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For a full list of exhibitions on view now at Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org/art/exhibitions/.

OPENING SOON
Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town
November 6, 2022 – March 12, 2023
Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of this Town at Phoenix Art Museum is the first U.S. solo exhibition in more than five years to exclusively showcase the imaginative and visually complex works of contemporary Japanese artist Mr. Influenced by anime and manga,

Mr. creates feverish graffiti-inspired paintings and sculptures that explore tragedy, trauma, and fantasy within Japanese society and among a global audience obsessed with social media. The exhibition features nearly 50 works by the former protégé of Takashi Murakami, including drawings and paintings created during the height of the pandemic, a recent Museum acquisition, and a new 30-foot-long canvas that will enjoy its world premiere at the Museum.

Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Ronald and Valery Harrar, Men’s Arts Council, Ms. Isabelle Georgeaux, Kevie Yang, The Japan Foundation–Los Angeles, and the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

ON VIEW NOW
And Let It Remain So: Women of the African Diaspora
Through February 12, 2023
Showcasing more than 70 portraits, landscapes, self-portraits, and family archival images, And Let It Remain So: Women of the African Diaspora presents the nuanced perspectives of five photographers who are exploring their experiences of the African Diaspora. Featured works by Widline Cadet, Jasmine Clarke, Hellen Gaudence, Nadiya I. Nacorda, and Sasha Phyars-Burgess reflect specific locales, general memories, and multilayered family experiences, drawing on elements from the past and present to consider an imagined future. Experienced collectively, these dynamic photographs illuminate shared and separate understandings of family and history, place and displacement, migration and mobility, and belonging and community.

And Let it Remain So: Women of the African Diaspora is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. It is made possible through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. The exhibition is curated by Aaron Turner, a regular collaborator with the Center for Creative Photography.

Sama Alshaibi: Generation After Generation and the 2021 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards Exhibition
Through May 14, 2023
Featuring works by Arizona-based contemporary artists, Sama Alshaibi: Generation After Generation and the 2021 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards exhibitions explore themes of cultural empowerment, multinational identity, and deep introspection. The 2021 Scult Artist Award recipient Sama Alshaibi presents her latest projects of photographic imagery, video, and installation that link themes of dispossession, mobility, ecological entropy, and future and historical imaginings.

The 2021 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards exhibition features works by emerging artists Gloria Martinez-Granados, Chris Vena, and Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Frésquez. Gloria Martinez-Granados’s workserves as a memoir, reflecting on her experience growing up and living as an undocumented immigrant. Chris Vena’s work explores themes of loss, isolation, financial insecurity, and mass death, highlighting the unease of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Frésquez, who are presenting work jointly, work with pop-culture iconography, contemporary trends, and historical references, tracing the evolution of material culture, including hair, jewelry, and textiles.

Sama Alshaibi: Generation After Generation is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of Arlene and Morton Scult Contemporary Artist Award Fund.

The 2021 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards Recipients exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of Sally and Richard Lehmann, with additional support from Cattryn Somers and Michael Cafiso.

FEATURED EVENTS

First Friday: College Night
October 7 | 3 – 9 pmVoluntary-donation general admissionSPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $5 for adults | FREE for Museum Members and veterans/active-duty military*

Every First Friday from 3 – 9 pm, Phoenix Art Museum offers voluntary-donation general admission and reduced rates to view special-engagement exhibitions.

On October 7, Phoenix Art Museum will host a college night-themed First Friday with various in-person programming, including:

• Collage Art-Making with Cut+Paste (@cut.paste.phx)
• Live music by DJ
• “Art Course” Mini Golf in the Garden
• Pop-up Dance performances by ASU Dance, DancEstrella, Scottsdale Community College Dance
• Food and beverage with Palette Restaurant, Bites Donuts (@bitesdonutaz), and Dough Riders (@doughriders)

First Fridays are supported in part through the generosity of the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.

*The Military Access Program at Phoenix Art Museum (MAP@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Hong and Doris Ong, Nancy Hanley Eriksson, and Shamrock Foods Foundation.

Waived Admission for Indigenous People’s Day
October 12 – 16, 2022
In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, general admission to PhxArt for Indigenous and Native American peoples will be waived from Wednesday, Oct. 12 through Sunday, Oct. 16. Active tribal IDs and CDIB cards are not required for admission.

Lemon Art Research Library Book Sale
October 14 – October 16 | 10:30 am – 4 pm
Located in Orientation Gallery, next to The Museum Store
Join PhxArt for a special book sale hosted by the Museum’s Lemon Art Research Library and shop hundreds of Museum exhibition guides and catalogues, solo exhibition pamphlets, art-related books, periodicals, magazines, and more. More information available soon at phxart.org.

