Essentials: Entertainment Picks Nov. 21-27 

THURSDAY NOV. 21

CUAC: Dark Markets
It’s rare that the material for an art exhibition makes up anything other than an illusion of reality, or art that is about art, rather than stuff that is frighteningly real. It’s exciting to have members of the Brooklyn-based Interstate Projects Gallery feature their collaborative effort Dark Markets in our own CUAC. Rarely have we seen an art exhibition walk the line this close to what is toxic, narcotic, illegal, exploitative, hazardous, addictive and clandestine in society. These artists are not playing games; their art speaks about everyday institutions with hidden realities that affect the integrity of our cultural fabric. In her work, Ann Hirsch investigates her own adolescence, unafraid to explore one of the seedier yet alarmingly accessible “dark markets.” Her real-life online experience with a 27-year-old hacker when she was only 12 is the material for an app that allows this world to be exposed for what it can be.  Joe Brittain’s subjects make for powerful object-viewer interplays of meaning. His “Tantalus” is a perfectly round glass ball of ink and melatonin—a visual metaphor of contrasts between stark beauty and the dangerously toxic. For his work, Cheon pyo Lee investigates the worldwide currency exchange. Since 2010, Lee has laundered $10,000 through international banking networks. The installation mechanism “Chinese Waterfall” speaks metaphorically of Lee’s experiences. There is reason and purpose for these forays into “dark markets.” These artists are fastidious in their resolve to see these hazards of society, all of which are easily accessible, brought to the light of truth, as they are held accountable for their potentially dangerous consequences. (Ehren Clark)
Dark Markets @ CUAC, 175 E. 200 South, 385-215-6768, through Jan. 11, free. CUArtCenter.org

J. Kirk Richards: A Christmas Carol
One wonders how the Victorians might have reacted to the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by J. Kirk Richards, original illustrations from which are now on display at Illume Gallery. This adaptation proves unique not only in Richards’ abridged text, which makes it readable in a single sitting, but in the singular illustrations by Richards. They have a quality that’s abstract and loose, the kind of painting that speaks to all generations at all times. The book—like ones before it such as The Polar Express or The Christmas Box—has the makings to become a family tradition to color any intimate Christmas gathering, with words and visual expression that’s the stuff of which memories are made. It speaks through words, yet the images are expressive enough themselves in loose gesture and bold tonalities—along with generous amounts of emotion and narrative excitement—to convey the classic story. (Ehren Clark)
J. Kirk Richards: A Christmas Carol @ Illume Gallery of Fine Art, 60 E. South Temple, Suite 115, 801-210-2853, ongoing, free. IllumeGalleryOfFineArt.com

Megan Ah You: Expatiation
It is exciting when works of art can find multiple layers of meaning; a still life can be a portrait, or a portrait can be landscape. Much of the new body of work by Megan Ah You functions in this manner. Her works are a process of drawing form from chaos—and from that form, finding meaning. Consequently, her works transcend the boundaries of traditional subjects and can represent far more than initially meets the eye. Ah You uses lines, ink, washes, shade and color in her mixed-media works to create what may seem chaotic at first. “Accretion” might appear to be an accumulation of disorder, but on closer inspection one sees an assemblage of flora, with a life energy emanating forcefully. In this fabric of nature and energy, one may see an ultimately personal expression of meaning derived from a human source. It’s far removed from the disharmony of chaos, and much more of an attainment of intimate beauty. (Ehren Clark)
Megan Ah You: Expatiation @ Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 S. 2100 East, 801-594-8611, through Nov. 30, free. SLCPL.org

