Etherton got its start 28 years ago—three years before 1984—and ever since, it's been the city's most consistently excellent gallery. Always strong in photography, Etherton started last season with a dazzling show of figurative photos. Mexican photog Flor Garduño triumphed with magical realist images of women of unearthly beauty. Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe followed up with sweeping vistas of the Western landscape, made up of multiple images spliced together. In the season's final show, Holly Roberts took still another photographic route, deftly layering paint over her glossy photo paper. The only nonphotography show was also a stunner, offering up Alice Leora Briggs' sgraffito drawings of Mexican border violence, Bailey Doogan's painted and drawn explorations of her own face, and Chris Rush's tough drawings of disabled kids and surprisingly lovely paintings.
Runners up:
2. Madaras Gallery
1535 E. Broadway Blvd.
623-4000
3001 E. Skyline Drive, No. 101
615-3001, madaras.com
3. Conrad Wilde Gallery
210 N. Fourth Ave.
622-8997, conradwildegallery.com