If you are interested in donating gently used books to the Museum for the book sale, please contact library@phxart.org. Donations will be accepted through October 7, 2022. All proceeds support the Gene and Cathie Lemon Art Research Library.

Make It! with Gloria Martinez-Granados
October 19 | 4 – 7 pm
Open to the public during Pay-What-You-Wish-Wednesday
Explore fiber arts tools and techniques with Phoenix-based interdisciplinary artist Gloria Martinez-Granados. Gather inspiration from Martinez-Granados’ My Mothers’ Hands on view in the 2021 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards exhibition and create your own embroidered artwork to take home. For more information, click here.

Make It! is made possible in part by Carolyn Dunkin Schulte Educational Endowment Fund, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.

National Theatre Live: Frankenstein
October 23 | 1 – 3 pm
$15 for Members | $20 for the general public
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity.
Bewildered and alone, Frankenstein’s creature is cast out into a hostile universe. Faced with cruelty everywhere he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful creature is determined to track down his creator. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller bring this thrilling and disturbing classic tale back to life, captured live on stage in 2011. Rated R. Estimated runtime: 2 h. Tickets are available for reservation here.

National Theatre Live showings are made possible in part by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.

ADDITIONAL OCTOBER 2022 EVENTS
Object of the Month: Tensions by Emil Bisttram
October 1, 6, 20, 27 | 11:30 am
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public

Dynamic Symmetry inspired Emil Bisttram to balance philosophical, religious, and scientific worlds in his art. In contrast, Georgia O’Keeffe used color and shapes to express emotion. Together, their works prompt a reconsideration of the ways artists of the avant-garde embraced a radical departure from realism. Join Docent Sherry Koopot in exploring the colors and complexities of 20^th-century abstractions. For more information, click here.

Storytime in the Galleries
October 5 | 10:30 am
Free for Members | Included in general admission for the general public
Limited capacity. Advance registration required.
Designed for our youngest PhxArt visitors (ages 0-5) and their parents or caregivers, Storytime in the Galleries is a wonderful opportunity to share the joy of early literacy, art-inspired play, and hands-on learning with family and friends. The Storytime in the Galleries series will be offered on the first Wednesday of each month. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Storytime in the Galleries is made possible by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for the Performing Arts, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.

Weekly Virtual Mindfulness Sessions
October 6, 13, 20, 27 | Noon
Free for Members | $5 suggested donation for the general public
Scientific studies show the art of mindfulness can relieve anxiety, depression, pain, and stress and actually change the way we feel, think, work, and play by opening new pathways in the brain. Presented in collaboration with Hospice of the Valley, this free, 30-minute, at-home mindfulness session promotes living in the present. This session is hosted live on Zoom, a video-conference platform. For more information, click here.

FREE-ACCESS TIMES
First Friday
October 7 | 3 – 9 pmVoluntary-donation general admissionSPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $5 for adults | FREE for Museum Members and veterans/active-duty military*

Every First Friday from 3 – 9 pm, Phoenix Art Museum offers voluntary-donation general admission and reduced rates to view special-engagement exhibitions.

First Fridays are supported in part through the generosity of the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.

*The Military Access Program at Phoenix Art Museum (MAP@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Hong and Doris Ong, Nancy Hanley Eriksson, and Shamrock Foods Foundation.

Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays
Every Wednesday | 3 – 9 pm
Voluntary-donation general admission
SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $5 for Adults | FREE for Museum Members and veterans/active-duty military*
From 3 – 9 pm every Wednesday, the Museum offers voluntary-donation general admission and reduced rates to view special-engagement exhibitions, along with various free in-person programing, including:

Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays are made possible by SRP and supported in part by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

*The Military Access Program at Phoenix Art Museum (MAP@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Hong and Doris Ong, Nancy Hanley Eriksson, and Shamrock Foods Foundation.

SCHOOL AND ADULT TOURS
On-site school and adult tours have returned to Phoenix Art Museum. To learn more about school-tour offerings and planning a school visit, click here. For adult and college group tour requests, click here.

In addition, Phoenix Art Museum offers live virtual presentations for school classrooms and community organizations. For more information on Virtual Classroom Visits, click here. For more information on Virtual Presentations for Adults, click here.

School Tours and Virtual Classroom Visits are made possible in part by Carolyn Dunkin Schulte Educational Endowment Fund, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.

