2013                                                                                        

Paper From All Sides
January 24, 2013 – April 21, 2013
Main Gallery

We interact with paper constantly; unfolding the morning news, receiving a receipt for lunch, reading a book in the evening, wrapping a gift, cleaning a counter top, shipping a package, or getting a cup of coffee. Paper is so ubiquitous and intertwined with our lives, and especially for artists, this material can be a core component of the daily creative process, no matter what the discipline. Since its invention in China at the dawn of the first millennium, paper has become a material that humanity has come to rely on in countless ways. This exhibit is an exploration of the divine qualities of this simple and unassuming entity in our daily lives, and the inherent beauty that it harbors.

2012                                                                                        

ART OF THE COSMOS
December 14, 2012 – March 24, 2013
Entry Gallery

A glance up into the night sky can inspire both awe and wonder in an instant. The clear, dark evenings of southern Arizona are especially conducive to experiencing the grand spectacle of the cosmos and Tohono Chul is turning its gaze upwards. This exhibit of dynamic, colorful images of star clusters and nebulae highlights the work of regional astro-photographers who creatively explore both the beauty and the mystery of the universe surrounding us.

Mayan Calendar
November 8, 2012 – February 9, 2013
Education Center, Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery

For centuries, visual artists have broadened our understanding of our global ancestry through a dedication to formal yet very personal interpretations of the world. Tohono Chul is celebrating this rich relationship between artists and cultural commentary with Mayan Calendar: Interpretations, an exhibit in the Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery that aims to illuminate the enigmatic Mayan calendar, as well as their use of symbolism and adherence to cyclical time.

Horse Country: Horses in the Southwest
October 25, 2012 – January 20, 2013
Main Gallery

Horses have been an integral part of the history and cultural identity of the Southwest since their reintroduction to this area in the sixteenth century. Graceful, elegant, and powerful, horses have provided support to humans in transportation, ranching and development, thus securing a lasting bond of respect and admiration for these creatures. This exhibition celebrates horses and explores the myriad ways in which they have become synonymous with life in the Southwest, while highlighting their sheer beauty and majesty. Through sculpture, painting, photography and a range of other media, we see just why this is “Horse Country.”

Water: An Exploration in Prints
August 30, 2012 – November 11, 2012
Entry Gallery

Water is earth’s most vital resource, essential to all living things. It is also a source of beauty, mystery, and metaphor. Tohono Chul is hosting an exhibit looking at the dynamic and universal subject of water through artworks created using traditional printmaking techniques. Via woodblock prints, etching, monoprints and other methods, printmakers from the region explore personal and cultural connections with water, its metaphorical and sacred qualities, conservation issues, its aesthetic beauty, as well as the relationship of water to the greater Sonoran Desert region.

My Heart Changes
September 6, 2012 – November 3, 2012
Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery

My Heart Changes is an exhibit that showcases visual and communicative artwork created by K-12 students who were part of the Southeastern Arizona Arts in Academics (SAAA) Project, which brings arts integration to rural schools in Southern Arizona. The SAAA Project focused primarily on helping teachers implement arts education to deepen students’ ability to understand the core curriculum concepts more clearly. Not only did students engage in hands-on learning experiences and gain confidence in their own creative abilities and expression, teachers learned how to plan units, evaluate student learning and organize and execute student’s showcases and performances.

Contemporary Ceramics
July 26, 2012 – October 21, 2012
Exhibit House Main Gallery
For thousands of years, clay has been harvested from the earth and used as a material for sculptural works and functional ware. The rich history and tradition of ceramic art continues to thrive and evolve in the hands of experienced and adventurous potters who transform these earthly materials into magical and sometimes ethereal forms. This exhibit explores the adventurous work of local ceramic artists who employ clay in surprising and inventive ways, continuing the legacy of innovation and exploration that has defined this ancient medium.

Zoom In! A Photographic Exploration of Pollinators
June 14, 2012 – September 1, 2012
Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery
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Pollinators: The Art of Interdependence
May 31 – August 12
Exhibit House Entry Gallery
A quiet but essential dance of pollination is happening all around us. This dance is subtle, with bees balancing on flower stamens, hummingbirds sipping from tubular blossoms, and moths hovering over evening blooms. Within all of these small movements and miniscule gestures, an epic tale of interdependence unfolds as pollinators support biodiversity and ensure the health of our terrestrial ecosystems. This exhibits focuses on the hard working creatures that are key players in this ongoing process of pollination. Through paintings, drawings, sculpture, and other mixed media, these artists honor pollinators, looking especially at those that are known to the Sonoran Desert region.

