Exhibitionism

A PEEK AT WHAT’S SHOWING AROUND TOWN

Michael Roque Collins: Growing Beneath the Ruins 2016-17, oil on linen

LewAllen Galleries, 1613 Paseo de Peralta, 505-988-3250 Landscape painter Michael Roque Collins brings a dreamlike quality to his work, and draws on themes of memory and the terrain of the psyche to create vivid compositions. His works convey a sense of mystery and the idea of earthly and spiritual domains joined as one. He renders his paintings using a thick impasto technique applied with gestural strokes and rich colors to create an impressionistic sense of light and harmony. His exhibition of recent works, Inland Mountain Journey, opens Friday, Oct. 27, with a reception at 5 p.m.

Richard Salcido and Frank Gonzales: Distant VI 2017, acrylic on panel

Beals & Co. Showroom, 830 Canyon Road, 505-357-0441 The appropriately named exhibition Distant is a body of work created by former roommates Richard Salcido and Frank Gonzales. Salcido is a San Diego-based artist who blends Pop art, graffiti, and lowbrow art into his vivid portraits of women. Gonzales hails from Tempe and merges abstraction with realist imagery of birds and flora. The two created the paintings in Distant by shipping the pieces back and forth to each other, blending their styles in a unique collaboration. The reception for the show is Friday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m.

Erin Cone: Belief 2 2017, acrylic on canvas

Nüart Gallery, 670 Canyon Road, 505-988-3888 In an exhibit of her new works, Stages of Believing, artist Erin Cone deals with themes of perception, understanding versus reality, and belief. Her works are graceful, stark compositions in which she employs a bold, graphic sense of abstraction with figurative realism. The forms are partially revealed, giving them an alluring sense of mystery. The show is on view through Nov. 5.

Wookjae Maeng: A Rooster & Hen (detail) 2017, porcelain

Form & Concept, 435 S. Guadalupe St., 505-982-8111 Korean ceramicist Wookjae Maeng’s exhibit Balance opens Friday, Oct. 27, with a reception at 5 p.m. Maeng’s wall-mounted portraits of deer, rhinos, lions, and bighorn sheep, beautifully rendered in porcelain, call our attention to animals brought to the brink of extinction and crises in biodiversity. Hung in a trophy-like manner, they also underscore the separation between humankind and the rest of the animal kingdom. “The theme of my work is to represent the complex, ambiguous and uncomfortable relationship between man and animal,” he says.

Cheri O’Brien: Santa Niña 2017, oil on canvas

Cheri O’Brien Fine Art, 618 Canyon Road, 425-308-2061 Artist Cheri O’Brien joins Jennie Cooley, Holly Goldstein, Angel Wynn, Michael Gullberg, and Carol Palmer Huntington for a group exhibit at her gallery in honor of the Day of the Dead. O’Brien creates narrative figurative imagery, portraits, and sculpture. Wynn is a mixed-media artist who blends photography with encaustics, oil paints, and collage. Cooley and Goldstein work with recycled material. Gullberg’s paintings are representational, nature-inspired works rendered on reclaimed wood. Palmer Huntington is a metalsmith who combines found objects with silver, brass, and other metals into wearable art. The show, Nuevo Día de los Muertos, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, Oct. 27.