PHXARTIST SPOTLIGHTS
Presented by Phoenix Art Museum, PhxArtist Spotlight is a monthly series that explores what inspires and motivates Valley creatives, while leveraging the Museum’s reach in its community to support and expand awareness of working artists. Each month, the Museum highlights a different artist working in Arizona, posting a Q&A with the artist and images of their work on the Museum’s Instagram and Facebook channels and on the Museum’s bilingual blog. The artist is also highlighted in a monthly email sent to Museum Members, Circles of Support donors, and a subscriber list of more than 65,000 followers.For more information on the series, click here. For recent spotlights on Patricia Sannit and Sabree Garcia, click here.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the leading art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible 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, or call 602.257.1880.

The post Phoenix Art Museums hosts virtual programs and in-person events in October 2022, to premiere new contemporary art exhibition in November 2022 appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

PHOENIX (September 8, 2022) – This fall, Phoenix Art Museum will present Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, the first U.S. solo exhibition in more than five years to exclusively showcase the work of Mr., one of today’s most popular Japanese artists. Spanning the late 1990s to 2022, the exhibition features nearly 50 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and video works, including a recent Museum acquisition and a new 30-foot-long canvas that will enjoy its world premiere at Phoenix Art Museum. These vivid and often chaotic works—a large selection of which were created in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic—draw influence from anime, manga, and virtual fantasy worlds to examine themes of desire, tragedy, and psychological anguish. Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town will be on view in Steele Gallery at Phoenix Art Museum from November 6, 2022 through March 12, 2023, following a First-Friday preview and community celebration on November 4, 2022 from 6 – 9 pm. The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Ronald and Valery Harrar, Men’s Arts Council, Ms. Isabelle Georgeaux, Kevie Yang, The Japan Foundation–Los Angeles, and the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

“During this particular moment in history, marked by turbulent current events nationally and abroad that are reshaping the ways we interact with each other and how we reflect on our respective societies, Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town provides insight into the mind of an artist who uses his practice to respond to global tragedies while exploring his own anxieties, frustrations, and angst,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “We are excited to present this compelling body of work—a reminder of art’s power to help us explore complex emotions that affect individuals across cultures—as we continue the Museum’s mission of creating points of connection and uniting people of different backgrounds through various forms of artistic expression.”

A self-described member of the otaku subculture—characterized by obsessive interests in anime, manga, video games, and other forms of Japanese popular culture—Mr. creates paintings, sculptures, videos, and installations that explore his personal fantasies and represent a wider reflection on solitude, fear, desire, and trauma. Informed by manga (a genre of Japanese art that includes comics and graphic novels) and anime (derived from the English term “animation” and used for cartoons in Japan), the artist’s works feature kawaii (or “cute”) style characters with wide eyes, colorful hair, and round, childlike faces that are meant to evoke feelings of moe (a profound adoration of or infatuation with fictional figures). These cartoonish subjects are often set against graffiti-like backdrops, which echo the traumatic loss of life in Japan during both World War II and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

“Mr. is most closely associated with Superflat, the post-modern art movement founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, with whom Mr. worked for a number of years before pursuing his individual practice,” said Gilbert Vicario, curator of modern and contemporary art at Phoenix Art Museum. “Mr.’s neo-pop work, however, descends from an even larger art-historical framework, drawing influence from 19^th-century ukiyo-e prints, Pop Art, and abstract expressionism. He combines these influences with elements of Japanese popular culture and references he has gleaned from the internet, presenting them in fine art to examine the social mores of Japanese society and a global community obsessed with social media.”

Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town is the first U.S. exhibition dedicated solely to the artist’s work since the 2014 Seattle Art Museum exhibition Live On: Mr.’s Japanese Neo-pop. Organized by Phoenix Art Museum, You Can Hear the Song of This Town invites visitors to explore Mr.’s vivid, imagined universe. The exhibition showcases nearly 50 works created over the past two decades, illuminating the artist’s stylistic evolution. Older works from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s feature brightly colored characters with a doe-eyed innocence, while paintings and drawings from 2018 onward mark a dramatic shift in tone and composition. Various works dated 2021—created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—depict solitary, kawaii-style characters in black and white. Devoid of the light, cheerful expressions characteristic of the artist’s larger oeuvre, these figures perhaps reflect the loneliness, isolation, anger, and confusion millions of people around the world felt as they sheltered in place over months in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The exhibition’s sole video work, however, demonstrates that the motivations behind Mr.’s artwork have long remained the same although his visual aesthetic has shifted over time. Created in 1998, the self-produced video features the artist moving through various poses with a samurai sword and was created following a break-up, reminding viewers that Mr. has always channeled feelings of anguish and anxiety—personal and collective—into his artwork.

