Art Affaire

The Finer Arts Gallery will host a special “Art Affaire” artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, to showcase its expanded 4,000-square-foot gallery space and celebrate the new, diverse works of its 50 artists, all of whom are Arizona professional artists. The unique gallery is located inside the historic Treehouse building in Cave Creek.

Visitors to The Finer Arts Gallery will find diverse paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media, photography, glass, wood, fiber, ceramics, jewelry, and other original work. With more than four dozen fine artists, the gallery features all genres of art, from western to contemporary and even some AI-inspired and Steampunk-inspired art.

The February “Art Affaire” event marks a six-month rotation of art, but the gallery also features four artists every month. In addition, the gallery hosts an “Art Affaire” event on the third Friday of every month.

The Finer Arts Gallery’s February featured artists include:

Jo Adams: As a child, Jo Adams became enamored with turquoise when she spent a summer with relatives in a rural part of New Mexico. She has fond memories of visiting the nearby trading post, where an entire wall was covered with stunning Native American turquoise pawn jewelry. Years later, she discovered her passion for working with beads when she accidently broke some fetishes on a necklace and ventured into a bead supply store. Today, Adams works out of her Scottsdale studio to create breathtaking, original contemporary, Southwest and Native American jewelry designs.

Suzie Black: A Scottsdale resident, Suzie Black blends her background of traditional painting with the freedom and energy of abstract expressionism. Growing up in New Jersey, Black and her family often visited art galleries and museums in Manhattan. She began painting as a teenager and was drawn to abstract expressionist and expressionist portrait painters, including Richard Diebenkorn, Julian Freud and Egon Schiele. She strives to create mixed media paintings that are “brimming with emotion, rhythm, and pulsing life.”

Paulette Galop: Best known for her large sculptural ceramics, Paulette Galop has been active in the arts community for many years.In her early career, she was a studio potter making functional ware until adventure called. She traveled extensively throughout the United States, Mexico and Belize. After earning a fine arts degree, she started a family and worked in retail before pursuing her passion for clay. An award-winning artist and Cave Creek resident, Galop often finds inspiration hiking in the mountains, riding her Clydesdales on desert trails, and diving in the ocean.

Merrily Kulmer: A Scottsdale resident, Merrily Kulmer is an ‘experimental artist’ enjoying the disciplines of both realism and abstraction. She believes they both have challenges and keep her humble. She was a member of the Ching Hai Oriental Painting Association, and many of her abstract paintings reflect an Asian influence. Kulmer is drawn to contemporary abstract expressionism, and she hopes these paintings invite viewers of her work to draw their own interpretation. Her new work includes colorful, vibrant acrylic paintings, including an Arizona sunset series.

Admission to The Finer Arts Gallery’s Feb. 17 “Art Affaire” is free.

To learn more about the Art Affaire, visit www.thefinerartsgallery.com.