The unblinking days of summer are winding down, but there are still plenty of things to see. Take the Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery of Western American and Native American Art, for instance.
Covering more than 11,000 square feet in Bashas’ corporate headquarters in Chandler, the gallery displays more than 3,000 pieces of art of a wide variety of mediums. You’ll find oil paintings, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, charcoal drawings, pen and inks, bronze, wood and natural stone sculptures, basketry, pottery, kachinas and jewelry.
The collection belongs to Arizona groceryman Eddie Basha, who, encouraged by his Aunt Zelma (for whom the gallery is named), began collecting western and Native American art in the early ’70s. The Bashas, passionate about western art and history and the artists who portrayed it, attended art galleries, sales, and the annual Cowboy Artists Show to gradually amass the art on display today.
The gallery features two areas, one highlighting the work of cowboy artists John Clymer, Joe Beeler, Jim Reynolds, and Bill Owen and the other highlighting Native American artists Clifford Beck David Johns, Cecil Calnimptew, Dennis Tewa, Wilmer Kay and others.
The gallery is free and open to the public 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Prior to visiting, guests are advised to call the information line at (480) 895-5230, option 2, to ensure the gallery will be open.
DETAILS >> 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery of Western American and Native American Art, 22402 S. Basha Road, Chandler. Free. (480) 895-5230 or www.bashas.com.
Contact writer: (480) 898-5629 or sperrault@evtrib.com
loubator posted at 12:37 pm on Wed, Jul 25, 2012.
The unblinking days of summer are winding down? Not from around these parts, are you, Stephanie Perrault? This is the end of July in central Arizona, and we still have at least two more months of summer to go. We have two seasons here, hot and not hot. You might be able to use that opening statement for an article at the end of September, if you make it through the summer!