FRIDAY NOV. 22

Utah Arts Festival/Art Access Holiday Show
The holiday season is full of shops and storefronts clamoring for your attention with glittery ornaments and sometimes gaudy displays. If you are looking for something for the art lover on your list—or just a more refined experience apart from the hustle and bustle of shopping—the galleries at Artspace City Center are hosting their annual Holiday Show. Both Art Access and the UAF Gallery exhibit some of the most progressive local artists throughout the year, and the holiday event is a chance to see works by more than 60 of them. There are traditional gift items like books, cards and jewelry, but there are also objects that make more unconventional presents, like assemblage sculpture by Michael Jensen and Leandra Brown’s origami balls. And what could say “wintertime” better than Michael Brzozowski’s serigraph snowflakes? It’s also a year-end retrospective of sorts. Artwork by painter Darrell Driver and silk artist Sarinda Jones has been featured previously at the UAF Gallery. Sam Guevara’s “wired people” sculptures and Marcee Blackerby’s mixed-media pieces are among works that have been showcased at Art Access before. The holiday festivities opened with a Gallery Stroll evening reception Nov. 15, and both galleries will also host a reception for December Gallery Stroll on Friday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 9 p.m. Cellist Tracie Price is scheduled to perform. (Brian Staker)
Utah Arts Festival/Art Access Holiday Show @ Art Access, 230 S. 500 West, Suite 125, Salt Lake City, 801-328-0703; UAF Gallery, Suite 120, 801-322-2428, through Dec. 18, free. UAF.org, AccessArt.org

Aerial Arts of Utah: Flight of Fancy
With its combination of physics, dance, theater and acrobatics, aerial dance is an astounding form of creative movement. In 2008, Revolve Aerial Dance—now known as Aerial Arts of Utah—started offering aerial classes at a small studio in Salt Lake City. Today, Aerial Arts of Utah has grown into a popular program that boasts its own performing company. This weekend, the company will defy gravity with strength and grace during its second-annual performance Flight of Fancy: Soar into a Magical World. Many people may be familiar with aerial silks, the banners of soft fabric that aerial dancers climb and manipulate, allowing them to hang, twist and soar through the air. Silks are used in a number of the pieces in Flight of Fancy, like guest performer Adriane Colvin’s solo act, “Queen Tribute.” But an aerial performer has many tricks in their bag. Other performers will fly through the air on the Spanish rope (from which the dancer hangs in sculpted poses as they are spun by their partner) or the lyra (a circus-like steel hoop). Some dancers will not leave the floor at all, melding dance, acrobatics and yoga. Choreographer Nancy Simpson Carter’s piece “We Are” uses a ground-based partnering movement called “acroyoga.” It takes years of training to gain the strength, skills and confidence to twist up a silk or into a hoop 20 feet above the ground and dance with grace and ease. The magic of the show is how effortless these performers make it look. (Katherine Pioli)
Aerial Arts of Utah: Flight of Fancy @ Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, 801-355-2787, Nov 22-23, 7:30 p.m., $25. ArtTix.org

Repertory Dance Theatre: Lively
The whole point of Repertory Dance Theatre’s winter performance Lively is to give a little back. According to Artistic Director Linda Smith, RDT wanted to curate an evening of dances that not only fit the evening’s title, but would also be fun and accessible to a broad audience. With a $10 price tag, the performance is a sort of pre-holiday gift designed to get everybody warmed up for the season. Although accompanied on the bill by Susan Hadley’s nine duets called Fin Amours and Joanie Smith’s athletic Bolero, Bill Evans’ Jukebox will provide the evening’s centerpiece. Using the big-band tunes of Glen Miller, the seven sections of Jukebox hearken back to a time when the silver screen helped the country take its collective mind off of war and hardship. “Bill said he remembers spending most of his youth in Lehi sitting in movie theaters, watching musicals starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, Ann Miller and a host of glamorous stars,” Smith says. “They certainly inspired a generation of young dancers determined to dance their way to Hollywood and fame.” The movement vocabulary for the piece is generated from dances Evans made up as a child. He’d come home from watching those movies, listen to songs like “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” or “Take the A Train” and dance like crazy in his room. Only later, through a lens of maturity and artistic sensibility, was he able to filter his youthful exuberance into choreography tinged with just the right amount of happy nostalgia. (Jacob Stringer) 
Repertory Dance Theatre: Lively @ Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, 801-355-2787, Nov. 22-23, 7:30 p.m., $10. RDTUtah.org, ArtTix.org