TUCSON, AZ
The perfect mix of art, architecture, and landscape.
I love exploring local art galleries because they provide a deeper insight into the area you are visiting - whether it's the marina life of beach towns, the hustle of urban areas, or the Native American influence on life in the Southwest.
Today I explored the Gallery in the Sun, built by Ted DeGrazia, an artist, born in Arizona in 1909 to Italian immigrants - his father a miner, his mother raising seven children. DeGrazia's art is heavily influenced by his childhood in Arizona and his Native American childhood friends, as well as his five years in Italy where he was exposed to music and religious art.
As an adult, he studied in Arizona and Mexico City, observing the ways of local Indian tribes. In 1951, he purchased a 10-acre site where he built his Gallery in the Sun - the site of the gallery I visited on Sunday.
DeGrazia got his break in 1960 when UNICEF chose his painting, Los Niños, for its Christmas card, selling over five million boxes throughout the world, and bringing worldwide attention to the artist.
DeGrazia's art is heavily influenced by the Southwest, Native Americans, and religion. His gallery displays six permanent collections, plus a rotating collection. Right now, the collection on display is The Way of the Cross, displayed in observance of this Lenten and Easter season.
I love that the gallery not only displays DeGrazia's art, but also the desert-inspired architecture. You are able to tour the house he built for himself and his wife, complete with photographs of the artist in the tiny house. You can also tour the lovely chapel he built.
Again with that SKY!!! No filters on these photos. Crazy.
I am obsessed with this chapel photo below -- how the sun and clouds perfectly illuminate The Cross, and how the skylight frames it.
Below are some shots of the vegetation at The Gallery in the Sun, which is helping the Tucson landscape to grow on me. It also helps that some of the vegetation is starting to flower and that I discovered the Santa Rita variety of the prickly pear - the purple cactus you see below that provides variety to the landscape flora.
Well, let's be clear. I didn't discover this variety - it's everywhere you look. I just hadn't seen it before.
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