In the realm of the senses

Fall is the season when Mother Nature shows off her best visual works. Local artists have been kicking her hippy ass for years at these five art spaces:

1 Grayspace
26 Cheney St., 786-2346

A contemporary art space, Grayspace focuses on emerging artists looking to test new ideas. Coming to its small, but cozy walls this fall is I Am Elephant by “The Sleepytime Project” members Anthony Alston, Rob Brown, Caedron Burchfield, Nick Larsen and Antoinette Ortega. The exhibit shows Sept. 27 to Oct. 26. Gallery owner Sara Gray and friends have achieved some kind of artistic critical mass of modern cool that makes you feel like you’re at the epicenter of whatever’s Happening in Reno.
www.grayspacegallery.com

2 Nevada Museum of Art
160 W. Liberty St., 329-3333

It’s easy to get overwhelemed with the beauty of the building that houses the NMA. Though the NMA is relatively expensive ($10) and resorts to beer bashes to get foot traffic, again, the architecture of this place is really something to marvel. Until Oct. 21, the museum is housing local landscape paintings of Roy Powers. A Fragile Presence documents endangered and extinct landmarks in his photo-realism oils and acrylics. It’s 25 years of nostalgia for life-long residents and a lesson in Reno gentrification to transplants. Then, from Oct. 13 to Jan. 13, Yosemite: Art of an American Icon, presents more than 100 works representing the park’s tranisition from wilderness to tourist site.
www.nevadaart.org

Two shows open Sept. 29 at The Never Ender, a boutique-style store in front with two art galleries in the back. Daryll Pierce guest-curates Tire Plantars & Tall Boys featuring the work of Poor Al, Tina Anderson, Robert Bolick, Jim Darling, Mike Maxwell, Lesley Reppeteaux, Dan Vigil and Josh Yoches. Fond of packing an eclectic mix of art into a small amount of space, expect the unexpected from Pierce. From watercolors to spraypainted skate decks, woodcuts to free beer, anything can happen. In the second gallery, Ron Rash opens How to Draw Cartoon Animals, which might come in handy, as there just might be a few in attendance at Pierce’s show.
www.neverenderreno.com

4 Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery
UNR Church Fine Arts Complex, N. Virginia St., 784-6658

The artwork at Sheppard is intended to engage and stimulate the same challenginng and enriching aspects of a liberal arts education at the Univeristy of Nevada, Reno, according to curator Marji Vecchio. Dedicated to “experimental visual arts research,” the gallery’s ample, art-first floor plan will be covered starting Oct. 3 by the contemporary, sometimes humorous work of recent UNLV grad students Mike Ogilvie and Sean Russell’s large-scale paintings and sculptures.
www.unr.edu/art/site/galleriesevents/sheppard_gallery.html

5 Truckee Meadows Community College art galleries
7000 Dandini Blvd., 674-7698

It’s time for the 36th annual art faculty gallery show, this year featuring Zoltan Janvary and Matt Theilen. The gallery features new shows on the first Tuesday of each month, accoprding to curator Nolan Preece. A strong history of support of the arts and recognition of talent make a trip to the TMCC gallery a monthly must.
www.tmcc.edu/vparts/artgalleries