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Solo exhibition of Laura Spalding Best ‘Adrift’ to open at Walter Art Gallery

Posted 11/8/21

The Walter Art Gallery, 6425 E. Thomas Road in Scottsdale, will present “Adrift,” a solo show of new oil paintings on found objects by Phoenix based artist Laura Spalding Best.

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Solo exhibition of Laura Spalding Best ‘Adrift’ to open at Walter Art Gallery

Posted

The Walter Art Gallery, 6425 E. Thomas Road in Scottsdale, will present “Adrift,” a solo show of new oil paintings on found objects by Phoenix based artist Laura Spalding Best.

Displaying through December, Best will also debut a new mural on the exterior wall of the Walter Art Gallery, according to a press release, noting Best works mainly on found domestic objects such as silver platters, teacups, muffin trays, and old metal irons. 

“I love reusing objects and giving them a new purpose and life. Found objects come to me with more history than a blank canvas,” said Best in the release.

Using these objects as the foundation for her work, the artist explores the complex and challenging relationship between the desert environment of the southwest, human impact on the landscape, and the emotions associated with addressing climate change.

From the overwhelming feeling of futility to the hope of small, everyday actions, Best presents a body of work made up of objects that are described as trying to hold on to the landscape even as it slips away.

Hailing from the Midwest, the artist moved to Arizona when she was 18 and completed her bachelors of fine arts at Arizona State University. She has exhibited work at numerous solo and group exhibitions in downtown Phoenix and completed several public murals across the Valley of the Sun.

The Walter Art Gallery will soon have one of her murals on our building, the release said.

Best, an exhibitions manager at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art since 2006, has appeared on Arizona Horizon to discuss her artwork and received various grants to support her practice, including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and a 2017 Contemporary Forum Artists’ Grant.

The “Adrift” exhibition will be open to the public on Friday, Nov. 19, with an opening reception for Laura Spalding Best from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; and will have a closing reception from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.

The gallery is also open by appointment by emailing gallery@thewalterhive.org.

For more information about The Walter Art Gallery or the featured artist visit walter-art.com.