PHOENIX (March 4, 2026) – This spring, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) hosts the 2026 Eric Fischl Series in partnership with Phoenix College (PC) celebrating 21 years of the Eric Fischl Lecture Series. The 2026 lecture features Eric Fischl—the event’s namesake—in conversation with contemporary artist Marilyn Minter. Known for her distinguished hyper-realistic style, Minter explores themes of beauty and desire through compositions that offer a close-up, visceral view of the body. Join us for a dynamic conversation between the two artists as they discuss Minter’s studio practice, her evolution as an artist, and the boundaries of contemporary art. The 2026 Eric Fischl series will be hosted on Wednesday, April 8, 2025 from 5 – 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5 for the public and free for Museum Members and are available here. Tickets are free for Phoenix College students with an active ID.

“As we mark the program’s 21st anniversary, Phoenix Art Museum, in partnership with Phoenix College, is proud to spotlight this year’s featured artist, Marilyn Minter, in conversation with Eric Fischl,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Minter has transformed the language of contemporary art through work that is fearless, visually electric and deeply attuned to how images shape power, desire and identity. We’re honored to welcome her for an evening that places her ideas at the center of the conversation and offer a rare opportunity for visitors to engage directly with an artist whose work continues to shape how we see and talk about images.”

Each year, the Eric Fischl series hosted by Phoenix College and held at Phoenix Art Museum draws students, artists, and community members for engaging conversations about art. The 2026 Eric Fischl guest artist is New-York based American visual artist Marilyn Minter. Known as one of the most provocative and influential contemporary artists of our time, Minter is recognized for her raw, hyperreal explorations of beauty, power, and desire across a variety of mediums.

Working across painting, photography and video, she challenges conventional aesthetics by fusing glamour with grit and seduction with subversion. Drawing from fashion, advertising, pornography and art history, Minter’s work examines how pleasure, femininity and consumer culture collide. Her signature style—lush, high-gloss surfaces layered with sweat, glitter and condensation—blurs the boundaries between attraction and repulsion, reality and fantasy. Since the 1970s, Minter has been a fearless disruptor, using her art to critique the idealized images promoted by mass media and the ways women’s bodies are consumed. From her early “bush paintings” to billboard interventions and video works, she continually pushes against cultural taboos surrounding sexuality, feminism and representation. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. Her 2016 retrospective, Pretty/Dirty, cemented her legacy as a pioneering artist who amplifies what others shy away from.

The event on April 8 will begin with an exhibition of artwork by Phoenix College students on view in the Museum’s Cummings Great Hall South. As part of the 2026 Eric Fischl Series, Fischl will also present the prestigious Vanguard Awards to students whose works are selected as “Best in Show” from pieces submitted to the annual exhibition. Fischl created the Vanguard Award in 2005 to recognize emerging student talent in the fine arts, establish Phoenix College as a center for the arts in downtown Phoenix, and create life-changing opportunities for students. Recipients of the award receive $2,500. To date, the Vanguard Award has been presented to 69 students, including some who have received the award more than once. The evening will close with an engaging conversation between Fischl and Minter in Whiteman Hall.

In addition to the annual Eric Fischl Series, PhxArt will be showing an exclusive film screening of PRETTY DIRTY: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter on April 7. Directed by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Amanda Benchley, this unfiltered exposé strips away the glittering facade of one of the art world’s most provocative icons. PRETTY DIRTY traces Minter’s improbable journey from a Southern childhood and New York’s raw underground to today’s billion-dollar art market. Known for transforming forbidden subjects—sex, shame, and aging—into hypnotic, larger-than-life masterpieces, Minter blurs the lines between glamour and grit. As she nears 80, she remains an “unapologetic provocateuse,” creating massive paintings of cultural icons like Lizzo, Jane Fonda, Pamela Anderson, and Monica Lewinsky. Featuring rare archival footage and powerful testimonies from art world luminaries and pop culture figures including Glenn Ligon and Padma Lakshmi, the film asks a lingering question: Will the art establishment finally embrace an artist who dares to think differently? The film will be followed by a special 20-minute Q&A with the artist herself, Marilyn Minter, moderated by one of the film’s producers, Debi Wisch, (The Art of Making It, The Price of Everything) as they discuss the making of the documentary and Minter’s lifelong pursuit of an authentic, fearless aesthetic. The screening of Pretty Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter will be hosted on Tuesday, April 7, 2025 at 6 pm with the Q&A at 7:30pm. Tickets are $8 for the public and free for Museum Members and are available here.

