2022 Desert Senses

The desert has long been a muse for creativity, irresistible to artists’ quest for deeper meaning through representation in art. The otherworldly flora and fauna and sheer resilience of those who make the desert their home are alluring characters for interpretation through the creative process.

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This exhibition features the work of four regional artists. Each explores their local patch of desert and beyond through a contemporary lens unique to them. Through their distinctive styles, they guide the viewer through the magic of the desert and help bring to light the need for conservation of this magical place.

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The work of Dianne Bennett, Andrew Denman, Megan Johnson and Daniel Prendergast portrays aspects of the desert and its wildlife, expressed through signs, symbols, visual metaphors and the passing of time.

Dianne Bennett lives in the hi-desert of Yucca Valley, California. She is best known for her paintings of threatened bird species and other flora and fauna on salvaged road signs. Her paintings are messages to the future, created as an offering and a warning to STOP and ask ourselves what is important and what is disappearing before our very eyes.

Andrew Denman is a Tucson artist whose acrylic paintings combine realism with abstraction to portray nature in a manner that reveals deeper meanings beyond representation. This exhibit features examples from his Animal Icon series, Totem series and Pattern series.

Megan Johnson is based in Scottsdale. Her paintings focus on the passing of time and ephemerality of the Sonoran Desert. Her newer works delve even deeper into the delicacy of the landscape, particularly the paintings of her Hereafter series based on the Tonto National Forest 2020 Bush fire and the ongoing saguaro replantation efforts in the burn scar of the region.

Daniel Prendergast is a Phoenix artist and member of the Five15 Arts Collective. His paintings and photographs examine the mysteries of time and change, primarily through our relationship with the cycles of nature, especially our intimate backyard patches of desert landscape.