allowing all viewers to observe and record all of the artwork at their own pace. The many different pieces and eccentric additions made the event one-of-a-kind. Overall, out of the many locations used, the Contreras Gallery and Jewelry and the Davis Dominguez Gallery were the most enticing.
The Contreras Gallery and Jewelry displayed a number of unique and colorful prints that echoed artistic appreciation. The building was small, giving observers the chance to intimately view the prints.
Ultimately, there was a catch with this gallery: the grand prints were made to move virtually. The prints were collaborated with an intense, online advancement called Augment El Paso, a virtual app that allows certain prints to move. The pieces would dance and transform on the phone screen, allowing viewers to observe the art in an entirely different perspective. The exhibit’s producer, Karl Whitaker, expressed sincere pride in these works.
“I was able to gather these 30 artists for this,” Whitaker said. “I came across Augment El Paso and asked them if they were willing to work with my artists on this event. You can see more of their works on prints and other pieces at deserttriangle.com. We worked with them, and all of this was done specifically for these prints.”
The following Davis Dominguez Gallery was less technological, but nevertheless enticing.
The interior of the gallery was lined with white paint, giving more pop to the artworks. The venue presented three female artists who each presented different types of art. While the artists presented different themes, the sense of artistic sisterhood and appreciation was present.
Claire Campbell Park exhibited tranquility and the colors of life using woven fibers.
Barbara Jo created scenes from her visit to Japan by sculpting visuals using woods and other solids. Her “Tokyo Subway” piece was unique, yet simple.
Kathryn Polk displayed everyday human struggles and challenges by using lithography, a modern German version of traditional print.
The Davis Dominguez Gallery manager, Mike Dominguez, over saw the exhibition with a suave and supporting demeanor.
“These three artists have come together to create something great,” Dominguez said. “Over there is one of Barbara Jo’s scenes from her visit to Japan, the ‘Not So Great Wave.’ It is based on the infamous painting ‘The Great Wave.’ Claire Campbell Park did the fibers. She carefully focused on each section. Fibers take a long time, one inch can take up to several hours. And if you do it wrong, then it may take weeks to fix the kink in order to make it all come together.”
It was quite refreshing to see such artistic support and collaboration. Co-manager Candice Davis also showed enthusiastic support and pride in the exhibit.
“It is just so wonderful having these three women present their unique works together,” Davis said.
The venues of these two creative galleries made the Art Safari an awakening experience.
The galleries attracted all types of people, ranging from extreme art enthusiasts and producers to merely curious speculators, making the Art Safari an artistic and social success.
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