Mesquite
April 26 – July 22, 2012
Main Gallery
The mesquite is God’s best thought in all this desertness.”
-Mary Austin, The Land of Little Rain
As one of the most plentiful trees in the American Southwest, Mesquite is an essential component of this region’s natural and cultural history. Used for generations as a source of food and shelter, the diversity of this plant continues to reveal new uses and expand ancient traditions. Beautiful, hardy and tenacious, mesquite is a quintessential Southwestern tree. This exhibit celebrates the tree’s shimmering and diverse qualities in fine art works, furniture and functional ware, work crafted from and created about the deep, dense wood of this iconic tree.

Congressional Student Art Exhibit 2012
May 10 – May 27
Entry Gallery
Tohono Chul Park advocates for local school art education programs by presenting student art exhibits that show the importance of visual literacy in education. For the fourth year, the Park is hosting an exhibit of artworks by the 1st and 2nd place winners of the Congressional District 8 Art Competition. This local event mirrors many similar contests held throughout the nation in order to encourage and recognize the imagination and spirit of our local talented young artists.

Artful Gourds
March 8 – May 6, 2012
Entry Gallery
The simple, yet elegant form of a gourd can be utterly transformed into an exceptional work of art in the hands of an artist dedicated to the craft of gourd carving. The time-honored tradition of using gourds as a starting point for a creative journey is alive in this group exhibition of the work of regional gourd artists who carve, paint, and craft incredible, intricate artworks, all from the humble gourd.

Arizona Centennial Exhibit
January 26 – April 22, 2012
Main Gallery
From the vast star-filled skies above the Grand Canyon to the Saguaro-studded hills of the Sonoran Desert, Arizona is not a place easily described in generalities, it is place of converging stories and continual change. It is a place of peoples as diverse as the landscape, with a wide range of cultural histories. Since gaining statehood on Valentine’s Day, Feb 14th, 1912, Arizona has developed tremendously, yet, this very special corner of the globe ever continues to be a source of a timeless reverence, illustrating it’s ancient past all around us.
In celebration of Arizona’s 100th birthday, Tohono Chul Park’s Arizona Centennial Exhibit highlights the work of nearly forty artists, each offering their own window into the heart of the state. This exhibit features a range of artworks by Arizona artists who are creatively exploring the unique identity of the Grand Canyon State, inspired by the diverse symbols, landscapes, wildlife, iconic places, people, and cultures that make Arizona such a multifaceted source of inspiration and wonder. On display are sculptural works, paintings, photographs, items from the park’s permanent collection, and mineral specimens on-loan from the University of Arizona Mineral Museum.

2011                                                                                        

Art of the Guitar
December 15, 2011 – March 4, 2012
Entry Gallery
The guitar is a dynamic instrument with a rich history and connections to countless styles of music, inspiring musicians and visual artists alike. In tandem with the Tucson Museum of Art exhibit Who Shot Rock and Roll and Tucson Rocks, this exhibit highlights the artwork of regional artists who are creating works where the guitar takes center stage. With an eye towards the sheer beauty of the instrument and its contemporary popularity, Art of the Guitar is an exciting look at this versatile instrument, and an investigation into its cultural and historical impact in the Southwest region.

Holiday For the Park
November 17 – December 12, 2011
Entry Gallery
At Tohono Chul Park, our annual Holiday for the Park ornament show represents a circle of giving that begins with regional artists who create and donate exquisite, and unique hand-crafted ornaments and holiday decorations which are put on display, and offered for sale to benefit the Park. The funds raised through Holiday for the Park help us fulfill our mission to provide a unique place where people can enjoy the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and learn about its natural, artistic and cultural heritage.

Día de los Muertos
Sept 1, 2011 – Nov 6, 2011
Main Gallery
Opening Reception during Park After Dark, Friday, October 21, 5pm-8pm
Tohono Chul Park’s exhibit Día de los Muertos show­cases a versatile array of art works created by regional artists paying homage to this observance. Our ever–popular Community Ofrenda/Altar allows visitors to participate by leaving a token memento in tribute for their departed loved ones. Also presented are fanciful and moving contem­porary paintings, photographs, quilts, and artful works that link us as human beings in dealing with death, loss and remembrance.
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated in Mexico on All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2nd.) With roots blending customs from pre-Hispanic and European influences, Día de los Muertos is a family observance when ancestors and loved ones who have died are honored and remembered. It is a poignant time, both solemn and joyous, with colorful traditions, pageantry, and whimsy despite the sobering subject. Families clean, paint and decorate graves of relatives and participate in graveside vigils with candles, flowers and music.
At home, ofrendas (altars) honor the dead, embellished with photographs of beloved family mem­bers, family saints, candles, flowers and offerings — favorite foods and pan de muertos (bread of the dead) to welcome their souls back for a short time. Not to be confused with our ghoulish celebration of Halloween, Day of the Dead is a joyful remembrance with feasts and festivities in which death is recognized as a natural part of the cycle of life.
Artists Participating in this Exhibit:
Nancy Arseneault, Juliette Beaumont, Graciela Ramirez Ciotti, Sharon Elliott, Jennifer Eschedor, Denyse Fenelon, Jo Kubran, Diana Ingalls Leyba, Linda McKittrick, Joseph Marshall, Ruben Urrea Moreno, Marco Prado, Helen Norsigian Rowles, Timothy Schirack, Rachel Slick, Lidia Teran-Copper, Taylor Thoenes, Hank Tusinski, Rennee Wiggins, William Wiggins III

