Best Affordable Art
Fourth Avenue
READERS' PICK: It all depends on how you define "art," of course. We're going with your fairly standard concept: paintings, drawings, pottery, sculpture and photographs. Of these you'll find precious few displayed in a formal gallery setting on Fourth Avenue. (The Fourth Avenue Gallery recently closed due to lagging sales and a "bad summer"). But not to worry. There's still an amazing selection of art on the Avenue if you know where to find it. First, our favorite art stop: Value Village, which has an ever-changing, highly eclectic series featuring original and reproduction posters, paintings and photographs at reasonable prices. A stroll up the Avenue reveals several stores that feature "collectibles." And if this conforms to your concept of affordable art, by all means buy. You'll also encounter Barb's Frame of Mind, a goldmine for seekers of tasteful posters and lithographs of every size and style. Keep walking and you'll find the Creative Ventures Craft Mall, mentioned here because among those crafty items can be found some genuine original paintings, mostly in the Southwestern style. Your trip is complete when you've reached the "top" of the shopping district at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and University Boulevard, and it's there you'll find the José Galvez Photography Gallery and studio, which displays high quality prints. If your idea of art is tattoos, body piercing or green hair you'll also find that on Fourth Avenue. And then there are murals, street musicians, spiked hair, chocolate--it all depends on how you define art.READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: WomanKraft, 388 S. Stone Ave.
STAFF PICK: Your own kids' art is the best. It's cheap and it's priceless, and you've got the only copy. You can go with top-of-the-line framing or the old standby refrigerator magnets. It's probably recyclable, but if you save it all, imagine the retrospective showing you can have on an offspring's 21st birthday. Best of all, the artists will cherish you for all the confidence you show in them and they'll richly reward you with love.
CAT'S MEOW: Obsidian Gallery, a small gallery in St. Philip's Plaza, is a magical place where fine crafts and genuine art intersect. There's a sparkling whimsy at work here that underlies the choices made by gallery owner Eloise Evans. Featuring an eclectic mix of local and nationally known artists, Obsidian is the place to find special jewelry, unusual sculptures, glassware, ceramics and much more. The annual Dia de los Muertos exhibit (showing through November 2) is a treat, with smiling skeletons likely to be overflowing from every corner. Whether you're looking for a perfect gift or a special piece of artwork for your home, a trip to Obsidian, 4340 N. Campbell Ave., is bound to delight and surprise.
CAT'S MEOW: What better way than DeGrazia refrigerator magnets to introduce your family and friends to the splendor and mystery of art? These inexpensive and enduring masterpieces are a perfect "gateway" medium, especially if you consider yourself clueless when it comes to collecting fine art. Once you've established a reasonable number of plaintive niños on your refrigerator (and have basked in the accolades of your admiring and envious neighbors), you'll have the self-confidence necessary to risk taking a chance on other, more advance genres, such as neon cacti, howling coyotes, black velvet Christs and even imitation Nagel prints. While a large body of DeGrazia's "work" is adequately represented on the magnets already in stores (especially Walgreen's), true fans impatiently await the release of the "Peyote Lizard" series.
