Press RoomPhoenix Art Museum presents two exhibitions of work by Arizona-based artists
Phoenix Art Museum presents two exhibitions of work by Arizona-based artists
Feb, 11, 2019
Exhibitions and Special InstallationsModern and Contemporary Art
Phoenix Art Museum presents two exhibitions of work by Arizona-based artists
Works by the recipients of the 2018 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award and the Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants will be on view from March 1 through July 7, 2019
PHOENIX (February 11, 2019) – From March 1 through July 7, 2019, Phoenix Art Museum will present Julio César Morales: Invaders and the 2018 Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants Recipients Exhibition, showcasing various works by the recipients of the 2018 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award and the Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants, respectively. Work by the 2018 Scult Artist Award recipient, Julio César Morales, will be on view in Julio César Morales: Invaders. Alternatively, works by the 2018 Artists’ Grants recipients, Taylor James, Malakai, Elliott Jamal Robbins, and Papay Solomon, will be featured in the 2018 Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants Recipients Exhibition.
“We are delighted to
present these exhibitions featuring works by Arizona-based artists,” said Amada
Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “The Scult
Artist Award and the Artists’ Grants are two significant recognition opportunities
for contemporary artists in Arizona, and they represent the Museum’s continued
efforts to showcase works by emerging and established contemporary artists from
our region.”
The Arlene and Morton
Scult Artist Award recognizes a mid-career artist, and the recipient is chosen
from a pool of candidates based on a number of criteria. Eligible candidates
are artists who demonstrate artistic excellence through their work; are
presently making and exhibiting new work; have demonstrated significant growth
in their work over their careers; and have been residents of Arizona for a
minimum of four consecutive years. The recipient is then selected by a jury
based
on the work they are currently producing, in addition to
pieces they have created in the past. The award includes a $5,000 prize and a
solo exhibition at the Museum the following year.
In contrast to the Scult Artist Award, the Phoenix Art
Museum Artists’ Grants, formerly the Contemporary Forum Artists’ Grants, foster
the creation of contemporary art by supporting and encouraging emerging artists
working in Arizona. Contemporary Forum, now known as Friends of Contemporary
Art, was a support group of Phoenix Art Museum from 1982 through 2018. From a
competitive pool of applicants who respond to an annual open call, Artists’
Grants recipients are selected by a jury. Up to five grants of $2,000 each are
awarded to the recipients, who then present work in a group exhibition at the
Museum the following year.
The jury for both the 2018 Scult Artist Award and the 2018
Artists’ Grants was composed of Gilbert Vicario, the Selig Family Chief Curator
of Phoenix Art Museum; David Engel, former president of Contemporary Forum;
artist Patricia Sannit; Morton Scult; and Ginger Shulick Porcella, executive
director and chief curator of Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson.
The recipient of the 2018 Scult Artist Award was Julio César
Morales (b. 1966), known for exploring the movement of people, narcotics,
contraband, and American popular culture across the U.S.-Mexico border. His
mid-career survey at Phoenix Art Museum, entitled Julio César Morales: Invaders, features multimedia installations,
mixed-media drawings and paintings, and photography and, according to Morales’
artist statement, strives to depict life along the border without adopting a
moral position, instead capturing people as they are, living in a liminal space
in which there is no right or wrong, only tactics of survival. Invaders
includes new and recent pieces by the artist, whose past works are featured in
the permanent collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Calif.),
Deutsche Bank, The Museum of Modern Art (N.Y.), and Pérez Art Museum Miami
(Fla.), among others.
The 2018 Phoenix Art
Museum Artists’ Grants Recipients Exhibition features work by emerging
artists Taylor James (b. 1979), Malakai (b. 1990), Elliott Jamal Robbins (b.
1988), and Papay Solomon (b. 1993). Photographs by James document the
unforgiving nature of the U.S.-Mexico border and depict artifacts left by
travelers or human remains, while works by award-winning filmmaker Malakai
focus on the black experience and those of disenfranchised communities. Using
appropriated and self-generated imagery, Robbins’ works serve as both personal
narrative and an interrogation of the performative nature of blackness and
masculinity in Western culture, while paintings and large-scale portraits by
Solomon challenge the preconceptions of young people of the African Diaspora in
the West.
“We are very excited to showcase works by these significant
emerging and established contemporary artists from across Arizona,” said
Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s Selig Family Chief Curator. “Through their work,
the 2018 class of award and grants recipients are addressing some of today’s
most pressing social issues both in the United States and around the world. We
look forward to presenting these poignant and timely exhibitions in our
galleries.”
About the exhibition
Julio
César Morales: Invaders and the 2018 Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants
Recipients Exhibition will be on view from March 1 through July 7, 2019 in
the Marshall and Hendler galleries. Julio César Morales: Invaders is
organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of
Arlene and Morton Scult. The 2018 Phoenix Art Museum Artists’ Grants
Recipients Exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible
through the generosity of donors to the Museum’s annual fund. For more details
about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/2018/artistgrantsandscultaward.
Admission
is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military and their
families; Maricopa Community College students, staff, and faculty (with ID);
and youth 5 and younger. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general
admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the
exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission.
Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Friday of
each month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second Sunday of each month from noon – 5
pm. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, seebit.ly/VisitPhxArt.
To
request interviews and high-resolution photography, contact the Marketing and
Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at
Join us for an
artist lecture featuring the 2018 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award
recipient, Julio César Morales. See more information at phxart.org.
About Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix Art Museum
has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for
nearly 60 years and is the largest art museum in the southwestern United
States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown
alongside the Museum’s permanent collection of nearly 20,000 works of American,
Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion
design. The Museum also presents festivals, a comprehensive film program, live performances,
and educational programs designed to enlighten, entertain, and stimulate
visitors of all ages. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions
through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative
Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum,
visit phxart.org, o llame a 602.257.1880.
About FOCA
Friends of
Contemporary Art (FOCA) is an affiliate group of Phoenix Art Museum with the
mission of supporting the Museum’s contemporary art exhibitions, programs, and
acquisitions. To learn more about FOCA, visit phxart.org/foca, or call 602.257.2107.