Click below to watch the Arizona Public Media spotlight on this exhibit by Luis Carrión:

Art Journaling
September 15 – November 14, 2011
Entry Gallery
Art journals are visual and personal journeys, often incorporating artistic images along with an artist’s thoughts, ideas, musing and impressions within their pages. Artists may also collect images, clippings, cards and ephemera into scrapbooks/sketchbooks, culling inspiration from them. In many ways, Art Journals can be stand-alone projects, or they may be the first shoreline of the creative process. This invitational group exhibit will feature a wide range of personal art journals that are all as unique as the artists who create them.

The Art and Culture of the Tarahumara
summer 2011 – spring 2012
The Tarahumara, who call themselves Rarámuri, live in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico in a portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental. They sustain themselves by utilizing more than 300 different plant species that grow near their home. These plants not only provide food, fiber, and medicine but are used by Tarahumara craftsmen to construct storage vessels, cultural carvings and tools.
This exhibit features artwork loaned to the Park by Dr. Barney Burns and Mahina Drees, co-founders of Native Seeds SEARCH and owners of the trading company Unknown Mexico. This exhibit also features the dynamic photography of Dr. John Schaefer, who traveled to Tarahumara lands in the late 1970s with author Bernard Fontana to photograph the people for the book Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon. Both Dr. Schaefer and the Burns’ have been generous enough to share works from their personal collection for this exhibit.

2010                                                                                        

Encaustics: Visions in Wax
September 16 – November 15, 2010
Entry Gallery
Creating artwork with beeswax is a practice that stretches back to the time of ancient Greece. Known as Encaustics, this fascinating art technique combines natural wax with pigments and other materials to create a world of textures, colors and subtlety. Often recognized mainly as a painting medium, Encaustics can be appropriated for use as a sculptural material as well. This exhibition highlights the work of local artists using this technique in two and three dimensional works of art, illustrating the flexibility of this age old material in the hands of contemporary artists.

Tohono Chul Park A to Z
May 20 – October 3, 2010
Do you know your ABC’s? To celebrate 25 years of memories and accomplishments, we are presenting the exhibit Tohono Chul Park A-to-Z, a visual compendium that touches upon some of the people, places and things that make the Park so special. A is for Architecture including the Mexican-Colonial style home designed by the late Tucson architect Louis DeWitt Hall that is now the Park’s Garden Bistro, and the Pueblo-Revival style Exhibit House built of stuccoed adobe in 1937. B is for Birds that can be seen around the Park and Bobcats too, who are occasional visitors. C is for Cholla Forest, our prickly plants of the Sonoran Desert. With alphabetical themes and artworks by regional artists, we commemorate 25 years of stories linking art, nature and culture.

Who Do You Think We Are? Tohono Chul Park Staff Profiles
Entry Gallery
July 29 – September 14, 2010
As part of Tohono Chul Park’s 25th anniversary, we saluted our talented and hard-working Park staff while we gave visitors the opportunity to get to know them a little better. Some had a passion for animals while others tended their home gardens with the same zest and vigor they brought to Tohono Chul’s grounds, and many of the staff members had additional hidden talents. Some were gifted artists, quilters, woodworkers, photographers, writers, and poets while others had athletic talents and unique hobbies.

Congressional Student Art Exhibit
Entry Gallery
April 22 – June 8, 2010
Working with U. S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ office, Tohono Chul Park again hosted the annual Congressional Student Art Competition by presenting the 1st and 2nd place prize-winning works from the 8th District. 201 marked the 25th anniversary of the Congressional Arts Competition sponsored by the Congressional Arts Caucus. The competition was created to recognize the creative talents of young Americans. Each year, a top Grand Prize winner from each congressional district across the nation is selected and the student and parents are invited to Washington, D.C. to attend a reception launching the annual national exhibition. All Grand Prize winning works are hung for the ensuing year in an exhibit at the U. S. Capitol building providing a broad spectrum of artistic talents by high school students from across the United States.

