ONE | Bani Adam

ONE by Iranian-American artist and refugee Nanda Sharif-pour, uses art to inspire kindness, reflection, equality and unity during these times of global political and social unrest. Sharif-pour’s installation invites audiences to engage with the poem “Bani Adam” (Persian: بنی آدم; meaning “Children of Adam”). Written by thirteen-century Iranian poet Saadi Shirazi, widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classic literary tradition. “Bani Adam” is renowned for the delicate way in which it calls

April 9, 2020 No Comments

Lenticular Portals at MMFA

James Stanford exhibits his limited edition lenticular portals, Ing Ing and Glow Glare, at Melissa Morgan Fine Art. Melissa Morgan Fine Art represents cutting-edge international contemporary art for both the savvy collector and for those newer to the art world. In its 6,500 square foot show-space, the gallery features paintings,

November 26, 2019 No Comments

Saccharine Reckoning

It has been a decade since Ali Fathollahi of downtown Las Vegas and his wife, Nanda Sharifpour, moved from their home country of Iran to Turkey, and later Las Vegas, in search of political freedom. Fathollahi and Sharif-pour were professors in Iran. They led a private school from their home

October 4, 2019 No Comments

A Phalanx of Angels Ascending

Native Las Vegas artist and photographer James Stanford designed A Phalanx of Angels Ascending, a monumental site-specific mural, to commemorate the iconic Blue Angel statue that watched over Downtown Las Vegas for 61 years from its mid-century perch at the Blue Angel Motel. The art installation was commissioned by Alison

August 17, 2019 No Comments

EX-HAUST-ED: Completely Used Up

EX-HAUST-ED: Completely Used Up A look at our current conscious decision as mankind exhausts our planet’s resources. Quivx, based in the heart of city’s Arts District, hosts EX-HAUST-ED, a pop-up installation by Las Vegas artist Joel Spencer. Spencer is an abstract and conceptual artist who works with a variety of

February 21, 2019 No Comments

Curating at Quivx

Laura Henkel will be curating art installations at the Quivx Building. The Quivx Building, formerly known at the S2 Building, has a long art-related history through pioneering Las Vegas Strip gallerist Jack Solomon. According to Henkel, Quivx building owners are delighted to sponsor exhibitions in their downstairs space, and hope

December 10, 2018 No Comments

Spiritual and Wearable Art

David Tupaz showed his designs at Fashion Week at the Manhattan Center, an ornate, venue whose majestic, hand-painted ceiling provides a firmament for artists and patrons. A stage for opera, and later, vaudeville, the venue has continued with a range of music groups, not to mention the fashion show where

October 28, 2018 No Comments

Compass of the Ephemeral

Honored to facilitate and support artist and Burning Man co-founder Will Roger Peterson with his upcoming book, Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City through the Lens of Will Roger. Smallworks Press, a Las Vegas-based independent publishing company specializing in limited edition, exquisitely-printed books focusing on contemporary

September 14, 2018 No Comments

All Art Is Erotic

Titillation is a pillar of Las Vegas culture and hardly elicits a raised eyebrow throughout the Valley, but the annual 12 Inches of Sin isn’t about attempting to incite basic desires. Well, not exclusively. With a doctorate in human sexuality and a PhD in erotology from the Institute for the

May 20, 2018 No Comments

Many Facets

Some say art imitates life. In the case of James Stanford, it is difficult to separate his life from his art. He is a native of Las Vegas. He is a classically trained artist. He is a teacher of the arts. He is a patron of the arts. He is

February 10, 2018 No Comments

Shimmering Zen

American artist James Stanford presents Shimmering Zen, an extraordinary new exhibition of Contemporary Buddhist art, featuring modern mandalas that premieres as part of Asian Art in London 2017 week, opening at 99 Kensington Church Street on Thursday 2 November through Saturday 11 November. Using historic Las Vegas neon signage and architectural

October 18, 2017 No Comments

Las Vegas’ Most Beautiful

Dr. Laura Henkel is honored to be named as Las Vegas’ most beautiful people in Las Vegas by L’Vegue Magazine. Per Henkel, “I am star struck by my fellow honorees, as well as the elegance of editor extraordinaire David Tupaz. Thank you, L’Vegue, for highlighting the beauty of our community.”