For more information contact the Communications Office at press@phxart.org or kaylee.weyrauch@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About Eric Fischl

Born in New York City in 1948, Eric Fischl grew up in the suburbs of Long Island. He began his art education in Phoenix and attended Phoenix College, later earning his B.F.A. from the California Institute for the Arts in 1972. After spending time in Chicago, where he worked as a guard at the Museum of Contemporary Art, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to teach painting at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Fischl had his first solo exhibition there before relocating to New York City in 1978. Fischl’s suburban upbringing provided him with a backdrop of alcoholism and a country club culture obsessed with image over content. His early work thus became focused on the rift between what was experienced and what could not be said. His first New York City solo exhibition was at Edward Thorp Gallery in 1979, during a time when suburbia was not considered a legitimate genre for art. He received critical attention for depicting the dark, disturbing undercurrents of mainstream American life. An internationally acclaimed American painter and sculptor, Fischl’s artwork is represented in many distinguished museums throughout the world and has been featured in over 1,000 publications. His extraordinary achievements throughout his career have made him one of the most influential figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is a Fellow at both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Science. He lives and works in Sag Harbor, NY, with his wife, the painter April Gornik.

About Marilyn Minter

Marilyn Minter (b. 1948, U.S.) is one of the most influential contemporary artists of her generation, known for her unflinching, hyperreal examinations of beauty, power and desire. Working across painting, photography and video, she challenges conventional aesthetics by fusing glamour with grit and seduction with subversion. Drawing from fashion, advertising, pornography and art history, Minter’s work explores the intersections of pleasure, femininity and consumer culture. Her signature style—lush, high-gloss surfaces layered with sweat, glitter and condensation—collapses the boundaries between attraction and repulsion, reality and fantasy. Since the 1970s, Minter has consistently used her practice to interrogate the idealized images produced by mass media. From her early “bush paintings” to large-scale billboard projects and video works, she confronts cultural taboos surrounding sexuality, gender and feminism. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. Her 2016 retrospective, Pretty/Dirty, further established her as a pioneering artist whose work brings visibility to subjects often pushed to the margins.

About Phoenix College

Founded in 1920, Phoenix College is the flagship institution of the Maricopa County Community College District, one of the largest community college systems in the nation. Serving more than 17,000 students each year, the college offers over 200 degree and certificate programs, including associate degrees, university transfer pathways, workforce training, and select bachelor’s degrees aligned with Arizona’s evolving workforce needs. Committed to access, academic excellence, and student success, Phoenix College helps students build skills, advance their careers, and create better futures for themselves and their families.

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The post Phoenix Art Museum partners with Phoenix College to host 2026 Eric Fischl Series featuring Marilyn Minter; Exclusive screening of PRETTY DIRTY: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

Special-engagement fashion exhibition The World of Anna Sui opens to the public on April 12. Additional programming includes First Friday, film screenings, workshops, and more.

MUSEUM CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC ON APRIL 11

On April 11, 2025, PhxArt will be closed to the public in celebration of the Museum’s annual fundraising gala The pARTy in the Garden and The afterpARTy.

FEATURED FREE-ACCESS PROGRAMS
Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays
Every Wednesday | 3 – 8 pm
Voluntary-donation general admission
$10 off Memberships when purchased on-site

SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $7 for adults | $5 for youth under 17 | FREE for Museum Members and Maricopa County Community College students*

Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays are made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. The Maricopa County Community College District program at Phoenix Art Museum (MC3@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.

Free Admission for Maricopa County Community Colleges Students
All Maricopa County Community Colleges students enjoy free general admission to PhxArt, including admission into special-engagement exhibitions. Active student ID required.

The Maricopa County Community College District program at Phoenix Art Museum (MC3@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.

Military Discount

Active-duty U.S. military personnel and veterans enjoy discounted admission to PhxArt throughout the year. Qualified members must show a valid ID on-site to receive $5 off general admission tickets.

FEATURED EVENTS
2025 Eric Fischl Lecture Series: Eric Fischl
April 2 | Lecture @ 7:30 pm
Free for Members and MCCCD students | $5 for the general public
Lecture presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity.
Celebrating 20 years of hosting The Eric Fischl Series, The 2025 Eric Fischl Lecture features Eric Fischl himself, renowned contemporary painter, sculptor, author and Phoenix College alumnus. Hear from Fischl in conversation with Eleanor Nairne, the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, who will discuss the artist’s new work including Bathers, a series of large-scale hand painted bronze sculpture derived from virtual reality paintings. Tickets are available for reservation here.

First Friday
April 4 | 5 – 8 pm
Voluntary-donation general admission
SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $7 for Adults | $5 for Youth (6-17)
Join us for First Friday, featuring free general admission and programming, including:

• Music by DJ J-M Lee (@jmelee)
• In-gallery sketching with Aileen Martinez (@look.see.draw)
• Specialty food and beverage experiences with ARTenders, Harlem Coffee (@drinkharlem), and El Fogón de Joy (@elfogondejoy)
• $10 off any Membership (on-site offer only)
• + more!

