The Lab Pop-Up Gallery on Grand Avenue presented the work of Valley artist Hector Paul Primero, who aimed to change the negative perspective many might have of the city.
The TRUPHX exhibit, which was open to the public on Friday and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m., featured photographs and interviews with local artists, activists and entrepreneurs from Primero’s blog. Among the subjects were cycling company The Heavy Pedal, Phoenix painter Lalo Cota and flamenco performance company Flamenco Por La Vida.
Primero, a Phoenix native, said the inspiration to create his TRUPHX blog came to him once he moved back home after working in television production in Los Angeles.
“I left on bad terms with my city, and I was kind of frustrated,” Primero said. “So when I came back I started seeing all of these changes, and when I came home I felt like I owed my city an apology for some of the things that I felt toward it because I realized how special it was once I was gone.”
Upon returning to the Valley, Primero said he became tired of seeing the negative opinions about Phoenix on the news related to Senate Bill 1070, Governor Jan Brewer and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and realized he had to do something about it.
“I came up with this idea that, maybe I should go take pictures of people that I know that are doing great things, who could easily move to L.A., but decided to stick around here and plant their feet in Phoenix instead of going to the promised land that everybody believes L.A. is all the time,” he said.
While visiting his friend Pete Salaz, a featured subject in the TRUPHX gallery and owner of the Monarch Theatre nightclub, Primero noticed three large aluminum letters stored in the club’s basement. The letters, which spelled out “PHX,” stood for the former name of Salaz’s nightclub. They would become the focal point of Primero’s project.
Using his father’s truck, Primero loaded the letters and drove them to his interviews in the Valley, using them as a backdrop for his pictures of people who are benefiting the community.
“These are the stories that (show people) what our city is. There’s regular people, there’s a lot of artists, there’s a lot of special people out here,” Primero said.
Sophia Sanchez, a Phoenix resident who attended the exhibit, was overwhelmed by what Primero is doing for the community.
“I love it because I was born and raised in Phoenix … There’s so much beauty in it, and a lot of the time we don’t see that because we see so many things get changed or crushed,” Sanchez tearfully said. “But through his artwork, it’s like some of it has been saved and things are being restored, and there’s a lot of beauty in that.”
Walking through the gallery, Sanchez said she is able to see the possibilities for a brighter future in Phoenix.
“I see a lot of creativity here, and there are no boundaries with that because it’s not defined by anything or any one culture; it’s very individualized. So with that I think comes a lot of energy, growth and opportunity.”
Monica Robles, owner of The Lab Pop-Up Gallery, said it was not a difficult task to decide which artist would display their shows. Once a month, Robles clears out their retail store and sets up a gallery for upcoming artists in order to give them both exposure and a starting place to show their work.
According to Robles, visitors were very impressed with the Primero’s work.
“People weren’t just looking around, they were actually interested in reading these people’s stories. It was great to see everyone enjoying it and just hanging out,” Robles said.
Like Sanchez, Robles is also very interested in what’s to come for the Phoenix, and believes that Primero’s TRUPHX project is taking the community in the right direction.
“Right now, it has been building up a lot. We’re opening up a lot more stuff on Grand Avenue for artists, and it’s kind of nice because it’s like people are actually starting to believe in Phoenix and realize that we can actually make stuff happen,” she said.
Primero’s TRUPHX blog and gallery displays Phoenicians who have a sense of hometown pride, and Primero believes that this is only the beginning of the great opportunities for the city and those who live in it.
“I just think with all of the people that are taking a chance here, we’re that next city that people are going to start paying attention to,” Primero said. “We’re not going to be L.A.’s little brother anymore. People are going to start taking us seriously with everything that we’re doing. We’re coming.”
Contact the reporter at Brittany.Schmus@asu.edu