Art that Heals
March 11 – May 16, 2010
Art That Heals is an exhibit of artworks that have a healing role in the life of their creator or viewer. Objects such as mandalas, icons, shrines or other images used for mediation, prayer or healing will be featured, along with works dealing with prayer or intercessions to saints, artwork made in response to grief or to help the maker deal with a spiritual or psychological problem, and artwork that engenders or represents hope and healing.
The exhibit’s aim is to explore how art images can be powerful objects that positively influence our spirits. For instance, images can be meditative aids, and art activities frequently are used in therapeutic settings to provide patients with a means of self expression and healing. Art-making can be cathartic for people who endure suffering, helping restore balance and health in their lives after experiencing loss or illness.

Navajo Crafts — Connecting Generations
Entry Gallery
March 4 – April 20, 2010
The Navajo, who call themselves Diné, live in some of the most scenic and majestic country in the Southwest. Their reservation is the largest in the United States and includes 16 million acres expanding across parts of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southern Utah. Family homesteads are scattered across the vast open country that includes mesas, canyons, desert sands, grasslands and pinyon-dotted hills. For the Navajo, family support and unity is especially important in daily life and, for many, herding sheep and livestock and producing traditional crafts is a family-centered tradition that bridges generations.
Our exhibit showcased a small selection of pottery and basketry showing the trail-blazing work of the Black and Williams families as well as traditional and innovative work in weaving and jewelry.

Traditional Paper Art: Contemporary Interpretations
Entry Gallery
Jan. 21 – Mar. 2, 2010
This two-person exhibit in the Gallery at Tohono Chul Park featured imaginative interpretations of traditional paper arts: Polish paper cutting (wycinanki) by a Tucson treasure, Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, and origami by Arizona State University mathematician Goran Konjevod.

2009                                                                                      

Dr. John Schaefer —The Desert Illuminated
Entry Gallery
December 10, 2009 – January 19, 2010
A Desert Illuminated is an apt description for John P. Schaefer’s series of eye-popping larger-than-life images of flowering cacti. Combining his lifelong love of photography with his appreciation of desert plants, Schaefer gives us an insect’s eye view. Zeroing in with microscopic accuracy on delicate and velvety paper-thin flower petals dusted with yellow pollen and contrasting cactus thorns, he allows us to see the wonders of the desert in minute detail. By using a black backdrop and printing the images in large format, he heightens the dramatic impact of each brilliant orange, yellow, red and purple blossom, revealing their exotic beauty.

Holiday Ornaments Exhibit & Fundraiser
Entry Gallery
November 19 – December 8, 2009
Generosity is something that happens no matter the economic climate. Here at Tohono Chul Park, the annual Holiday for the Park ornament exhibit and fundraiser represented a circle of giving that begins with local artists who created and donated exquisite, one-of-a-kind ornaments and holiday decorations which, in turn, were purchased by Park supporters. The funds raised through Holiday for the Park, helps us fulfill our mission to provide a unique place where people can enjoy the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and learn about its natural, artistic and cultural heritage.

Canyons of the Southwest
Main Gallery
November 12, 2009 – January 10, 2010
The intriguing rock-carved canyons of the southwestern United States have long been the subject of painters and photographers. Our state’s own dramatic Grand Canyon has been a muse for legions of artists who have attempted to capture its changing moods, transforming colors and forms. Our exhibit included paintings, fiber art, photography and works in a variety of media that explored specific southwestern canyons, or express a sense of canyon spaces in abstract and imaginative works.

Wish You Were Here—Fiber Art Postcards
Entry Gallery
September 14 – November 16, 2009
How often have we scribbled that on the back of a vacation postcard mailed to the folks back home? Wish You Were Here: Fiber Art Postcards, was TCP’s second non-juried exhibit of postcards made by artists who work with fiber-based media such as quilting, weaving, papermaking, embroidery and other fiber art and surface design methods. In a similar manner as tourist postcards, these miniature artworks documented real or imagined trips, experiences or events in the state of Arizona. Artists living anywhere in the world were invited to create postcards and mail them to our gallery during the month of July without the protection of an envelope, adding an element of risk to the exhibit concept.
Wish You Were Here displayed the imaginative postcards in a playful manner, clipped to lines draped and suspended them across the gallery ceiling, so that viewers could view both sides of the postcards. A color catalog of all the postcards was available for sale.