Fantastic Art, live music, fashion and the who’s who of the Art elite descended upon Legend City Studios for the 17th Annual Chaos Theory.

Ushering in the fall art season, October 7th First Friday marked the return of highly anticipated Chaos Theory, held at Legend City Studios. Guests enjoyed live music provided a from Bear State, Gene Trip, Glob, and Sunn Trio who kept the energy high, performing outside in front of the Gallery.

Our art community is comprised of such a diverse and talented group of artists here in Arizona and Phoenix continues to be the hub of contemporary art. Randy Slack has amassed an impressive group of artists for this year mixed-media exhibition, playing the roles of both artist and curator. The list of artists continues to grow each year, this year there were over topping 80 artists resulting in an impressive array of art on display.

Artists featured this year in Chaos Theory 17 included: Matthew Jon Arnold, Sara Abbott, Sergio Aguirre, James Angel, Jon Balinkie, Kristin Bauer, Rachel Bess, Brent Bond, Brian Boner, Alexandra Bowers, Colton Brock, Molten Brothers, Andy Brown, Michael Carson, Case Beer, Timothy Chapman, Cindy Dach, Bill Dambrova, David Dauncey, Judith Dauncey, Turner G. Davis, Matt Dickson, Pete Diese, Greg Esser, Jeff Falk, Lori Fenn, Fortoul Brothers, Daniel Funkhouser, Gennaro Garcia, Steve Gompf, Frank Gonzales, Ruben Gonzales, Danielle Hacche, Steven Hofberger, Lisa Von Hoffner, Travis Ivey, Jehu, Luster Kaboom, Richard Kimbrough, Mayme Kratz, William Legoullon, Carolyn Lavender, Tara Logsdon, Annie Lopez, Ashley Macias, Larry Madrigal, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, Carrie Marill, Jacob Meders, Abbey Messmer, Brooke Grucella, Lisa Olson, John Randall Nelson, Mitch Phillips, Emmett Potter, Mike Prepsky, Matt Priebe, Wayne Rainey, Christina Ramirez, Jesse Reiser, Josh Rhodes, Travis Rice, Hector Ruiz, Henry Schoebel, Randy Slack, Joe Willie Smith, JB Snyder, Forrest Solis, Kendra Sollars, Lauren Strohacker, Brandon Sullivan, Kaori Takamura, Shauna Thibault, Rick Toerne, Lucretia Torva, Ellen Wagener, Ben Willis, Larry Willis, Yai, Yuko Yabuki, and Mykil Zep.

This exhibition brought out enormous crowds of First Friday regulars, the art world elite, and even those who don’t usually participate in the crazy that First Friday festivities has become! Slack has put together an intriguing and captivating collection of artwork; a great energy and flow dominated the evening with unique groupings of artists that stimulated engaging dialogue among the guests. Offering an excellent selection of styles and mediums that were engaging and cohesively moved the view through the exhibition. It was wonderful to see an interesting mix of veteran, mid-career and emerging artists included on the rooster this year and what a bonus having many on hand to speak about their work and interact with the public during the event.

Some of the exhibition highlights included a contemporary rendition of the “Madonna & Child” painting from Tucson based artist Brooke Grucella while Gennaro Garcia presented an intricate installation of mini skulls in black and white. Wayne Rainey exhibited his much buzzed about photograph “illuminated” depicting the destruction of Roosevelt Row while Randy Slack offered a fun installation of his beloved Myrtle with massive Arizona landscape painting as backdrop.

Despite the current state of the art scene in Phoenix, Chaos Theory offered a wonderful evening celebrating art and our artists here in the valley. With many galleries and studios closing due to the continued gentrification of Roosevelt Row and surrounding areas, it was wonderful seeing so many people out celebrating, supporting and championing for the arts! Chaos Theory 17 offered an eclectic mix of art that received stellar reviews from patrons and artists alike in a highly attended and media covered exhibition. Overall an intriguing exhibition and fantastic to see that after 17 years, local artist Randy Slack stills puts together a great exhibition highlighting some of our valleys strongest local artists. Until next year Chaos Theory, we look forward to seeing what 18 will hold! 

For more information about LegendCityStudios at https://www.facebook.com/Legend-City-Studios-269523602202/. *Photographs courtesy of Nicole Royse and Gallery Photograph and Flyer by Randy Slack.