and identity. But that’s exactly what hap- pened to visitors who explored ASU Art Museum earlier this year, where the “Body/Magic: Liz Cohen” exhibit ex- panded on the artist’s previous “Body- works” series inspired in part by lowrider culture. The exhibit introduced new audi- ences to Cohen’s take on labor, identity, and transformation during a year when those very issues were at the heart of con- temporary life. The museum’s “Pilot Proj- ects” explored social justice as the nation grappled with police brutality, white su- premacy, and health inequities. The mu- seum provided outdoor art experiences amid the pandemic and a robust lineup of virtual conversations with artists. Free ad- mission meant greater access for commu- nity members and helped the museum stay relevant and responsive during challenging times. Bottom line: ASU Art Museum was the right museum at the right time. EEEEE Lisa Sette Gallery 210 East Catalina Drive 480-990-7342 lisasettegallery.com Gallerist Lisa Sette has a gift for finding Sky Harbor Boulevard Bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic on Interstate 10 or Loop 202 got you down? Easily fixed. Bypass a good portion of the gridlock along either freeway during your morning or late-afternoon drive times by taking this thoroughfare through Sky Harbor Airport. Traffic is relatively light, even during peak pickup or drop-off times, and the route links up with various freeways on either end. You can cruise along, shave 20 to 30 minutes off your travel time, and save yourself some grief. Re- sist the urge to floor it, though (35 mph is the limit most of the way); Phoenix Police patrol the area on the regular, and a pricey speeding ticket will make your already dreadful commute even worse. connections between contemporary art and contemporary society. For part of the past year, she showed works organized around the color blue, highlighting the col- or’s historical, aesthetic, and political sig- nificance (from ancient times, the color has represented the sky and the sea, and served as a symbol of power, wealth, and status; today, of course, Americans identify it with the Democratic Party). Sette’s midtown gallery is also distinguished by its artist roster, which includes Sonya Clark, Clau- dio Dicochea, Mark Klett, James Turrell, and many more. Walking into her gallery, you’ll always see a fascinating mix of mate- rials, from Annie Lopez’s cyanotype pho- tography on tamale paper to Mayme Kratz’s delicate animal bones encased in resin. Lisa Sette Gallery is also a great place to discover emerging talent, such as collab- orators Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Fresquez, whose large-scale suspended sculptures made with synthetic hair and braid crimps were shown alongside Angela Ellsworth’s bonnets made with thousands of corsage pins for this year’s “Things We Carry” exhibit exploring identity and radi- cal self-expression. Here, both art aficiona- dos and the art-curious find work that stretches their ideas and perceptions, de- livering that perfect mix of questions and answers. Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum 1 East Main Street, Mesa 480-644-6560 mesaartscenter.com New Mexico artist Cannupa Hanska Luger (Madan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Euro- pean) suspended strands with more than 7,000 hand-formed unfired clay beads in a circular form inside a gallery space at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, creating the Something to Hold Onto installation that an- chored his “Passage” exhibition. Made by artisans across the U.S. and Mexico, the beads represent those who’ve died migrat- ing north across the U.S.-Mexico border. Luger invited several artists to collaborate for this exhibit, including Arizona artists Thomas “Breeze” Marcus (Tohono O’odham) and Dwayne Manuel (Onk Akimel O’odham), who created a monu- mental spiral-shaped floor mural that Luger mirrored when hanging his work. During a year filled with immigration-related rheto- ric, the installation demanded that viewers consider the people behind the statistics, and served as a powerful call to advance jus- tice for asylum-seekers and Indigenous 46 BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 B ES T A Some R T me g al o p olit an lif e I NS T Hold Ont AL o thing t LA T IO N o B E S T A R T G A LL ERY B ES T S HO R T C U T