September 15, 2017 No Comments

Captured Magic

The Las Vegas Sun shares the images from patrons of 12 Inches of Sin art festival. The festival activated 30,000 sqft of retail space at New Orleans Square to exhibit artists from all over the world for its sixth annual juried art exhibition. > Read More

September 13, 2017 No Comments

This is Art

One of the largest public art exhibits in Nevada happens this weekend. But that’s not really what’s so unique about the show. “12 Inches of Sin,” which will be housed in 72,000-square-feet of downtown’s New Orleans Square at Commerciial Center, 953 E. Sahara Avenue. In addition, this year’s show features

July 21, 2017 No Comments

Three-Day Art Festival

Six times larger than in years past, the 72,000-square-foot, two-story retail space will be transformed into an immersive playground for the adventurous at New Orleans Square at the Commercial Center. 12 Inches of Sin was previously held inside The Arts Factory, and the new location offers room for a dizzying

July 20, 2017 No Comments

Resistance is Futile

Arts reporter Ed Fuentes slips in the booth at a downtown Mexican restaurant with me and just takes a glance at specials before ordering off the menu. It’s one of his stops when he is downtown shooting photographs of street art and public art, and he points to the murals

July 15, 2017 No Comments

Ultrablack Lights Way

In April 2016, Sin City Gallery presented Immersive, an ambitious art show that filled not only Sin City’s Arts Factory space but the parking lot outside. The event’s eye-catching poster featured a Kei Kusuma work titled “Spoiled Ram”—a striking ink-and-paper illustration of a wide-eyed woman emerging from a wall of

June 1, 2017 No Comments

The 705 Erogenous Zone

The 705 Erogenous Zone Las Vegas, NV 2017 2,000+ sqft mural (Video) Dr. Laura Henkel, Sin City Gallery (curation) Alison Chambers, The 705 (building) “Downtown” Steve Franklin, The 705 (building) Brian “Paco” Alvarez, Zappos (materials donation) Aaron Sheppard has a complex. Well, a few of them. But on this warm

May 11, 2017 No Comments

Bend Your Mind

I think of the artist Aaron Sheppard as the person who is willing to jump off the rocks into the water first, the height does not scare him, nor the sensation of cold ocean water, or whatever lurks beneath the choppy waves…or maybe it does, but he is still determined

May 1, 2017 No Comments

Strange Glove Entices and Intimidates

You can look but you can’t touch. The rubbery, wet-looking pieces in Chris Bauder’s “Strange Glove” solo show at Sin City Gallery ask to be interacted with, but there’s a reason the fleshy assault rifles are protected behind a glass case. He likes the idea of people wanting to interact

April 1, 2017 No Comments

Exhibit Gives In To Sin

A toy gun and an old computer mouse sit on a shelf, their plastic shells encased in salmon-pink latex. At least that’s what one can assume they were before artist Chris Bauder transformed them into aesthetically glutinous pieces for his latest exhibit, Strange Glove. The mouse, titled “Backlash,” now resembles

March 8, 2017 No Comments

Make Me Swoon

American artist Shelbi Schroeder makes photographs that have a sort of old world breathlessness to them. Her recent White series is made up of landscapes of pristine clouds, the subjects caught at the moment of snowy solitude and purity. Still others show the moment of sexual pleasure, where memories, rivers

January 30, 2017 No Comments

Swoon

It’s hard to reinvent the nude, but former Las Vegan Shelbi Schroeder has done just that—turned the same old body we’re so used to seeing into something fresh, mysterious and vital. Swoon features nine works in 12-by-12-inch frames, each exhibiting a single Fujifilm Instax Mini color instant photo of a

January 11, 2017 No Comments

Not Kid Stuff

Las Vegas-based Iranian artists Ali Fathollahi and Nanda Sharifpour landed in Istanbul, Turkey, the day before the terrorist attacks at Ataturk Airport this summer, finding themselves once again in a heightened political landscape where violence shakes and defines reality. As jarring as it was, it was familiar terrain for Fathollahi,

September 26, 2016 No Comments

Creating Questions with Art

Ali Fathollahi is an Iranian-American artist based in Las Vegas. All his experiences, from being an expatriate of Iran to moving from city to city, have influenced his work and inspired him to create more than “beautiful.” He has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a master’s in fine

August 26, 2016 No Comments

Mermaid Parade

Paint This Desert, an arts and culture blog, published my experiences of attending the 1st annual mermaid parade, Bearded and Shucked, in Joshua Tree, California with artist Aaron Sheppard and a group of adventurous souls. > Read More /a>

July 20, 2016 No Comments

Nexus of Creativity

I had the pleasure to write a piece for BLVDS Magazine and its Arts and Culture issue featuring Las Vegas artist James Stanford. The art of James Stanford is the nexus of creativity and captures the fabulous glamour of vintage Vegas through a series of photomontages utilizing neon signage to

July 15, 2016 No Comments

Day of the Provocateur

“Henkel, and Sin City, always seem to make a big impact. The 12 Inches show, now in its sixth year, draws hundreds of submissions. Last year she crowd-funded four books of art compiled from past 12 Inches shows; the fifth book comes out this year. Now, the gallerist is taking

April 1, 2016 No Comments

Taboo

If there’s still a taboo around erotic art in Las Vegas, rest assured: Dr. Laura Henkel is breaking it. The curator and specialist in human sexuality helms the Sin City Gallery, which is preparing for an upcoming show of Hajime Sorayama paintings. She also runs 12 Inches of Sin, an

March 26, 2016 No Comments

Immersive Art Happening

March 11, 2016 No Comments