About the Exhibition
Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town will be on view from November 6, 2022 through March 12, 2023 in Steele Gallery at Phoenix Art Museum. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Ronald and Valery Harrar, Men’s Arts Council, Ms. Isabelle Georgeaux, Kevie Yang, The Japan Foundation-Los Angeles, and the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please click here. 

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is $5 for the general public. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and supported in part through the generosity of the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 9 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

Related Programming

Mr. Community Celebration: First Friday
November 4, 2022 | 6 – 9 pm
Valley audiences are invited to attend the First Friday opening celebration of Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town on November 4, 2022 from 6 – 9 pm. The evening will feature free Museum admission—including access to You Can Hear the Song of This Town—food trucks, live music, and arts-engagement programming. Details are forthcoming and will be shared on phxart.org and the Museum’s social media channels. The First Friday opening celebration of Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town is sponsored by the Men’s Arts Council.

The Men’s Arts Council (MAC) of Phoenix Art Museum, founded in January 1967, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports the Museum’s programs and activities through unique events such as the Copperstate Overland. The Men’s Arts Council’s efforts enable the organization to make annual contributions to Phoenix Art Museum’s operating budget and financially sponsor exhibitions. For more information, visit mensartscouncil.com.

Related Exhibitions

To provide historical context to Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town, Phoenix Art Museum will present an outstanding selection of Japanese folk art, prints, and more beginning in December 2022.

Demonic, Divine, Human: Japan’s Noh Theater
Opening December 3, 2022
A form of classical Japanese theatre, Noh combines music, religious performance, dance, and drama. This exhibition showcases various Noh masks and the work of print artists who conveyed scenes of divine, demonic, and animal characters drawn from Noh plays. Presented at the same time as Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Demonic, Divine, Human allows visitors to draw connections between the contemporary artist and the creators of Noh masks and scenes. In his imagined universes, Mr.’s characters draw influence from anime, manga, and other elements of Japanese culture and represent a wider reflection on solitude, social anxiety, and fear. In Noh theatre, writers drew upon folklore, historical tales, and legends to create characters inspired by humans, spirit beings, and animals. These characters were then brought to life through masks, costume, and dance. For sponsorship information, visit phxart.org.

Beauty and Function: Japanese Folk Art from the Mayro-Stelitz Collection
Opening December 3, 2022
In 1920s Japan, philosophers and craftspeople created the concept of mingei, or folk art, to challenge the narrow definition of art and uplift the beauty of everyday objects created by average people. In this exhibition, various traditional everyday objects from Japan are on view to the public for the first time, including pictorial shop signs, firefighter coats, futon covers, samurai helmets, and ceramic and metal utensils that feature folk motifs and symbolic designs. Presented at the same time as Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Beauty and Function allows visitors to discover how Mr.’s works and historical Japanese folk art each challenge traditional definitions of fine art and reflect popular imagery from the time in which they were created. For sponsorship information, visit phxart.org.

Exquisite Enamels: Gifts of Japanese Cloisonné from Waynor and Laurie Rogers
Opening December 3, 2022
Artists began creating cloisonné centuries ago in Europe, and from there, techniques spread throughout the Middle East to China and Japan. Utilizing fine wires and glass paste, cloisonné artists created richly colored surface patterns on a variety of objects. This exhibition showcases significant examples of Japanese cloisonné from the 19th century, when cloisonné enamel techniques peaked on the island and wares became a successful export. Along with Mr: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Exquisite Enamels illuminate how Japanese artists have long combined outside cultural influences with traditional art forms to create new styles that are rooted in history but with a modern outlook. For sponsorship information, visit phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the leading art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible 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, or call 602.257.1880.

About Mr.
Mr. (b. 1969, Cupa, Japan, lives and works in Saitama, Japan) approaches the visual language of anime and manga as a means of examining Japanese culture, fusing high and low forms of contemporary expression. Like his fellow Superflat artists, such as Takashi Murakami, Mr. utilizes otaku, the “cute” Japanese subculture that is marked by an obsession with adolescence, manga, anime, and video games. Mr. graduated in 1996 from the Department of Fine Arts, Sokei Art School in Tokyo. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized at HOW Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2021); Musée Guimet, Paris, France (2019); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (2014); and Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France (2006), among others. Select group exhibitions featuring his work include MURAKAMI VS MURAKAMI, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (2019); Bishojo: Monsters, Manga and Murakami, Musée en Herbe, Paris, France (2019); and Islands, Constellations & Galapagos, Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, Japan (2017). His work is in numerous international public and private collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, and Daegu Art Museum in South Korea.

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