Visual art notes: Sonic boom at Sam Weller's

Sounders

No technological advance induces sentimental longing for the old ways quite like digital media. Once heralded as an eternal boon to audiophiles sick of hiss and static, compact disc recordings are now semi-reviled as cold, soulless and more or less void of artistic possibilities. Ergo "Analogue Island," a group exhibition that celebrates analog audio's creative avenues. Choose between three areas of focus: Trent Alvey's sound installations requiring the draw of a violin bow on the store mezzanine; Henry Jone's "Tales on Tape" upstairs in the fiction section; or Canadian artist Mathieu Ruhlmann's "sonic housing" partnership with bookstore employee Stephanie Leitch in the lower stairwell. The first two are available for your perusal, but the third requires setting an appointment with Leitch. "All of these projects are designed to match human gesture with 'soundscapes,'" Leitch said. And that's something you won't always get with your car stereo.

Where » Sam Weller's Bookstore, 254 S. Main St., Salt Lake City

When » Through May 8; Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Info » Call 801-328-2586 for more information, or visit www.samwellers.com.

'Painted mythologies'

Local painter Jenevieve Hubbard paints a great picture, all right. Using such renegade materials as tea and soil, as well as the more traditional acrylic and ink, she takes on all the big themes -- birth and death, alienation -- and more or less tames them on all four sides of a canvas. Think of a spooked-out version of Franz Kline or Joan Mitchell, where abstract forms fulminate, lurk and even lunge with unknown impulse. Her online artist's bio states that some of these visual "mythologies" are the result of a childhood spent in Alaska. "I can still remember the quiet beauty of an Eskimo woman skinning a seal with an Ulu on the beach," she states.

Where » Charley Hafen Gallery, 1400 S. 900 East, Salt Lake City

When » Through May 17; Mondays through Saturdays, noon-7 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; closed Sundays.

Info » Call 801-521-7711 for more information, or visit www.blackbirdcreative.info.

Christofferson & Call

Consider this pairing: Control freak meets man of mellow. Exhibitions showcasing artists working at opposite ends of the art bus usually do wonders for our powers of perception, if only because the contrast and tensions at work play off each other in surprising ways. So it is here, with the Kayo Gallery's simply titled exhibition of "Dan Christofferrson & Trent Call." The former pays homage to his work-hardened Mormon ancestors through works planned out in advance to almost every element. A laborer looking to do the job right, he uses lots of interesting media, including print, digital manipulation, scans, drawing and painting. Call, all the while, basks in minimal forms and free-form processes to start at the edge and work toward forms that reach the center, or end. It's mind-tingling stuff.

Where » Kayo Gallery, 177 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City.

When » Through May 12; Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. or by appointment.

Info » Call 801-532-0080 for information, or visit www.kayogallery.com.

Two wheels good

Starving artists love their bicycles, for all the obvious reasons. SLC Bicycle Company is asking local biker-artists to take that relationship one step further by submitting works speaking to the theme of the city's bike culture by submitting works in drawing, painting, photography, print, videography and sculpture for its upcoming "Gallery Roll '09" exhibit.

Where » For information and application, visit the bike store at 177 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City

When » Submission deadline May 1; exhibit planned for May 15 through June 1

Info » Visit www.saltcycle.com/galleryroll.pdf for more information.

Painting to temperature

Say the words "climate change" and you'll have an argument about whether or not collapsing icebergs are more worrisome than a defrosting refrigerator. What, though, will paintings look like with a higher room temperature headed our way? Kirsten Stolle, an award-winning painter from San Francisco, goes there with her exhibition "silva in posterum." She's produced some stunning images with oil, wax, acrylic and graphite on rag board as a result. Stolle uses plant life as her starting point to re-imagine new hybrids for the future. Roots take form, new life blossoms, and seeds are planted in works that may either comfort you, or induce an unfamiliar chill.

Where » Julie Nester Gallery, 1280 Iron Horse Drive, Park City

When » Artist's reception at May 1 at 5:30 p.m.; gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Info » Call 801-435-649-7855 or visit www.julienestergallery.com.