You don’t even have to walk through the large glass doors of Vue: A Renee Taylor Gallery before you realize it’s not the same 1930s creek-side cottage located toward the back of Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village that housed El Prado by the Creek for 34 years. Vue owners Renee and Mike Taylor embarked on a major renovation project, leaving only the original foundation and outer walls of the original building intact. Construction began in November 2010, and the new gallery opened in May 2011.
The low ceilings and numerous alcoves of the old building have been replaced with 20-foot-tall ceilings, skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows. Renee and Mike are the owners of Renee Taylor Gallery in Tlaquepaque and Renee Taylor Jewelry in Uptown as well as a fourth gallery in Tubac in southern Arizona. Though Vue might be neighbors with Renee Taylor Gallery, there will be very little overlap between artists. Vue represents contemporary painters, sculptors and mixed-media artists including Sedona resident Marcela Panasiti, Dan McCabe, Gary Slater, Pamela Sukhum, Mike Elsass, Tom Markusen and Nancy Ngo. Large, textured oil paintings featuring bold flowers in southwestern colors hang near reverse-painted plexiglass-and-steel art while pedestals showcase abstract steel sculptures.
“We’re really excited about the space,” says Renee. “We wanted to expand and represent artists and styles that didn’t fit into our other galleries. This was our opportunity to try something different but still stick with a contemporary approach.”
Renee and Mike, who met while studying hydrogeology at the University of Arizona, plan to turn the gallery’s outdoor space into a sculpture garden and remodel the area to make it flow with the rest of Tlaquepaque. They will tackle that project this summer. Mike says the third and final phase of the renovation will be adding space to host regular artist receptions. – Erika Ayn Finch. Photograph by Deb Weinkauff.
SEDONA ART GALLERIES: Shows, exhibitions and happenings