First Friday at PhxArt is made possible through the generosity of APS and Lexus.

The pARTy in the Garden
April 11 | 6 – 9 pm
The pARTy in the Garden is the annual gala of Phoenix Art Museum, with proceeds benefitting exhibitions, education and engagement programs, and vital operations. The evening includes an elegant cocktail hour, a seated dinner and dessert, and dancing.

This year’s afterpARTy will feature the premiere of The World of Anna Sui. Organized by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, the major exhibition explores in minute detail the materials, cultural obsessions, and global styles that have inspired Sui for decades through 100 ensembles from the designer’s archive. All attendees to The pARTy gala receive complimentary admission to The afterpARTy.For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

The pARTy in the Garden is made possible through the generosity of Jay Franke and David Herro, Jordan Rose and Rob Walton, Carole and Arte Moreno, *Sally and Bill Pope, Bob Lavinia, *Alice and James Bazlen, Jon and Carrie Hulburd, *Jeanne and Chad Miraglia, Greg and Jannelle Peterson, Erin and John Gogolak, *Judy and Bill Goldberg, *Rose and Harry Papp, Judy and *Alan Kosloff, Matthew Boland and Christopher Greulich, John Brooks, Cynthia and *Martin R. Galbut, *Sara T. and Arthur Gordon, Sharon and *Oliver Harper, MD, Tracy Holton, *Lindsay Jewel and Charles Morrow, Donna and Steve Johnson, Tracy Katz and Brad Roberts, Ilana Ron-Levey and David Levey, Nick and Olivia Smith, Lauri and Eric Termansen, Catherine and Jim Tuton. In-kind support provided by Arizona Biltmore.

The afterpARTy
April 11 | 9 pm – 12 am
$125 for Members | $165 for general public or $300 for pair of tickets
The afterpARTy is PhxArt’s exclusive, late-night “party in the Museum” experience that raises funds to support free admission and education programs for young people. The night will feature Vancouver-based DJ Felix Cartal, custom cocktails, gourmet bites, and dancing, with special guest Anna Sui, the iconic American fashion designer.

This year’s The afterpARTy will feature the premiere of The World of Anna Sui. Organized by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, the major exhibition explores in minute detail the materials, cultural obsessions, and global styles that have inspired Sui for decades through 100 ensembles from the designer’s archive. Guests can dance the night away, and experience the imaginative, pop culture inspired universe of an iconic American fashion designer. The all-inclusive night offers a hosted bar featuring creative cocktails, light bites and desserts, live music and dancing, and exclusive access to preview The World of Anna Sui before it opens to the public. Tickets are available for reservation here.

The afterpARTy is generously supported by Andrew and Jennifer Cooper. DJ is underwritten by Jay Franke and David Herro.

WORKSHOP // Family Studio  
April 26, 2025 | 10 am – 12:30 pm  
$20 for Members/$10 for youth (8-17) | $40 for the general public/$20 for youth (ages 8-17)  
Presented in the classroom located in the admin building.  
Limited capacity. Advance registration required.  
Join designer Leonar Aispuro for a hands-on workshop inspired by the designs of Anna Sui, whose garments are on view in exhibition The World of Anna Sui. Participants will get to explore creativity through custom-printed textiles and create a scarf, bow, or sew a stuffed doll, blending fashion design with playful artistry.  

Family Studio is a collaborative workshop designed for children ages eight and up, along with their parents or caregivers, to experience and create art together. You’ll be guided through the art-making activity, gaining insights into its artistic value and unique characteristics. Each session includes a conversation in the galleries about the workshop’s inspired artwork on display, followed by a hands-on studio art activity. The workshop includes all art-making materials, instruction, and general admission to the museum. All children must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Family Studio is made possible by Jane A. Lehman and Alan G. Lehman Foundation.  

OPENING SOON
The World of Anna Sui
April 12 – September 28, 2025
Blending rock and roll with romanticism, Anna Sui taps into the timeless nostalgia of fashion’s earlier days and pairs it with her rocker aesthetic. Since premiering her first runway show in 1991, Sui has launched over 80 collections of ready-to-wear garments, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances through her independent brand, effectively popularizing the boutique fashion look. Through head to toe looks, she has created a graphic, imaginative universe inhabited by alter-egos that draw inspiration from the worlds of cowgirls, grunge girls, hippie chicks, hula girls, Mods, pirate rock stars, Pre-Raphaelite maidens, and surfer nomads. 

