On the Side of Modern Art: Sedona's Artists

James Ratliff Gallery - Sedona, AZ

If you love art that is more abstract, maybe even modern, then look no further than the galleries of Sedona, Arizona. Almost every gallery in the Sedona Gallery Association has an abstract artist they represent.
 
To name just a few, start at the James Ratliff Gallery at Hillside Sedona. Ask to look at the works of Allen Dutton. Dutton is an Arizona native, and his grandparents were pioneers who came to Arizona when it was a territory back in the day. Dutton studied painting and sculpture at the Art Center School in Los Angeles where he earned a master’s degree in history.
 
Within the same gallery seek out the works of Tony Griffith’s, which is more poetic, and full of surrealism. Griffith takes his resin surface, then adds dimension of depth and vibrancy as if water is flowing over it.
 
Within Tlaquepaque, hidden near the creek, you will find Vue Gallery. Ask to see the work of Mike Elsass. By sanding and rusting sheets of metal, he explores new textures and then applies multiple layers of paint. Finishing the work with shiny or opaque gives the aging metal an almost mirror like affect. Although Elsass works with metal he is an artist who likes to absorb what is around him in the moment and then reinvent it. The desire to create a tri-dimensional effect in the tradition of chiaroscuro is also important to his technique.
 
Also working in metal within Vue Gallery is Childers-West, the two-person team consisting of Josiane Childers and Justin West. The two combine their education, talent and expertise to co-create metal sculptures. West loves steel for its strength and versatility and Childers has a degree in Fine Art, working with acrylics on canvas.

Vue Gallery - Sedona, AZ

Driving back up toward uptown, at the first round-about, on your left is the Goldenstein Gallery. Artist Keith Schall has been presenting his abstract work for many years in Sedona. Shall states:

‘My art is abstract because it understands and reflects the real universe, not the one we see unaided but the one comprised of vibrating atoms, which includes the paint I use and the hand that holds the brush.’
 
Schall credits the themes for his work to Jazz music and literature, along with a bit of mythology. Schall’s inspiration and influence comes from French impressionists, Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.
 
To discover modern and abstract art, explore all of the galleries within the Sedona Gallery Association.