The World of Anna Sui features approximately 100 ensembles from the renowned designer’s archive, presenting a roll call of 12 archetypes that are staples of the Sui aesthetic. Featuring everything from garments to accessories, hair styles to makeup, scent to sound, the exhibition explores in minute detail the materials, cultural obsessions, and global styles that have inspired Sui for decades. As a special addition to the exhibition, PhxArt will present looks from Sui’s recent collection, highlighting her work with experimental paper-like fabrics. Garments from the PhxArt fashion collection will be paired alongside Sui’s body of work, demonstrating the designer’s inspiration from the delicacies and details of former fashion trends.  

The World of Anna Sui is organized by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, and curated by Dennis Nothdruft, Head of Exhibitions at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London. Its presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Helen Jean, The Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion, with Catherine Wise, the Hirabayashi Intern in Fashion. Its Phoenix premiere is made possible by presenting sponsor Thomas Carlton Rogers II, with support provided by Arizona Costume Institute, and Bennett and Jacquie Dorrance. Additional support provided by Tran Tran, Founder, Axis Employment Services. In-kind support provided by Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix and KJZZ. All Fashion exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by The Kelly Ellman Fashion Endowment Fund. All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

NOW OPEN
Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape
Through June 15, 2025
Featuring nearly 65 works by 18 lens-based artists, including black-and-white images and sculptural installations, Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape defies traditional conceptions of photography to infuse the landscape with a greater awareness of histories, natural forces, and inhabitants going back thousands of years. The exhibition offers a compelling view into ecological trauma, our personal and collective relationships to land, and how photography can help us envision paths forward.

Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape is organized by the Carnegie Museum of Art and curated by Dan Leers, curator of photography, with Keenan Saiz, former Hillman Photography Initiative project curatorial assistant. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Emilia Mickevicius, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography at Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape is made possible through the generosity of The William Talbott Hillman Foundation, The Henry L. Hillman Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Henry Luce Foundation, The Teiger Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts. All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation, with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

Eamon Ore-Giron: Tomorrow’s Monsoon
Ongoing
Born in Tucson, Ore-Giron’s practice embodies a transcultural, cross-disciplinary approach to seeing and making. Referencing Indigenous and craft traditions, as well as 20th century avant-gardes, his paintings resonate across cultural contexts and draw on vocabularies of architecture, textiles, maps, hieroglyphics, and astral charts to arrive at a visual language that is uniquely his own. Ore-Giron also works in video and music, and his interdisciplinary projects explore the interrelationship of sound, color, rhythm, and pattern and manifest a history of transnational exchange. His practice seeks to destabilize linear, Western art-historical inheritances by suggesting a shared heritage of forms and ideas. Tomorrow’s Monsoon draws inspiration from the natural world and particularly the Arizona desert that he grew up in. As Ore-Giron was conceiving the work, he was drawn to the idea of the vastness of the desert and of the perspective you get on the space around you as you drive through Arizona. The installation is a tribute to the desert that he loves, offering a panoramic vista of that environment and a note of hope––of the relief and life that the rains bring. 

Museum commission with funds provided by Men’s Arts Council, Joan Cremin, and Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation. 

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

OTHER EVENTS
KIDS // Create Playdate
April 5, 12, 19, 26 | 11 am – 3 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public
For more information, click here.

Create Playdate is made possible by First Things First, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.

KIDS // Storytime
April 3 | 10:30 am
Free for Members | Included in general admission for the general public
Advance registration recommended.
For more information, click here.

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

LEARN // Object of the Month: Zoned Out In The 90045 by Ruben Ochca
April 3, 5, 17, 24 | 11:30 am
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public
For more information, click here.

WORKSHOP // PhxArt Educator Workshop: Constructed Landscapes
April 9 | 5 – 7:30 pm
Free for Members | $10 for Non-Members
Ticket includes resources, light bites, and Museum admission.
For more information, click here.

FILM // In Dreams: The Films of David Lynch: Eraserhead
April 12 | 1 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.

FILM //In Dreams: The Films of David Lynch: Blue Velvet
April 16 | 6 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.

PhxArt Date Night
April 18 | 6 – 8 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public
For more information, click here.

FILM // In Dreams: The Films of David Lynch: Mulholland Drive
April 19 | 1 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.

FILM // In Dreams: The Films of David Lynch: Lynch/Oz (Post Film Discussion with the Director)
April 20 | 1 pm
Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Tickets are available for reservation here.

Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.

FILM // National Theatre Live: Present Laughter
April 24 | 6 pm
$15 for Members | $20 for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity.
Tickets are available for reservation here.

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

FILM // National Theatre Live: Present Laughter
April 27 | 1 pm
$15 for Members | $20 for the general public  
Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity.
Tickets are available for reservation here.

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

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

The post Phoenix Art Museum hosts The pARTy in the Garden Gala and The afterpARTy; Anna Sui fashion exhibition to premiere in April appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.